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Getaways: San Francisco and Ely, MN
February 2009
By Adam Platt and Greg Breining
Where to Go | Cavallo Point, San Francisco | Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge, Ely | 
Photos by Michal Venera | 
Photos courtesy of Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge | If you’ve ever looked at the forlorn decaying campus that is Fort Snelling and wondered if there’s hope—let me introduce Cavallo Point. This wonderfully imagined restoration of the U.S. Army’s century-old Fort Baker, which sits at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County, has to be one of the new century’s most inspiring examples of historic preservation.
 But it’s not just a historic site—it’s an urban lodge-resort with incredible city, bridge, and bay views, wonderful historic or new accommodations (with fireplaces and lots of vistas), a charming pub and restaurant, a relaxing spa, and a program of interpretive hikes, cooking classes, and other ephemera to cause guests to seriously question the point of heading over the bridge into America’s most alluring city. And when the fog creeps in and the fog horn wails through the clouds—well, it couldn’t get any more romantic.
601 Murray Cir., Fort Baker, Sausalito, 415-339-4700, cavallopoint.com | Magic takes place at the controls, such as they are, of a dogsled. One moment, the brisk air is filled with yapping and snarling as dogs tussle and tangle their leads. Then the harnesses tighten, the dogs begin to run, and all turns silent—just the sibilance of runners on packed snow as the dogs set to the task for which they were bred.
 Enjoy the quiet beauty of travel by dogsled at Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge near Ely. For the hardiest experience, try a camping trip deep within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. By day, guide your team over frozen lakes and along snowy portage trails. By night, camp beneath the aurora borealis. For something cushier, opt for a lodge-to-lodge experience on the fringe of the wilderness. Depending on the package, lodging ranges from basic to pretty swank. Groups of four or more can reserve a private trip.
877-753-3386, dogsledding.com |
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