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In winter, there's nothing better than relaxing in a hot tub after a day outdoors.
Hot tubs are a dime a dozen — inside B&Bs and hotels. But the ones outside? Much harder to find.
It’s not every inn that makes a guest feel like a Rockefeller.
But when my husband and I walked into the Wilson Schoolhouse Inn, we figured we’d really risen in the world.
“Hey, for once I feel like a millionaire,’’ Torsten said, bounding around the restored Prairie-style school. “This is unbelievably cool.’’
In summer and fall, don't rely on luck to get a reservation on Minnesota's North Shore.
In the heat of summer, everyone wants to bask in Lake Superior's cooling breezes. In fall, everyone wants to see the fall colors. In winter weekends, skiers flock in.
Below are a few of the many places to stay; reserve as far in advance as possible for popular dates, especially Minnesota's
school break the third weekend of October. For an overview, see Introducing Minnesota's North Shore.
Every week, a few dozen people join an exclusive club high above Minnesota's North Shore.
To get there, they lug all their food and gear 1¾ miles up and down a steep hill. They draw their own water and make their own fires. They clean and then lug their garbage over the same hill.
And they consider themselves lucky.
There’s a surefire rule that applies to rented houses: Anything you really need but don’t bring is exactly what the house won’t have.
Virtually every house has coffee filters. But the house I rented on a lake in Cable, Wis., didn’t, and I was reduced to straining coffee — unsuccessfully — through paper bags and toilet paper. It also didn’t have paper towels, a cutting board, a corkscrew or kindling. It did have many items that often are sorely missed — a colander, a juice pitcher, a muffin pan and — wonders! — a decent chopping knife.
It’s always hard to know what to bring. I brought my Swiss garlic press to the Norway Point Guesthouse in Minnesota's St. Croix State Park, but its amazingly well-equipped utensil drawer had one exactly like it, and its cupboards were full of dry goods left by other guests. I brought a crockpot to my Mountain View Lodges cabin on the Upper Peninsula, but it already had one.
In the middle of Minnesota's Wild River State Park, a ski’s length from 35 miles of groomed trails and a 10-minute trek from the St. Croix River, sits a cozy little house surrounded by forest.
For one winter night, the two-bedroom, carpeted house, a private residence built not long before the park was established in 1978, belonged to me and my children. We arrived at dusk, and my children swarmed over it as only children can do, giving a running commentary: "Boy, this is a nice cabin,’’ said 6-year-old Peter. "Wow, a nice shower. Isn’t this great? And oh, look’’ — he peered out the window at a big thermometer — "you can tell the temperature.’’
It was 0 degrees. But we settled in happily, building a fire in the wood-burning stone hearth, making spaghetti in the modern kitchen, then sliding a movie into the VCR and watching it while eating popcorn popped in the microwave. It was a little odd, being the only humans that night in one of Minnesota’s largest state parks, but we were definitely comfortable.
In Bear Head Lake State Park near Ely, there are three places to spend the night: a tent, a rustic camper cabin and a modern split-level.
On a subzero day in winter, one is better than the others.
Minnesota's state parks are sprinkled with houses or cabins that can be rented. Some are marvelously atmospheric, such as the
log cabins built in Itasca for the tourist trade. Others came with annexed land and the state remodeled them; in Tettegouche,
the Illgen Falls "cabin'' is handicapped-accessible, with a big deck, gas grill, gas fireplace and kitchen with microwave, full
refrigerator-freezer, computerized oven and glass-ceramic range. (See Lodgings in Minnesota state parks.)
In Minnesota’s state parks, the goodies go way beyond hiking trails, picnic sites and fishing piers.
Minnesota parks house their visitors, too, not only in campgrounds but in suites and cabins and lodges and even a few
split-level homes. Of course, they're very popular. (See Lodgings in Minnesota state parks.)
But the most popular place of all is the Illgen Falls Cabin in Tettegouche State Park, especially in summer. For what could be better than having a 45-foot waterfall, spa and swimming hole in the back yard, with entertainment from a corps of cliff jumpers?
My niece loves a big Rottweiler named Rza, so her travel opportunities are limited.
But one October, I rented a lake house near Cable, Wis., that allowed dogs, and both of them came. And we all had a great time: When Rza's happy, everyone's happy.
"This is probably the best weekend of her life,'' said my niece, after we’d spent the day romping on the lawn and in the nearby forest.