North House Folk School in Grand Marais
Forty miles southwest of the border with Canada, a Minnesota village of 1,400 overlooks a shore of near-paradise, its foundation hardy in character and nostalgic […]
Nature/Wildlife
National Eagle Center overlooks Mississippi
She is strong enough to fly but will never know what it feels like to soar. The bald eagle was found on the ground, near […]
Inside Ridges Sanctuary, Door County
Twenty-two years. That’s how long the dwarf lake iris has sat on the federal list of threatened plants, but I know where it grows like […]
Sea otters, belugas at Chicago’s Shedd
Rain tends to drive tourists indoors, but that’s not entirely why the soggy line to enter Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium was a block long on a […]
Photographer captures Ice Age Trail’s beauty
When I talked to Bart Smith this month, it wasn’t all that long after he had finished a hike that took him at least 15,000 […]
Inside UP’s remote Isle Royale National Park
Our 100-passenger ferry is rocking me like a drunken, slapdash sailor, so my eyes stay closed during most of this three-hour ride. I am a […]
Rock Island: least-visited state park in Wis.
The handwritten sign says “Rock Island Café,” and the only thing on the menu is fresh berries during this time of year. The sequence begins […]
Sylvania Wilderness: virgin timbers, pure air
We all have our own ideas about where the Northwoods begins, but how do you define true wilderness? Is it simply the lack of condo […]
Luxury camping, 10 miles into Grand Canyon
Most deaths here, our guide explains, can be attributed to poor judgment. Hikers underestimate how much water they will need, how close they are to […]
Visit state parks, other great natural retreats
It is easy to recommend a natural high for this weekend, as the annual Wisconsin State Parks Open House Day is Sunday. That means free […]