ByStephanie Pearson
Published December 4, 2023
• 12 min read
If you’re looking for an active winter vacation, there are two strategies: Head toward the snow and cold to ski, sled, and skate; or get as far away from the white stuff as possible. At these nine North American lodges, there’s a hibernal experience for everyone, not all of which require a warm hat and mittens.
Hôtel de Glace, Québec, Canada
Winter fun: Ice skating, snow tubing, sleeping on a slab of ice
The Hôtel de Glace, 20 miles northwest of Québec City, is North America’s only ice hotel. Each winter, sculptors use 2,000 blocks of ice and 35,000 tons of snow to build a grand entrance hall, wedding chapel, bar, and 30 guestrooms to open in early January.
“One of the challenges is to have the three elements—snow, ice, and light—work together,” says the project’s artistic director, Guy-Olivier Deveau. “If you put an ice sculpture right in front of a snow wall, it will be invisible. You have to create some contrasts to make the elements pop.”
After spending the night on a frozen bed, guests can take a hot shower at the Hôtel Valcartier next door and go snow tubing or ice skating at the neighboring winter playground.
(Embrace the cold at ice hotels and igloos around the world.)
Flamingo Lodge, Everglades National Park, Florida
Winter fun: Birdwatching, hiking, or paddling
Shipping containers—some elevated on stilts—were used to construct the new Flamingo Lodge near the southernmost visitor center of Florida’s Everglades National Park. The only hotel in the park replaces earlier structures felled by hurricanes. In addition to bright, simple rooms, guests find an indoor-outdoor restaurant and views of Florida Bay.
From the lodge, hike the Guy Bradley or Coastal Prairie trails to spot herons, egrets, ibis, and spoonbills. Or rent canoes or kayaks and paddle through mangrove tunnels and rivers of grass on the 99-mile-long Everglades Wilderness Waterway.
The new lodge “really is beautiful,” says Charlie Arazoza of the Alliance for Florida’s National Parks. “The birdwatching out of Flamingo is incredible and the best place to see a crocodile in Florida is at the marina.”
Métis Crossing, Alberta, Canada
Winter fun: Stargazing, Indigenous storytelling, snowshoeing
Stargaze and learn about the culture of Canada’s Métis, people of mixed Indigenous and Euro-American ancestry, from the new domed skywatching cabins at Métis Crossing.
The 512-acre cultural center—on the Saskatchewan River 80 miles northeast of Edmonton—has near-zero light pollution. This makes night sky viewing around the campfire particularly spellbinding, as Métis interpreters explain how their ancestors used the stars to chart routes across the plains. The heated cabins, which cluster around the main lodge, have transparent ceilings positioned over the beds for stellar views of the aurora borealis and meteor showers.
“The cool thing about winter observing here? It’s dark at 5 p.m. and the sun rises well after 8 a.m. We’re looking at 15 to 16 hours of darkness in which the aurora can play,” says Alister Ling, a member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, who helped set up the powerful Celestron 6SE telescopes in the main lodge.
(Head to these 7 destinations to see the aurora borealis.)
Tordrillo Mountain Lodge, Alaska
Winter fun: Heli-skiing, fat-tire biking through the snow
Few destinations are better suited for serious powder hounds than Tordrillo Mountain Lodge, 60 miles northwest of Anchorage, and accessible only by seaplane. Two luxurious chalets (each sleeps 12) and two intimate cabins (each sleeps two) sit along Judd Lake in the midst of a million acres of Alaskan terrain that averages 600 inches of light snow every winter. Skiers are drawn by that, plus dry weather, clear skies, and ski runs with dazzling views of Denali and the Alaska Range.
“Tordrillo is an island,” says Dave Hahn, a mountaineer and guide. “You fly into it and out, so it [feels] apart from this world.”
He’s one of six guides here who together have a combined total of one hundred years of heli-ski and avalanche safety experience, so less-than-expert skiers are in good hands. Calmer winter pastimes include cross-country skiing or fat-tire biking on a groomed 12-mile trail and lounging in the lakeside, wood-fired sauna. At night, the cozy dining room serves up Alaska king crab and varietals from a 500-bottle wine cellar.
Lone Mountain Ranch, Montana
Winter fun: Cross-country skiing and sleigh rides
This 148-acre resort within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem began life as a cattle ranch in 1915. Today it’s a winter playground with 50 miles of meticulously groomed cross-country ski trails winding through ponderosa groves and up steep Montana mountains. “We’ve got a lot of vertical,” says Randy Hall, director of the ranch’s Nordic program. “But if you’re lazy like me, get a ride up to the top of the trail system and it’s all downhill.”
