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Other stories in "Winter"

• The chocolate cure
  As winter drags on, drown your sorrows with sweets.
• Following the Beargrease
  The 2011 North Shore sled-dog marathon was one of the most exciting in years.
• The best of 2010 . . . and 2011
  Here are our revelations from the old year and resolutions for the new one.
• Volunteering on Lake Superior
  Be keeper of the light or a modern voyageur.
• Bargains for beginners
  Free or cut-rate ski and snowboard packages make it easy to learn.
• How to make ice luminaries
  With homemade lanterns, make your front walk sparkle.
• Walking on ice
  To stay safe and have fun, buy a pair of crampons.
• Cheap winter retreats
  Spend a weekend mushing dogs or tracking wolves at bargain prices.
• A peek into an inn
  During holidays, B&Bs in five tourist towns open for tours.
• Holiday house calls
  On tours, see where the rich and famous celebrated Christmas.
• Readers say Ely is the coolest town
  It's got wolves, it's got bears, it's got character.
• Sightseeing by bicycle
  This summer's tours include an extra quota of scenery.
• Serious reservations
  Here's a guide to the lodgings, campsites and permits you should nail down now.
• Best bets in ski country
  Trails in the south bask in snow; a hostel reopens in state forest.
• Skiing in the city
  On the trails of Duluth, a cappuccino never is far away.
• Magic under the moon
  In winter, plan a trip around a candlelight ski or snowshoe.
• A very merry city
  At Christmas, Chicago brims with good will.
• All eyes on eagles
  In winter, tourists and birds alike head for open water.

Vacations for the brain

Go to a summer school, and you'll come home with a skill.

There's still snow on the ground, but it's time to think about summer if you're a photographer, carver or anyone who would like to learn something new.

If you want to come away from your vacation with more than a sunburn, it'll soon be time to sign up for a workshop. At the Clearing folk school in Wisconsin's Door County, some classes fill in the first hour after registration opens.

The Clearing, founded by Danish landscape architect Jens Jensen in 1935, is the oldest folk school in the region. Students stay in stone cottages on the wooded campus.

On the other side of Door County, Björklunden offers digital photography, rosemaling and watercolor painting but also such seminars as "The Spies of World War II'' and "The Enduring Appeal of Sherlock Holmes.''

In northern Minnesota, Concordia Language Villages offers adult camps in six languages. In southwest Wisconsin, Shake Rag Alley teaches the "outsider'' arts of making willow furniture and concrete-mosaic figures.

All of the schools are in places you'd want to visit anyway, and in your time off from class, you can do some sightseeing.

It's a lot of fun to stay on-site, but if you need to save money, you can camp nearby and pay the commuter rate.

For more about summer folk schools, see Schools of know-how.

The Clearing in Ellison Bay, Wis.: This folk school in Door County has a gorgeous setting on Green Bay and offers many weeklong courses on science, history, theater, film and religion as well as the arts. The hands-on classes — watercolors, quilting, wood-carving — fill fastest. Registration starts Feb. 24 for May-July courses and March 3 for August-October classes.

Six-day classes are $860-$890 for lodgings in a double room and $1,250 for a single room, including meals. The commuter rate is $485, including all lunches and dinners on the first and last day. Shorter weekend classes also are offered. 877-854-3225.

For more, see Classroom in the Clearing.

Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts, Mineral Point, Wis.: This charming center in a southwest Wisconsin arts community holds classes throughout the year in nine historic buildings.

It specializes in outsider art and is best known for its Mosaic Madness workshop June 24-26, in which students build concrete figures, and its large Woodlanders Gathering of rustic-furniture experts and students, July 7-10.

The center rents three rooms in its 1840s Coach House and two apartments in the 1839 Mousehole Cottage. Guests get a 10 percent discount on classes. 608-987-3292.

For more, see Slinging cement in Mineral Point.

Björklunden near Bailey's Harbor, Wis.: This beautiful estate on the shore of Lake Michigan is owned by Lawrence University and offers five- and six-day seminars, some artistic, some nature-oriented and many historical and intellectual.

Cost is $750 double occupancy, $1,000 single occupancy, including meals; $360 for commuters, including lunches and Sunday dinner. 920-839-2216.

Concordia Language Villages: This campus in northern Minnesota, near Bemidji, holds spring and fall adult language camps in Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish. All of the camps include accommodations, instruction, materials and three excellent daily meals in the cuisine of the country studied.

Weekend camps are $385 and weeklong camps are $725, $630 for Finnish. There are also Elderhostels for people age 50 and older.

For more, see Language camp for adults.

Split Rock Summer Workshops in the Twin Cities and Cloquet, Minn.: Three-day and weeklong workshops in photography, drawing, writing, painting and textiles are held on the East Bank and St. Paul campuses of the University of Minnesota and at the Cloquet Forestry Center near Duluth from June 20 through July 22. Registration opens in late February.

Cost for a riverside room in Yudof Hall, on the East Bank campus in the Twin Cities, is $420 for six-night classes. For cabins at the Cloquet Forestry Center, it's $485 for six nights and $240 for three, including all meals.

North House Folk School in Grand Marais, Minn.: Inspired by the folk schools of Scandinavia, this school on Grand Marais’ harbor holds hundreds of workshops in traditional artisanry throughout the year and sailing in summer.

Grand Marais Art Colony in Grand Marais, Minn.: This 64-year-old school offers year-round workshops in glass, printmaking, acrylics, pottery and plein-air painting. Classes of up to five days are offered from Memorial Day to late September. Students find their own places to stay.

For more, see Artistic Grand Marais.

Driftless Folk School, Viroqua, Wis.: Southwest Wisconsin is a hotbed of organic farming, and this school focuses on building sustainable lifestyles. Most of its classes are half-day or one-day and are held at the homes and farms of the instructors or in the Landmark Center in Viroqua.

For more about the area, see Valleys of Vernon County.

Porcupine Mountains Folk School near Silver City, Mich.: This year-round school is in beautiful Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, on Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula.

Workshops are held at the Folk School Building, near the Union Bay Campground and the Kaug Wudjoo Lodge. Accommodations within the park include the lodge, cabins, yurts and campsites, and there are resorts nearby.

For more, see Afoot in the Porkies.

Curiosity Camp in the Twin Cities: The University of Minnesota's College of Continuing Education offers an array of one-day summer camps that meet on the St. Paul campus then take off on a motorcoach for field trips.

The course schedule will be available in April. Classes are $125, including lunch.

For more, see Curiosity camp.

Exploritas/Elderhostel: This national organization combines travel with learning for adults of all ages. Dozens of classes are held in the Upper Midwest and around the world.

Last updated on February 17, 2011