Cormorant Lake (Minnesota)
Big Cormorant Lake is located in northwestern Minnesota's Becker County, about an hour's drive due east of the Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota metropolitan area. Public access boat ramps are located on the northeast and west sides of the Lake. The lake was named after the cormorant bird, a common bird in the region. In 2015, the lake was discovered to be infested with zebra mussels, which threatens neighboring lakes. Cormorant Lake is situated near the towns of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, Lake Park, Minnesota, Audubon, Minnesota and the Cormorant Township. History. The land that  Big Cormorant Lake sits on was originally occupied by the Chippewa (Ojibwe), and the Sioux Native tribes. The Cormorant Township organized on February 26, 1872, and the name Cormorant is translated from the original Ojibway naming of the lake. In 1867, a treaty was signed establishing the White Earth Reservation, a large tract of land in the northern part of Becker County, to be home for the Chippewa Indians. Attractions and activities. Some of the most popular attractions on Big Cormorant Lake come in the form of restaurants. Hooligan's Lakeside, Cormorant Pub, Cormorant Inn, Zorbaz on Pelican Lake, the  Roadhouse, and Pit 611 offer lake residents food and entertainment. Boutique shopping is also available in Cormorant Village. For over 100 years, YMCA Camp Cormorant has offered spirit, tradition, leadership and exceptional facilities to campers. Founded in 1903, Camp Cormorant is one of the oldest overnight camps in the entire nation and continues to be a tremendous growing up experience for children and teens. The camp is nestled on 80 acres of wooded property with an extensive beach front on Big Cormorant Lake. Boating, sailing, and fishing are the most common activities on Cormorant Lake. Other activities on Big Cormorant  include swimming, kayaking, wakesurfing, waterskiing, wakeboarding and standup paddleboarding during the summer, and ice fishing and snowmobiling during the winter. In media. Cormorant Village went viral for electing a dog named Duke for four terms as Mayor. Duke was a Great Pyrenees and passed away Feb 21, 2019. A popular YouTube channel named CBOYSTV films and is headquartered at Cormorant Lake. CBoysTV is an American comedy and motorsports channel consisting of 5 guys. Their channel has amassed over 1 million subscribers. Urban legends. Hairy Man of Vergas Trails. The Hairy Man of Vergas Trails is to be 8 feet tall  and is often blamed for strange animal deaths. He is said to wander the woods surrounding the Vergas Trails, and many claim run-ins with the creature over the years. This Urban Legend was featured on SyFy's "Haunted Highway" Wendigo. The Wendigo is a supernatural creature that prowls the thick forests looking to feast on human flesh. He's often described as gigantic - up to 15 feet tall - and some say he's too thin to be seen from the side. The source of the English word is the Ojibwe word wiindigoo. This legend derives from similar Native American  tales. Takaka Konishi. The Suicide of Takako Konishi Urban Legend resulted from a misunderstanding between Konishi and one of the Bismarck police officers with whom she had been speaking. The story was then misreported by the media, leading to the urban legend that she had come to the United States to search for the money in the film. In reality, Konishi had become depressed after losing her job at a Tokyo travel agency, being unable to find another job, and also had begun to drink. Konishi had been seen wandering Detroit Lakes before she apparently decided to commit suicide by  lying down in the snow after consuming two bottles of champagne. The urban legend surrounding her death is the basis for the 2014 film Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter. The Urban Legend stems from the idea that Takako Konishi was in search of the money hidden by Steve Buscemi's character in "Fargo". White Sheets Cult. The White Sheets Cult is rumored to subsist within the trails south east of the lake. They are said to try to cause car crashes, and to kill cattle. The cult is rumored to have rituals in the woods. Real Jason Vorhees. The Real Jason  Vorhees Legend. Now the legend is that the real Jason Voorhees was killed at Camp Cherith, 11 miles east of the lake, and is now buried in an unmarked grave, in the graveyard the sits next to Camp Cherith. Climate. Because of its location in the Great Plains and its distance from both mountains and oceans, Cormorant Lake has an extreme humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa/Dfb), featuring long, bitterly cold winters and warm to hot, humid summers. Summers have frequent thunderstorms, and the warmest month of the year is July.