When you stay in a state park, you can't expect a lot of nightlife. Unless you count all of the stars. And the candlelight skiing. And the hot-cocoa cocktails. There's a lot to do in a state park, night and day. When friends and I rented a guesthouse in St. Croix State Park, we became part of an exclusive club — people who get to stay in relative luxury while being right in the middle of the action.
Read story and trip tipsIt's not every inn that makes a guest feel like a Rockefeller. But when my husband and I walked into the Wilson Schoolhouse Inn, we figured we had really risen in the world. "Hey, for once I feel like a millionaire," Torsten said, bounding around the restored Prairie-style school. "This is unbelievably cool."
Read story and trip tipsThere’s a surefire rule that applies to rented houses: Anything you really need but don’t bring is exactly what the house won’t have.
Read story and trip tipsIf you’ve always wanted a second home – or a third, or a fourth – you can acquire one, at least for a weekend. Many people who bought beach houses and country retreats rent them out, to help pay the mortgage. Browsing vacation-rental listings is like going on the Parade of Homes, except you get to stay in the house you like best.
Read story and trip tipsIn Bear Head Lake State Park near Ely, there are three places to spend the night: a tent, one of five rustic camper cabins and a modern split-level. On a subzero day in winter, one is better than the others.
Read story and trip tipsWhat a way to spend a weekend: hiking up and down ravines, clambering on rock, admiring views of water from ridgelines. “It’s like hiking on the North Shore,’’ my husband said. But it wasn’t Lake Superior’s North Shore. It was Iowa. And everyone knows Iowa is one big, flat cornfield.
Read story and trip tipsOn a summer day in Holland, Mich., all roads lead to the beach. When we were there one June, people streamed toward this broad swath of sand until the sun fell low on the horizon, making the fire-engine-red harbor beacon glow like an ember. They ate ice cream, they strolled on the breakwall, they took a last dip in Lake Michigan. But at 10 p.m. sharp, a police cruiser started flashing its red lights to shepherd everyone out of the park.
Read story and trip tipsSome really are cabins, but others are houses, complete with two-car garages, like the one at Bear Head Lake State Park, previously occupied by the park manager. Some were private houses that have been renovated, like the Illgen Falls Cabin in Tettegouche State Park.
Read story and trip tipsIt's not easy to find the cabin of your dreams. My friend Ellen knows, because she's been looking for years. "I want a cabin with a big stone fireplace, a pine floor and an old-fashioned bed, nestled in the woods with really tall pines or near a lake where you can go out skiing during the day,'' she says. "Not at a big resort with a ton of things to do, necessarily, but with some ice skating, can you picture that? "Something like Little House in the Woods,'' you know, with a braided rug. It doesn't have to be all fussy and brand-new. So many cabins are so modern, kind of like a hotel. I like rustic.''
Read story and trip tipsEvery week, a few dozen people join an exclusive club high above Minnesota's North Shore. To get there, they lug all their food and gear 1¾ miles up and down a steep hill. They draw their own water and make their own fires. They clean and then lug their garbage over the same hill. And they consider themselves lucky.
Read story and trip tipsIn Minnesota’s state parks, the goodies go way beyond hiking trails, picnic sites and fishing piers.
Read story and trip tipsMy niece loves a large Rottweiler named Rza, so her travel opportunities are limited. But one October, I rented a lake house near Cable, Wis., that allowed dogs, and both of them came. And we all had a great time: When Rza's happy, everyone's happy. "This is probably the best weekend of her life,'' said my niece, after we’d spent the day romping on the lawn and in the nearby forest.
Read story and trip tipsIn the middle of Minnesota's Wild River State Park, a ski’s length from 35 miles of groomed trails and a 10-minute trek from the St. Croix River, sits a cozy little house surrounded by forest. For one winter night, the two-bedroom, carpeted house, a private residence built not long before the park was established in 1978, belonged to me and my children. We arrived at dusk, and my children swarmed over it as only children can do, giving a running commentary: "Boy, this is a nice cabin,’’ said my son Peter. "Wow, a nice shower. Isn’t this great? And oh, look’’ — he peered out the window at a big thermometer — "you can tell the temperature.’’
Read story and trip tipsThis may sound strange, but I've heard that some people aren't that wild about winter. Go figure — they'd rather burrow into a cozy cabin with a good book and a glass of wine than go skiing or snowshoeing in freezing temperatures.
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