Stay Well, Play Hard At Treasure Island Casino And Mount Frontenac Golf Course

These two river beauties are a pair to draw to. They’ve got it all from stellar entertainment, world-class accommodations, well-designed golf holes, epic golf scenery, state-of the-art gambling facilities, swimming pools, bowling alleys, fine dining, soaring eagles and even scorecard eagles. There is plenty of fun for the kids and all kinds of fun for adults who like to act like kids.

As with most top-notch resort destinations, Treasure Island Resort and Casino has a golf package ready to tee-up should that be your thing. If it’s not your thing, don’t panic, there’s still plenty of options to choose from. If it is your thing, swinging from the tops of the Mississippi River bluffs with a blaze of autumn colors laid out below you is one of those golf moments that you will never forget. I highly recommend you pack a camera in the golf bag for this round. When you bundle a round of golf in the afternoon with a 5-star room, an hour in the Wave Spa, followed by dinner and then an evening of casino shenanigans, you’ve had a very good day on earth.

As you meander your way through the casino and hotel complex keep an eye out for action, it’s everywhere. Clearly the Treasure Island management is big on pop-up promotions, vacation giveaways, cash rewards and prizes. There’s even a good chance you could drive home in a new car or truck. Boom! Treasure Island keeps that action coming night and day even if you’re not saddled up to a slot machine or a black jack table. The golf side of the day is a little different. You’ll have to earn those rewards on the Mount Frontenac golf course. While it’s not long of yardage it’s tight on many of the short par 4’s. That’s what makes scoring well on this course so rewarding. The tee shots can be downright intimidating at times, but hit the fairway, stick the green and you’ll feel like you’ve beat the odds.

If you are a Twin Cities or Western Wisconsin resident and don’t feel like hopping a plane to catch that resort vibe, Treasure Island and Mount Frontenac offer an excellent ‘staycation’ option for that long weekend getaway. Heading between the casino and Mount Frontenac requires a swing through Red Wing so you might as well make the most of it and do a little exploring of this historical river town. Don’t linger too long, ‘the island’ awaits.

The ever evolving calendar of live events held at the newly minted amphitheater and indoor concert facility is impressive. Primarily bouncing between music and comedy the scheduled entertainers strike a balance of modern rock, country, classic rock, cutting edge humor and classic comedians. A few of the names that will be appearing this summer in no particular order: ZZ Top, Charlie Pride, Loretta Lynn, Kid Rock, Bill Maher, Steve Martin, Daughtry, Frankie Valli and many more. You get the idea, the venues see a wide cross-section of entertainment and most of it is top-shelf.

But there’s more… a staggering amount more. Starting with the casino gaming there is a full range of table games including, Blackjack, Three Card Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold’em, EZ Baccarat, Fortune Pai Gow, 21+3 Blackjack, TriLux and Crazy 4 Poker, Lucky Lucky Blackjack, Free Bet Blackjack and more. Moving on to the machine games with more than 2,200 slots, video poker and video keno machines, there is gambling fun in every corner of the floor plan. These include specialty slots, Captain Blackjack, video keno, video roulette, video poker as well as several hundred smoke-free machines. In addition to the above gaming classics there is of course BINGO with a capital ‘B’, a Poker Room, Poker Leagues, Pull-Tabs and plenty of virtual on-line games at www.playTIcasino.com.

Outside of the casino action there is swimming at The Lagoon. It’s complete with a swim-up bar, hot-tubs, slides, and a lazy river loop for the youngsters. It’s free to hotel guests and a small charge for a day pass. Another great family option is the Xtreme Bowl. It has 24 lanes, the latest in automatic scoring and a state-of-the art sound and light system. You could also indulge yourself with a visit to Wave Spa complete with the full menu of boutique services. Bring the family or leave them at home, either way, fun and comfort are guaranteed.

On the golf side of this stay and play is Mount Frontenac and its marketing tagline is spot-on… ‘Minnesota’s Most Breathtaking Golf Course.’ You’ll get no argument from me. An 18 hole track on top of the bluffs above Lake Pepin. At 6,226 yards from the back tees it isn’t long, but what it lacks in length it makes up for in narrow, sloping fairways and smallish greens. As it should be. With a surgical drive there are a few eagle putt opportunities on these greens. If that doesn’t happen, Mother Nature might just deliver you an eagle overhead. Lake Pepin is a world renowned eagle habitat and nesting grounds for our national bird. The sight of a circling eagle never gets old and from this course you may just be looking down at them. Several par 4’s offer a decent birdie look assuming things go right for you. Hole #2, #9 and #14 are all under 300 yards. The par 3’s are another story where none of them are shorter than 150 yards. This is a unique design feature and somewhat unusual given the overall course length. I find the course challenging and several of the tee shots intimidating (in a fun way). Sight lines seem to tighten-up with restrictions in the landing areas. The beauty of this design is it will have you second guessing driver vs. long irons on the tee box and then testing your confidence on longer second shots into the smallish greens. Love it!

General Manager Dan Diggins and his team have a smart approach to group pricing with discounts available at various headcount levels and a range of options for golfing groups including prizes, on-course services, etc. They will continue the popular Pasta Night on Thursday’s in 2018, which has become quite a draw in the area.

The clubhouse and associated event planning business is very popular at Mount Frontenac. It has a well-deserved reputation as a ‘go-to’ spot for very good reasons… tons of character, impeccable service, excellent food and an ultra-scenic layout for those large gatherings. Outdoor weddings are blessed with the fresh air, plenty of mature trees and those well-manicured, rolling fairways going off in all directions. With an indoor capacity of 240 the facility can host larger weddings and meetings, but can also be set-up for more intimate, smaller groups.

Dan has worked long and hard to build Mount Frontenac into a location that is worth the drive and one that over-delivers on value. It’s an unforgettable destination with or without a golf club in your hand.