IF YOU GO
Patten Homestead Sleigh Rides are offered in the evenings, Tuesday through Saturday ($110 for two people, plus $15 for each additional person). Reservations required (1-218-388-9423; www.okontoe.com/sleighrides.htm).
Poplar Creek Guesthouse, a three-room bed-and-breakfast on Little Ollie Lake, also offers a cabin and yurts along the trails. Rooms start at $115/night. Owners Barbara and Ted Young also run Boundary Country Trekking, which coordinates lodge-to-lodge ski vacations. Some places include breakfast and can offer box lunches for the trail, ski rentals and lessons (1-800-322-8327; www.boundarycountry.com).
Bearskin Lodge & Resort offers townhouses and cabins overlooking Bearskin Lake and is the closest lodging to sleigh rides with the Patten family. It offers gourmet meals such as grilled elk and roasted vegetable ravioli in Justine's dining room ($18-$30 for dinner) or lighter fare at its more casual Red Paddle Bistro ($7-$18). If you stay, cabins start at $169/night for two people, breakfast included. Day visitors pay $16 a person to use Bearskin's trail (1-800-338-4170; www.bearskin.com).
Trail Center Lodge is an eclectic and welcoming restaurant whose menu includes "goober burgers" (with peanut butter and mayonnaise) and all-you-can-eat crab legs (1-218-388-2214; www.trailcenter lodge.com).
Information: Gunflint Trail Association at 1-800-338-6932 and www.gunflint-trail.com.
LISA MEYERS MCCLINTICK
