Ultimate Guide to Winter Adventures☀️ [Midwest Edition]
kayak the ice caves, winter hike + adventure resource links
Winter used to be hibernation time for me, but when I moved to Grand Marais, Minnesota in 2020 all of that changed.
Living somewhere cold and dark and snowy, and alone, I had to figure out a way to love the winter instead of spend it inside. I started waking up to watch the sunrise, and using every scrap of spare time to go and winter hike— I learned to cross country ski (badly). Now, I sort of love the winter. Here are some midwest winter adventures (and winter outdoors tips!) to get you outside and smiling this winter:
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winter kayaking the ice caves
Last Sunday, I met up with a bunch of my paddling friends (mostly coastal kayaking guides and former guides/instructors) to sea kayak the Meyers Beach Sea Caves while they’re iced over! There’s a pretty narrow window generally where this is possible, both because this side of the shore freezes and because it’s often too rough of Lake conditions to make it out, especially with chunks of ice to factor in.
It’s hard to understate what an incredible experience this was. I work in the outdoors and have been incredibly lucky to experience a lot of really special things— every now and then I get this feeling, this overwhelming oh wow, i am the luckiest person alive to be here, in my body, in this place. Going through the caves I guide day trips through in the summer all dressed up in icicles, light filtering through so it looked like they were glowing, I had that feeling.
[other places/times i had that feeling? winter camping in Olympic, kayaking negative tides, surrounded by Orcas at work, Toba Inlet, Michigan’s Shipwreck Coast]
how to winter kayak
Q: Hey Maddy winter kayaking on the Great Lakes looks incredible? How can I winter kayak on Lake Superior!?
To be totally honest, my winter kayaking adventures are the culmination of 6+ years of coastal kayaking experience and accumulation of safety gear. At minimum for basic winter kayaking, you want a drysuit, PFD/lifejacket, and a safety kit.
On Lake Superior even in the summer, you generally want to venture out only in a sea kayak, a kayak greater than 16 ft in length with sealed bulkheads, or pockets of air at either end so that the boat doesn’t sink if you capsize, and deep water self & assisted rescue skills. I work as a coastal kayaking guide on Superior in the summers.
In the summer, Lake Superior is unpredictable1 with wind and waves. In the winter, the cold and waves and wind are all amplified, add in the complication of ice pack, which drifts around the open lakes. Basically in the winter the risks are pretty huge, and the normal bystanders and rescue resources available in the summer are minimal. It’s pretty unusual to find guided winter kayaking tours on Superior due to the cost of drysuits, liability, and that there are super limited days it’s possible and super limited interest. This isn’t me telling you straight up don’t go winter kayaking— but if you are coming to an internet person to ask if somethings is safe for you, the answer is no, it’s not. If it’s not a risk management call you can confidently make on your own, don’t trust the advice of an internet stranger no matter how qualified they seem.
Where can you book guided winter kayaking tours? Superior Paddle Academy does winter SUP tours; SAND adventures does ice kayaking in Ontario.
best winter hiking trails in the midwest…
Winter hiking is honestly one of the best things in the world, and more people do it than you think, which means that likely any trail shorter than four miles in length will be packed snow most of the winter, making it easy for winter hiking with microspikes.
Some of my favorite winter hiking trails include…
Caribou Rock Trail, Grand Marias (above, left).
Oberg Mountain Loop, Tofte (above right)
Sea Caves Trail, Cornucopia, WI
Houghton Falls, Washburn WI
Canyon Falls, MI
Dune Climb, MI
winter hiking vs snowshoeing?
Q: Where can I snowshoe? Wait, when do you hike and when do you snowshoe?!
Great question. The only time you need snowshoes on designated hiking trails is after a significant snowfall. Snowshoes are, however, great for hiking on frozen lakes or breaking trail.
For the most part, you’ll be better served with a good pair of winter hiking boots, gaiters, and microspikes (i actually use YakTrax runners with screws in the bottom)
Check out the link above for a full guide to what to wear and how to layer for winter hiking, as well as tips for finding great winter hiking near you :)
the simplicity of watching a winter sunrise :)
I’ve found a fair share of winter magic by just waking up with the sun— there is something so special about the way the winter light looks in the morning. Granted, life on Lake Superior certainly makes for some extra lovely winter sunrises, but getting up and outside to feel the sun on your face first thing in the morning anywhere, especially somewhere cold and snowy, is really magical.
Winter Waterfalls!?
Personally one of my favorite things to do in the winter is check out frozen waterfalls! Here’s just a quick list of some favorites…
High Falls, MN
Cascade Falls, MN
Copper Falls, WI
Another thing I’ve come to really love is frozen river hikes and skiing. For more on that (because it’s really too much info to put in an email) download the eBooks linked below!
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Best saunas in the Upper Midwest…
Saunas are the new big thing up north, and honestly I’m so here for it. Here are some highlights:
Hot Island Sauna, Madeline Island
Takka Saunas, Keweenaw
Sauna Camps, Twin Cities
Sisu and Loyly, Grand Marais
Cedar and Stone, Duluth
truth is lately…
I haven’t been outside that much. I’ve been working a full time job while still freelancing, and while on Instagram it looks like I’m outside, having fun alllll the time, that’s not really true in practice. I got back from Berlin two weeks ago visiting a friend and went to work very sick (online). I spent that Saturday on the couch reading, then went for the winter paddle Sunday, barely rallying but knowing I didn’t want to miss the chance. Since last Sunday… well, I still haven’t been feeling a hundred percent and I have a lot of catch up work to do.
Andy and I went for a few walks just around the neighborhood. Yesterday, Saturday, I spent inside reading and wrapping presents, cleaning then painting. I’m writing this on Sunday, and truth is if I want to catch up on my blogging and freelancing work (and I do) I’ll work all day today and tomorrow on that. Then holiday festivities with family. I’ll probably not truly get outside until next weekend (hopefully visiting family in Michigan!).
And that’s totally okay! That’s real life— making the most of magic moments as you have them
come on adventure with me this summer!
It’s time to start thinking summer adventures and what to do with that PTO! Last summer, I ran two custom women’s paddling adventures and two climbing trips and they were a blast!
If you want to join a group of awesome ladies on an overnight paddling trip (guided by me!) check out this summers trips. Use the code Maddy25 for $50 off registration, and feel free to email me at hello [at] madelinemarquardt.com with any questions!
okay so here’s the thing— Lake Superior is actually not that unpredictable. She’s a little ornery, for sure, but unpredictable is not entirely true. Experienced Superior mariners can read the Lake. I can tell you at 8am when it’s oppressively hot and muggy and there’s haze in the sky and a little extra… feeling in the air that it’s going to storm big in the afternoon and we want to be off the water by 2 or 3, at the absolute latest. If a light northeast is blowing in, I know when we’ll be in the roughest water and when we’ll be in the windshadow of the islands. I know when the forecasted wind and waves pick up early that it’s only going to build and be bigger than the forecast, and I can feel it the second that wind switches. There are a lot of little things like that that make the Lake “unpredictable”, but that’s not really the right word. She’s just nuanced.