Follow the snow to northern Wisconsin’s classic winter resorts
by James Edward Mills
My wife, Shamane, and I are fans of an active lifestyle. So when temperatures plummet, our thoughts turn to the resorts of the North Woods. We head up after work on Fridays, traveling through chilly winter darkness. Falling flakes of snow reflect our headlights and speed past our windshield like stars streaking through hyperspace. We’ve got our skis on the roof rack, a cooler full of snacks, and warm clothes. Shamane rides shotgun, alternating between knitting and napping.
Not far from the metropolitan communities of Minneapolis, Chicago, and Milwaukee, the classic resorts of northern Wisconsin offer visitors the ultimate in winter activities, whether you’re a family looking for a place to take the kids snowboarding or a young adult training for a competitive season of cross-country skiing. We’re heading for the Telemark Resort in Cable, just off County Highway M, a classic North Woods resort with just about everything a winter sports nut like me could possibly want.
A massive fireplace centers the grand lobby. Vintage skis, snowshoes, ice fishing gear, and other rustic memorabilia embellish walls of rough-cut wood and stone. Photographs and trophies of cross-country ski champions spanning more than three decades line the hallways. These nostalgic icons immediately immerse you in the familiar sensibility of a North Woods getaway.
We usually stay in one of the more than 190 rooms in the main lodge, which include luxury suites and condos with Jacuzzi bathtubs, full kitchens, and laundry facilities. All of the rooms offer balconies with expansive views of the surrounding snow-capped hillsides.
The less expensive rooms are clean, but a bit on the shabby side. The carpets are dingy and show cigarette burns. The curtains are a bit frayed at the edges. And we couldn’t care less. For us, a room at the Telemark is a place to keep our stuff while we’re out enjoying ourselves and a spot to crash when we’re done. Four walls, a roof, a bed, and a shower are all the accommodations we need for a great North Woods weekend.
The Telemark Resort is best known as the starting point of the American Birkebeiner cross-country ski marathon. Thousands of people gather every year in February to race the 52-kilometer course from Cable to Hayward. We’re usually in town for four days. Skiers often visit Telemark to train on the 65 kilometers of ski trails here, which are groomed for both classic and skate skiing. Some 20 miles of marked snowshoe trails make the nearby woods accessible even to non-skiers.
If sleds are your thing, check out the snowmobile trail that starts just a few hundred feet from the resort’s front door, and connects with the thousand or so miles of snowmobile trails that run through the nearby Chequamegon National Forest and Bayfield and Sawyer county forests.
Once temperatures get well below freezing, Telemark offers a frozen pond for ice-skating. Lighted for night skating, the pond is a great place to watch kids and adults flash their blades in graceful ice dances and bone-chilling fast breaks.
After skiing through the day, Shamane and I look forward to a dip in the swimming pool and hot tub just off the resort’s lobby. There’s nothing like a warm soak to ease sore muscles. A game room on the second floor has a pool table and video games; I’m partial to the alien annihilation game Area 51. And a small shop offers a selection of new-release movies on DVD to rent, as well as DVD players you can take to your room.
If you’re up late, the Baby King Haakon Bar & Grill serves après-ski cocktails and bar food like hamburgers, pizza, fries, and free popcorn. For a more substantial meal, make a reservation at the Outpost Restaurant. The classic Friday all-you-can-eat Wisconsin fish fry is well worth the price.
By Sunday morning, Shamane and I are ready to pack the car and head home, revitalized and relaxed from another glorious weekend in the North Woods.