Renovated historic cabins nestle in the forest, on the banks of North Fork Creek, or on a ridgeline. They have an Old West vibe with modern comforts: in-floor bathroom heating, soaking tubs, and wood fireplaces. The Horn & Cantle restaurant serves steelhead trout and wild game, or guests can hop a horse-drawn sleigh to a log cabin-turned-dinner theater for plates of prime rib with a side of cowboy singing and storytelling.
Keweenaw Mountain Lodge, Michigan
Winter fun: Snowshoeing backcountry trails and photographing the aurora
On the tip of Michigan’s 150-mile-long Keweenaw Peninsula, which juts into Lake Superior like a hitchhiker’s thumb, this isolated mountain lodge has deep snow, dark winter skies, and 24 rustic log cabins around a lodge built during the Great Depression. By day, guests cross-country ski or snowshoe through thick forest, following tracks of pine marten, snowshoe hare, or even wolf. At night, the lodge keeps exterior lights very low to foster unfettered views of the stars and frequent aurora borealis.
“I snowshoed onto the golf course at 2 or 3 a.m. and it was completely dark,” says Tom Oliver, who teaches photography classes here. “I imagined what it would have been like for a fur trader in the 1700s or early 1800s moving through the north woods in the middle of the night.”
The lodge’s 10 miles of winter ski and snowshoe trails are open December 15-April 15. It also hosts special events such as a Moonlit Snowshoe Hike in January and the Upper Peninsula Dark Sky Festival in April.
Charit Creek Lodge, Tennessee
Winter fun: Hike, mountain bike, or horseback ride
Guests must hike, bike, or ride a horse 1.3 miles from the Cumberland Plateau to reach this lodge in a wooded valley of Tennessee’s Big South Fork National Recreation Area. They’ll stay in restored 1800s cabins, a lodge, or a converted stable where there’s no cell phone coverage or electricity (at night, you see by oil-burning lanterns or flashlights).
Adding to the down-home ambiance, meals (cheese grits, chicken and dumplings) are served family style. “It’s for people who want a more off-the-grid experience,” says Big South Fork’s chief of interpretation and education Christopher Derman.
From the lodge, you can reach multiple hiking trails, including the 4.6-mile-long loop trail to Twin Arches, the largest natural arch east of the Mississippi River. Pro tip: Bring a good book; with no electronic distractions, you can spend hours reading.
Mountain Top Inn and Resort, Vermont
Winter fun: Ice skating on a frozen lake, Nordic skiing, horse-drawn sleigh rides
On land that once held an 1870s turnip farm, this winter sports hub sprawls across 700 acres in Vermont’s Green Mountains. It has 37 miles of cross-country ski and snowshoe trails, an outdoor ice skating rink, a groomed sledding hill, and a horse-drawn sleigh route.
“Mountain Top is unique among New England ski resorts because of the variety of Nordic trails,” says Chloe Levins, a member of the United States Biathlon Team who grew up skiing here. “There are trails with technical corners, screaming descents, and grueling climbs.” But you’ll also find rolling, wide trails easy enough for beginners.
(Want dreamy winter photos? Take to the air with a drone.)
Aspen Meadows Resort, Colorado
Winter fun: Alpine and cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, birding
The lodge on the 40-acre campus of Colorado’s Aspen Institute isn’t your stereotypical antlers-over-the-fireplace ski hotel. The circa-1950, Bauhaus-inspired structure features rooms with primary colors and clean-lined, functional furniture.
From Aspen Meadows, electric shuttles take skiers to and from three of the four Aspen Snowmass areas: Buttermilk, Aspen Mountain, and Aspen Highlands. Hero’s, at Aspen Mountain, holds 153 new acres of skiing and snowboarding terrain.
“At Aspen you have access to a huge amount of terrain,” says Gordy Megroz, a local ski instructor and author of National Geographic’s 100 Slopes of a Lifetime. “You can ski moguls at Aspen Mountain one day and go to Highland the next day to take some powder turns.”
Other winter pleasures include birding and snowshoe tours by ACES (the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies) or cross-country skiing on the Aspen Snowmass Nordic Trail System in the Roaring Fork Valley.
Stephanie Pearson is a Michigan-based travel writer and a National Geographic Explorer. Follow her on Instagram.
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