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Favorites for Winter
Near escapes in Minnesota
Skiing or skyways? Here are 10 places for a great winter getaway.
Snowshoeing river canyons of the North Shore
In winter, ice creates scenic new routes for hikers.
Serious reservations
Here's a guide to the lodgings, campsites and permits you should nail down early.
Ski out the door
From cozy north-woods lodges, guests glide into a world of white.
The coolest days of winter
Ditch the indoors for one of these great festivals.
The best in snow tubing
With their multiple lanes, conveyor lifts and snow-making, these aren't your grandma's hills.
Best of winter
Here are dozens of ways to savor the chilly season.
Cross-country skiing 101
There's no better way to enjoy the winter landscape, and anyone can do it.
Ski, snowshoe or hike by candlelight
In the winter, follow twinkling lights through snowy forests in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois.
If you do only one thing outdoors in winter, do it by candlelight.
Nothing is more magical than a forest full of flickering lights. I got hooked when I skied in Minnesota's Mille Lacs Kathio State Park.
Near escapes in Wisconsin
Here are 10 great places for a winter getaway.
When winter seems to be lasting forever, you just want to get away.
Of course, that's not so easy to do if you're buried in snow. Then you may have to get away a lot closer . . . maybe to the hotel around the corner.
Until then, here are some great winter getaways, each with lots to do and see.
Great places to snowshoe
In winter, the outdoors is wide open to those who walk on snow.
Everyone likes to snowshoe. It's cheap, easy and you can do it anywhere.
In winter, snowshoes are the bridge into the wild white yonder. They allow you get off the beaten path and to places that otherwise would be hard to explore-islands, overgrown woods, bogs and marshes.
In deep snow, the first person to break trail has to expend some serious effort. If you're the fourth or fifth person on the trail, though, that's just about right.
Ice caves of the Apostles
Near Cornucopia, people wait for the window into a crystalline world to open.
Along the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin, everyone waits for a big freeze.
Only when temperatures stay low for a long time will the edges of Lake Superior freeze enough for people to walk out to the mainland ice caves, whose beauty is renowned.
Even when ice is sufficiently solid, wind may suddenly split it, and snow may block the access drive. So when park rangers say it's okay to go — well, then you'd better go.
Until 2026, warm weather and/or winds kept cave access closed for more than a decade.
Wildlife reality show
Web cams open a window into the lives of bald eagles.
In the northeast Iowa town of Decorah, two pairs of nesting bald eagles have become an international phenomenon.
Not only do they have a constant stream of live video, but avid watchers are snatching the best episodes — capturing the many dramas that go on in and around the nest — and posting them on Youtube for everyone to enjoy.
The Raptor Resource Project has dubbed them Nestflix and posts links to the highlights on its Facebook page, along with regular and often entertaining updates and explanations.
Staying warm in winter
If you know what to wear, getting through winter is a breeze.
In this chilly region, smart men are on to Victoria's Secret.
Shopping at the mall, they breeze right by the silk nighties, the gold bracelets, the dainty perfumes. Because what Victoria secretly wants for Christmas are merino-wool undies, a goose-down parka and moosehide mukluks.
When I was a newcomer to Minnesota, my boyfriend was a smart man. Our first Christmas, he gave me a bulky down parka that made me look like the Michelin man.