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Because life's too short to stay home …
Favorites for Winter
Snow heaven on the Gunflint Trail
On the edge of the Boundary Waters, Nordic skiers find snow that sparkles into April.
Near escapes in Wisconsin
Water parks or waterfalls? Here are 10 places to go for a great winter getaway.
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.
Snowshoeing river canyons of the North Shore
In winter, ice creates scenic new routes for hikers.
Best brew fests
Quaff craft beer to your heart's content at these sampling parties.
Ice caves of the Apostles
Near Cornucopia, people wait for the window into a crystalline world to open.
Near escapes in Minnesota
Here are 10 places to go for a great winter getaway.
Before Valentine's Day, and as winter drags on, everyone starts thinking about romantic getaways.
Well, we already have a story about romantic places to stay, and beyond that, who can say what romance is?
Especially since "romantic" often is code for "expensive." We think romance has very little relationship to expenditure; we've found it in tents and camper cabins as well as luxurious inns. It's everywhere, if you look for it.
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.
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.
Toasting St. Pat
The Irish saint and his fans are back for a weekend packed with festivities.
Why do we love St. Patrick? Because when the landscape still is icy and white, he makes everything else turn green — clothes, beer, even rivers.
For that, the legendary Irish priest deserves sainthood.
Here are some good ways to celebrate his day in 2026.
A roof in the woods
In state and county parks and forests around the Upper Midwest, visitors love their camper cabins.
For people who love the outdoors, luxury is in the eye of the beholder.
Is it a Jacuzzi or a latrine? A four-course breakfast or a fire ring?
The answer is not so obvious. If the choice also includes starry skies, silence and snow-laden pines, many folks would take a camper cabin over a fancy inn, even if they have to use vault toilets and cook over a fire.
The best in snow tubing
With their multiple lanes, conveyor lifts and snow-making, these aren't your grandma's tubing hills.
On a 13-lane tubing superhighway, it's easy to feel 8 years old again.
When my daughter begged me to take her tubing at Elm Creek Park Reserve near Minneapolis, I wondered if I was too old to rocket down an icy hill.
But a professionally run tubing hill is nothing like a neighborhood sledding hill. Each lane is groomed, graded and separated by snow berms, so you don't have to worry about careening into a tree or someone's knees.