Cozy Winter Lodges

November 2006 Special Sections

Say the word “lodge” and any tension in the room starts to fade. Stress melts away like the snow on your boots after coming in from a day hiking in the woods, and relaxation settles in like logs nestled in a glowing fireplace.

Lodges are the picture of perfect contentment any time of the year. But when cold winds whistle through the Midwest and snowflakes fly through the air, the warmth of a rustic lodge may be the best antidote to the inevitable winter blues. And whether you want a place to hole up with a good book and a glass of wine or a starting point for outdoor adventures, you can find just the lodge you’re looking for in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Grand View Lodge
Nisswa, Minnesota
866-801-2946

The view from Grand View Lodge is indeed grand. The resort sits on the shores of Gull Lake, surrounded by thick forests, lush golf courses, and a 1,500-foot natural sand beach. But even as the lake freezes, the leaves fall, and the golf greens and shifting sands disappear under a carpet of snow, the resort remains one of the most restful places in the state. Grand View guests can be pampered with massages at the Glacial Waters Spa, relax in front of a crackling fire, or rest their muscles in an in-room whirlpool. They can also grab a pair of snowshoes the facility keeps on hand or rent a pair of cross-country skis and enjoy the Minnesota winter; there are even icehouses available for fishers anxious to get out on the frozen lake. Younger visitors always appreciate the indoor pool and water park (complete with 110-foot water slide), while parents look forward to the on-site restaurant and full-service lounge.

Grand Superior Lodge
Two Harbors, Minnesota
800-627-9565

Barb Swenson knows why people love coming to Grand Superior Lodge, just ten miles north of Two Harbors: the lake. “The mystery and the soul of Lake Superior—that’s what catches people and keeps them coming back,” says Swenson, marketing director for Odyssey Development, which owns Grand Superior as well as two other resorts on the North Shore. “It all goes back to the lake.” That’s why all cabins and log homes on the premises have a view of the lake; it’s why lodge staff keep the firepits on the shoreline ready for use all year round; it’s why the expansive deck off the restaurant is equipped with heaters. “We want to extend the season as long as we can,” Swenson says. But even in the heart of winter, guests get out to enjoy both the lake and the woods around it. Visitors can lace up their boots for a nice snowy hike along the Superior National Trail. They can ski, snowshoe, or snowmobile. And then they can come back to the lodge and warm up by the fire. “We’ve got a big wood fireplace that’s often going,” Swenson says. “It’s very inviting.”

Spider Lake Lodge
Hayward, Wisconsin
800-653-9472

When this rustic resort first opened in 1923 as Moody’s Fish Camp, it was modeled after the great lodges in New York’s Adirondack Mountains. When it was resurrected as a bed-and-breakfast more than half a century later, the new owners, Jim Kerkow and Craig Mason (interior designers who owned the celebrated Sticks and Stones home décor store in the Twin Cities), paid attention to those rustic roots. Now Spider Lake Lodge, surrounded by Wisconsin woods and overlooking Big Spider Lake, is again a peaceful retreat where guests can just as easily enjoy the outdoors as they can linger in their cozy rooms or in the comfortable great room that is furnished with many of the proprietors’ own designs. Thanks to a new partnership with Minneapolis entrepreneur Deb Ward-Ingstad, plans are underway to expand the guest amenities and services in 2007 to include music events and intimate dining experiences. “We get just about as many people who come here with a book and a glass of wine and sit in front of the fireplace as we do the sports enthusiasts,” Mason says. “We get a quieter crowd—a lot of couples looking for a quiet getaway.” Often, that getaway includes cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or ice skating on the rink that Kerkow and Mason clear on the lake. “It’s so beautiful, especially at night,” Mason says. “You can look down at the lights on the lake; we just love it.”

Cove Point Lodge
Beaver Bay, Minnesota
800-598-3221

You don’t pay extra to get a view of the lake at Cove Point Lodge. All forty-five rooms, as well as the cottages and cabins, look out over Lake Superior. “We don’t charge extra for lake views,” says marketing director Signe McKie of the lodge that’s tucked into a secluded cove near Beaver Bay on the North Shore of Lake Superior. “The lake is what people come up to see.” But the Cove Point experience includes far more than staring at the water. Guests can take off through the woods on snowshoes provided by the lodge; when they return, they can warm up in the whirlpool or sauna or sit by the fire either in the main lodge or in their own room. Many find themselves so relaxed they wander down to dinner in their socks. “When you’re up here, you feel like you’re getting away from it all,” McKie says. “It’s a wonderful, secluded getaway.”

Lutsen Resort
Lutsen, Minnesota
800-258-8736

You can see Lake Superior as you drive down the long, winding driveway into Lutsen Resort—it’s a burst of brilliant blue behind the snowdrifts and the Scandinavian lodge. “[The lake] can be crashing like crazy or blue and sparkly. It’s very moody,” says Lutsen Resort owner Nancy Burns. Whatever the lake’s mood, the lodge makes the best of it. On windy winter days, when the water freezes as waves rush over the rocks, the staff point out to guests the ice formations. On nice days, they offer guided snowshoeing or cross-country skiing tours. And when it’s just too cold to go anywhere near the lake, there are board games to play in front of the big fireplace in the lobby—just as guests have been doing since the late 1880s. “There’s a lot of history and tradition tied to this lodge,” Burns says. “That’s the other thing that really draws people back; they really do have a strong relationship with this resort, and they want to share it with others.”

Cable Nature Lodge
Cable, Wisconsin
866-794-2060

Almost three decades ago, the building that is now the Cable Nature Lodge was a restaurant—and Bill Brakken served drinks in its bar. Now it’s a seven-room bed-and-breakfast lodge that Brakken owns and operates in the heart of Wisconsin’s Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. “We’re on twenty-two acres of wooded land,” Brakken says. “You’ve got forest views from all of the rooms.” The lodge, which opened in the summer of 2005, fits right into the rustic setting; the exterior is done in cedar siding, and the interior is all knotty pine and cedar. “I call it elegant rustic,” Brakken says. “It has the feel of an old-style lodge, but with all the modern amenities.” Such as private bathrooms, an in-room air-jet tub, satellite TV, even wireless Internet. Someday soon, it will also have an on-site restaurant and lounge in the still-unfinished lower level. But for now, most guests are content to relax in their rooms or by the fireplace in the lobby after playing outside. Many ski on nearby trails, or wander around on the trails just out the door (snowshoes are available for guests to borrow). “We tend to attract the silent sport enthusiasts,” Brakken says.