Fun After the Lakes Freeze
When temperatures drop, the Minocqua area transforms from a summer playground into winter activities hub.
Start your visit at the Island Inn, downtown Minocqua’s fortifying breakfast spot, or try family-friendly Lake Placid Inn, known for its French toast. Fill up on coffee, then bundle up and head outside.
At 6,500-acre Minocqua Winter Park and Nordic Center, 75 kilometers of groomed cross country skiing trails, a heated chalet, rentals and ski instructors welcome skiers of all levels. The park also boasts 11 kilometers of dedicated snow shoeing trails, a tubing hill and an ice-skating pond.
Lace up your skates in downtown Minocqua, too, at Torpy Park. Rather snowmobile? Bring your sled to Bearskin Trail, a reclaimed railroad transformed into an 18-mile course. Need a guide? Adventure North Snowmobile Tours & Rentals offers three-hour tours for novice through advanced snowmobilers.
Then, warm up over a casual dinner at Minocqua Brewing Company—don’t miss its Jan. 10 beer fest—or take Bad Bones BBQ’s mouthwatering to-go eats back to your lodgings and toast your toes and snow-bitten nose by the fire.
–Joyce Novacek
