After a busy summer and fall, the shoulder season in Grand Marais and along the North Shore of Lake Superior is a time for many residents and business owners to take a deep breath and transition into a slightly slower pace.
For Gunflint Trail lodge owners, while the flow of tourists slows following peak fall colors, the work doesn’t necessarily stop. The shoulder season, typically starting mid-October, quickly becomes a crucial time for lodge owners to prepare for the cold and busy winter. The various tasks include tackling maintenance projects, winterizing cabins, sneaking in a vacation if possible, and finding time to spend with friends and family.
During this brief shoulder season lull, lodge owners often focus on tasks such as deep cleaning cabins, fixing roofs, stocking firewood, prepping snowmobiles and groomers, pulling docks, and setting up equipment for winter activities. While the to-do list is long, it is also an opportunity for lodge owners to recharge personally and enjoy the temporary quieter lifestyle along the Gunflint Trail.
Borderland Lodge
Owners Stephanie Shea and Dave Catlette
As the fall colors and leaves fade, the owners of Borderland Lodge on Gunflint Lake are busy preparing for winter by tackling numerous maintenance tasks and trying their best to catch up on unfinished summer projects.
“We’re focusing mostly on tree and brushwork, gutters, and just cleaning out the property,” said owner Stephanie Shea. Whenever they have a spare hour or two, Shea said, they are busy clearing out vegetation to make way for new growth and planting more drought-tolerant native species.
To help accomplish the numerous tasks, Borderland Lodge closes in November and reopens at the start of December. The month without commitments to guests or dining service allows Shea and her husband, Dave Catlette, to finish projects and sneak away for much-needed family time.
“This year, we’re closing up for November,” Shea said. “My mom has a birthday in early November, so I plan on surprising her for dinner and a family portrait session since we rarely (are) in the same place at once.”
In addition to surprise birthday parties, Shea and Catlette spend the shoulder season visiting friends, catching up on TV shows and movies, and tinkering with the never-ending winter projects. A big focus this November will also be testing recipes as Borderland Lodge plans to expand its evening dining service. Shea said she is “looking forward to cozy evenings with a beer testing out recipes.”
Many Gunflint Trail lodge owners, including Shea and Catlette, felt the impact of the minimal snow conditions during the 2023-24 winter season, as guest bookings and recreational winter activities were down. With less than a month to go until their winter season begins, Shea said she is optimistic for the upcoming winter. “I think people will be really itching to get out this year,” she said. “We just need the snow to show up.”
Gunflint Pines
Owner Shari Baker
Across Gunflint Lake at Gunflint Pines Resort and Campground, owner Shari Baker spends her November and shoulder season months accomplishing similar maintenance and winter prep tasks. Other fall to-do list priorities are catching up on bookkeeping and ski trail clearing. As a member of the Upper Gunflint Ski Trail System, Baker begins clearing ski trails of downed trees and brush in late September.
“As soon as it starts to slow down a little bit with guests, we start trying to take care of those tasks,” she said.
As fall temperatures drop into the 30s overnight, Baker also pulls boats out of the water and winterizes equipment. With numerous ongoing maintenance and a growing to-do list, the Gunflint Pines owner stays relatively busy during the slower shoulder season.
Despite her busy schedule, Baker said she makes an effort to spend time outdoors and with family in November, similar to other Gunflint Trail lodge owners. This year, however, might only be a week or two compared to the entire month of November last year.
“This year, I’m probably going to try to take a week, but I don’t know,” Baker said. “I might just keep going because winter was a little hard last year.”
Although the minimal snow conditions provided Baker a mental and physical break, given that snow shoveling and plowing were almost non-existent, she said, “There was a bit of a monetary hit.”
While guest bookings may have been down last winter, the guests staying at Gunflint Pines made the best of the situation and enjoyed walking trails rather than skiing. “They made the best of the outdoors,” said Baker. “I was really impressed by that.”
While the cross-country skiers had a difficult time last winter, the ice fisherman took advantage of the thick ice and minimal snow conditions. “We had enough ice, so a lot of the fisherman didn’t really get impacted that much,” Baker said. “So, while it was a monetary hit, it was probably less disastrous than it could have been.”
As winter approaches, there is only one wish Baker has: “Hopefully, there’s snow.”
