Making Tracks

You can’t talk about Maplelag without mentioning the family behind the operation. Jim Richards’s broad interests are ever present throughout the museumlike collections. Mary Richards has been by Jim’s side since those first drops of maple sap started to flow. Her personalized touches can be seen throughout the lodge—especially in the kitchen. Son Jay, who excelled in cross-country skiing while attending Concordia College, now develops and maintains the ski trails at Maplelag and also gets involved in many of the events.

The family atmosphere just lends to the casual feeling that still prevails at the lodge. Guests continue to bring their own sleeping bags (although they can rent linens and towels) and sleep in fairly modest but comfy lodgings that range from simple cabinlike quarters with wide bunk beds to refurbished railroad caboose suites. The individual accommodations, like the lodge, call for guests to collect in a group, as there are no TVs, phones, or video games in the rooms. Instead, guests are encouraged to ice skate, snowshoe, read in the lodge, or participate in the variety show held every Saturday night. The family also aims to provide the comforts of home to all guests. If the Scandinavian–inspired foods, which often include imported lingonberries, flat breads, and cheeses, don’t fill you up, head to the snack station where there are bottomless cookie jars next to the endless spout of steaming coffee, tea, cider, and hot chocolate.

You are your own pacemaker at Maplelag. There are few distractions here. The main lodge offers a quiet haven to read or reflect. It’s like a big family living room and you are surrounded by relatives who seldom visit. If you need more quiet—but don’t want the solitude of your room—you can venture up to the library. The entire second floor of the lodge is one huge reading room. A wide, thickly padded bench runs along the perimeter of the hall with wall-mounted reading lights installed every few yards, creating individual reading stations for guest. Standing like sentries along the central core of the library are columns made of pine burls that were harvested near a thermal area of Yellowstone Park. It’s just another touch of class at Maplelag.

Tom Watson is a freelance writer who lives in Owatonna and often writes about the outdoors.