"If we don't have snow in the Twin Cities, an awful lot of people can't fathom it here," said Sally Nankivell, executive director of the Cook County Visitors Bureau, based in Grand Marais. It's been a slow season in the area, which includes Lutsen Mountain and the ski and snowmobile havens along the Gunflint Trail.

Still, snow flourishes at Lutsen Mountain and along the Gunflint Trail, where the 1,500-foot elevation translates to colder air and more flurries. "There hasn't been a shortage of winter play," Nankivell said. "It has been a matter of convincing people."

I was worried myself when I drove up two weeks ago. We passed Tofte: no snow. We drove into Grand Marais: brown. Then we drove just up the hill out of town to Pincushion Mountain. It was like entering a different land. Snow was everywhere.

The next day, we went farther up the Gunflint Trail to Bearskin Lodge, where the cross-country ski trails were brilliant. And that was before Mother Nature graced the area with another foot of white stuff last weekend. A friend was at Golden Eagle, near Bearskin, when the snow came floating down in pillowy flakes. She returned to Minneapolis with a ruddy, outdoor-induced glow. Another friend came back from Maplelag Resort, in the northwest part of the state, with reports of prime cross-country skiing conditions -- and yummy cookies.

So if you need a fix of winter before spring overrides it for another year, follow the compass north. Lutsen, which makes snow, stays open through mid-April. Many cross-country ski trails are groomed until the first week of April. The time is now.

Send your questions or tips to travel editor Kerri Westenberg at travel@startribune.com, and follow her on twitter @kerriwestenberg.