Historic log B&B near Hayward, Wis., on market for $899,000

Ever wondered about running your own B&B? A historic log lodge with rugged beams and cozy fireplaces is on the market for $899,000 in the North Woods of Wisconsin near Hayward. It's the Spider Lake Lodge on Big Spider Lake, and it comes with everything needed to operate a B&B, from the furnishings and bedding to the website and client list.

"It can be sold as a business or as a private home," said real estate agent Caroline Gerdes, who, with her husband, managed the lodge for two years, living there on weekends to attend to guests. (The owner lives in Oklahoma.)

The picturesque B&B, which has been featured in the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Magazine, was built in the early 1920s for Ted Moody, a Chicago-area car dealer and auto mechanic. He came to Wisconsin in search of clean, fresh air after being diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisoning and told by his doctor to stop working around exhaust and fumes.

Moody bought a large piece of land on Big Spider Lake and hired an Ojibwe carpenter to build a camp in the style of the family summer houses that were being built in the Adirondack Mountains at that time. Moody opened his fishing lodge in 1923. At that time there was no road to the lodge, and his first visitors had to get there by boat.

Today, the 6,000-square-foot lodge has seven guest rooms that rent for $169 to $239 per night (which includes breakfast), plus a large private owners' suite. There are nine bathrooms, a sauna and a hot tub overlooking the lake.

The great room with its huge stone fireplace is a favorite spot, said Gerdes, who also loves the cozy four-season porch. "There's a daybed, and a lot of people take naps there."

Surrounding the main lodge are 13 smaller cabins, which were parceled off and sold as condos in the 1970s. The lodge is part of the condo association and shares 895 feet of lakeshore with the condo owners.

Caroline Gerdes of Century 21, 952-818-7122, has the listing.