She said, “I am looking forward to snow again and getting out grooming. I don’t want too much snow, so I’m careful what I wish for. A little bit of shoveling, but not a lot.”
Golden Eagle Lodge
Owners Zach Baumann and Ruth Wagner
The time frame for what owners of Golden Eagle Lodge considered the shoulder season has gradually evolved in recent years. The ”shoulder” or “quiet” season typically started around Sept. 15 and now begins after MEA weekend.
The change, owner Ruth Wagner said, was because Golden Eagle Lodge recognized there was room for improvement within the fall months and focused efforts to increase guest bookings and fall activities.
With a busy summer and fall in the rearview mirror, Wagner said it felt like business had returned to normal after a busy few years during the pandemic. “We were busy, but it was a more manageable busy, with more of our typical customer base,” she said. “Camping has been down across all three of our campgrounds this year, but cabins have remained very full.”
As Wagner and her husband, Zach Baumann, transition from summer to winter operations, a significant area of focus is mowing ski trails in preparation for early winter grooming. “Both ourselves and Bearskin Lodge spend the months of August and September mowing the trails in preparation for early winter grooming,” Wagner said.
Golden Eagle Lodge recently purchased a 2023 Pisten Bully 100 trail groomer and has enjoyed breaking in the new equipment. Unfortunately, snow conditions proved to be minimal last year, which allowed for some creative opportunities. Wagner said the lack of snow on the trails didn’t hinder grooming operations. Instead, the owners plowed snow on the property and then blew the snow onto the Flour Lake ski trails to create a groomable base.
“Our level of commitment to fighting through and making something out of nothing paid off for us,” Wagner said. “We had weekends when the parking lot was packed with guests out skiing our 10k loop on the lake.”
Although overall winter business was down and the normal 70km of ski trails weren’t open, Wagner said, they made the best of the situation. While Wagner and Baumann remain dedicated to adapting to whatever Mother Nature throws at them, she said, “There is nothing any of us would love more than to get 24 inches of snow on December 10 and then get 2-3 inches of additional snow twice a week for the rest of the winter.”
“That’s all probably too much to ask,” Wagner said. “But a good base early in the season would be a great start!”
Before grooming and ski season ramp up, Golden Eagle Lodge closes for the month of November. Sometimes, Wagner said, they spend the time escaping to the south to enjoy camping, hiking, and mountain biking with the dogs for a couple of weeks. A few months ago, in September, Wagner traveled to Germany for a fall vacation. As a Gunflint Trail lodge owner and Piston Bully enthusiast, it was no surprise that one of her stops included the world-famous Kässbohrer World Headquarters to drool over the latest and greatest snow grooming equipment.
Once the snow starts to fly, Wagner and Baumann will fire up the Piston Bully and hit the ski trails for the long winter months ahead.
Nor’Wester Lodge & Outfitters
Owners Carl and Luana Brandt
Less than 6 miles away, over at Nor’wester Lodge & Outfitters, owners Carl and Luana Brandt are settling into the shoulder season with many of the same tasks as those of her Gunflint Trail lodge neighbors.
And a very similar optimistic wish for the upcoming winter season.
“I would love a booming, absolutely incredible winter,” owner Luana Brandt said. “We need it.”
Between dreaming of a booming winter season, the Brandts stay busy deep cleaning and repairing the cabins. “We start cleaning like mad and doing repairs that we couldn’t get to during the summer,” she said. “And making plans for what needs to be repaired next spring in cabins that will not be used over the winter.”
Nor’Wester shuts down a handful of their less energy-efficient cabins during winter and operates four larger townhome-style units with full kitchens for larger parties. It’s typically a busy fall as the Brandts pull docks, drain the cabin water lines, take equipment inventory, and, last but not least, prep the plow truck.
“October is frenetic activity,” said Luana. “It’s just getting everything prepped and ready to go.”
Luana said that even though she has been in the lodge industry for nearly five decades, something on the winter prep to-do list gets forgotten each year. One year, Carl forgot to turn a valve off underneath a cabin, resulting in a blown plumbing line. Despite the fairly consistent missed task each year, Luana maintains an upbeat attitude. “You have to laugh because otherwise you have tears streak down your face all the time.”
For the Brandts, Luana said, November is a time to sleep in a little later, entertain friends and family, and sit down with a “darn good book and a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, and watch the snowfall.”
