Ely, Minnesota: a winter girls weekend in the American Arctic

Ely sits at the edge of the Boundary Waters, far enough north that in midwinter the days are short and the dark is genuinely dark. That is the point. It is the closest thing America has to the Scandinavian Arctic, and the town has built its winter around the same things Norway and Finland do: saunas, candlelight, bonfires, and staying out in the cold on purpose.

If the group has done the wine-and-boutique weekend before, this is the one that will surprise them.

When to go

Mid-winter, for the Winter Festival and the snow-sculpting symposium. Late January has the deepest snowpack and the quietest trails.

Go for the dark, not despite it. The aurora needs it.

What a weekend costs

$130 to $600 per person per day. The bottom of that range is real if you stay at Motel Ely and cook; the top is an off-grid cabin and guided trips every day.

Where you would stay

Grand Ely Lodge has lake-view rooms, saunas, and snowshoes you can borrow. It is the straightforward choice.

Burntside Lodge is cabins with fine dining and trail access from the door.

Whispering Pines is off-grid solar cabins you reach by snowmobile. Book this one if the group wants the story.

Motel Ely faces north, which is the detail that matters: you can watch for the aurora without leaving the room.

Sandy Point Resort has lakeside units with private docks and a communal sauna.

Every decision, already made for you

Where to stay, where to eat, what to do, and a ready made 48 hour plan for every town. Pick one, send it to the group, go.

See the handbookOne time payment. Love it or full refund.

Where you would eat

Boathouse Brewpub does a winter menu with duck confit pizza and smoked trout pate, and brews a Yulefest ale spiced with cardamom and nutmeg.

Burntside Lodge is the dinner to dress for. Walleye, venison, root vegetables.

Grand Ely Lodge Cafe opens early with wild rice soup and oatmeal, which is what you want before a day outside.

Log Cabin Coffee is a drive-thru for breakfast sandwiches and hot drinks on the way to a trail.

What to drink

Northern Grounds does maple-chai lattes by a wood stove.

Dorothy's Root Beer makes winter batches of root and birch beer, which is the one for anyone not drinking.

Ely Liquor carries evergreen-infused gin and a peppermint bark liqueur.

Winter Beer Fest in February has flights and brewery tours.

The parts most visitors miss

Candlelight Ski at Hidden Valley: the trails are lit by hundreds of candles at dusk. This is the thing people remember.

Winter Festival has the snow-sculpting symposium and the ArtWalk pins.

Nordic Beard Festival is a midwinter heritage celebration with live music and bonfires, and it is exactly as odd and as fun as it sounds.

Ely Opera House screens winter films when it is too cold to be outside.

What you can do that you cannot do anywhere else

Chilly Dogs runs half-day drive-your-own-team husky rides.

Aurora Hunt takes a minivan to dark-sky sites in late winter.

White Wilderness does five-mile day trips or overnight expeditions.

Grand Ely Sauna is open year round with extended hours, and Sandy Point has a communal wood-burning sauna over Shagawa Lake.

What the weekend looks like

Friday is a naturalist snowshoe tour, a Yulefest ale and duck confit pizza. Saturday is driving a husky team, a maple-chai latte to thaw out, and the candlelight ski at dusk. Sunday is ice fishing, lunch on Shagawa Lake and the snow carvings at Whiteside Park.

The full plan, with what to book first and how far ahead, is in The Girls' Trip Handbook.

This town is one of 80 on the Feels Like Europe Index, all of which pass the same five points.

Frequently asked questions