Because this winter is a bit different, we thought we’d start a “Know Before You Go” series. As part of this series, we’ll explain what’s open and you need to know…before you go.
This week we wanted to chat about the biggest winter attraction in the area, Lutsen Mountains. Please note that this information is current as of today, December 30th 2020, but that it is changing all the time. For the most updated information, check out Lutsen Mountains website here.
Here is what you need to know before you go to Lutsen Mountains:
you can pick up your tickets at the Gondola Base ticket office.Other Information that’s Good to Know:
If you are looking for any additional information, check out their “Ski Well, Be Well” page here.
The holiday break is a popular time to stay at Bluefin Bay Family of Resorts. Because of that, we wanted to make it easy for our guests to find all of the information they need on dining, activities, etc. so we have compiled it all here for you! If you are visiting us this week, know that we are grateful you are choosing to spend this time with us and we look forward to welcoming you.
Dining – Holiday Hours & Specials
Bluefin Grille will be closed on Christmas Eve and open on Christmas Day for takeout from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. That means that Bluefin Grille will be serving breakfast on Christmas Day (!) for the first time since before the pandemic. Following Christmas, Bluefin Grille will be open for takeout December 26 – December 31st from 2 – 9 p.m.
Coho will be closed on Christmas Day and open on Christmas Eve from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Following Christmas, Coho Café will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Activities
We’ll be having a Gingerbread House Making Contest for Christmas! Kits will be available for pickup on December 24th, while supplies last. Turn in your houses by 12:30pm on December 26th to be entered to win. First place receives a $50 gift card! Note that we do have limited quantities so first come, first served and only one kit per family please.
Our Activities Crew was able to bring back guided excursions last week, limited to 3 households. This means that we have some tours available, but they fill up quickly! Check out the available tours here.
We will also have available:
Waves of Superior Spa
The Spa is open for massage appointments! Give them a call at 218-663-6888 to check availability.
It’s safe to say 2020 will be a year to remember, whether we want to or not. At Bluefin Bay Family of Resorts, we end this year with deep appreciation and gratitude for YOU, our loyal guests.
We thank those of you who have returned year after year, putting your trust in us to be a safe home away from home. And we’re grateful for the new guests who visited us for the first time this year. We look forward to welcoming you back. It is our privilege to share the beauty of our resorts and the North Shore.
Here on the North Shore, we received a few early snowfalls that had us dreaming about winter back in October! Now we can finally say winter is here. Lutsen Mountains ski area is open, lakes are freezing over and we’ve got some lasting snow a few miles inland from Lake Superior. Pretty soon our ice rink will be up and running and we’ll have snowshoes and cross country skis available for guest use. We like to help you plan your winter vacations by publishing our semi-annual newsletter – The Fishwrapper. It’s a great way to get inspired and this year, it will help you plan for any changes on the North Shore.
Check out the Winter 2020-2021 Fishwrapper here!
This season’s highlights….
Grab a warm cup of coffee, snuggle up and enjoy!
A couple of weeks ago we did a blog post on what to expect for winter activities at Bluefin Bay Family of Resorts. With the new guidelines from the state of Minnesota, some of the activities have evolved a bit so we wanted to provide an update. Rest assured, there will still be PLENTY to do this winter and our activities team is really looking forward to being your local guide to the North Shore. We have the inside scoop so don’t hesitate to stop by and ask about trail conditions, where to go to see a moose or how the skiing is at Lutsen Mountains. In fact, we encourage you to try and stump the crew with a really difficult question about the area ?
Self-Guided Excursions
Rather than physically being present with you, we have decided to create adventure packs for our guests so that you can go on self-guided excursions. In this way, we can still “guide” you on your hike, we just won’t actually be there with you. The packs will be available around December 10th and will include things like laminated trail maps and trail activities. What do we mean by trail activities? Think bonfire hike materials, forest ecology information, animal track bingo, winter tree identification information. Basically any of the fun, interesting tidbits we typically provide on guided hikes, we’ll give to you!
Use of Equipment
The convenient part of these guidelines being during the winter season is that we are already set up in a self-serve way with all of our equipment. Snowshoes, Cross Country Skis and Ice Skates have always been available to our guests during the winter, and that will be true again this year. We do need a bit more snow before we’ll begin making these items available so think snow! We are hoping the ice rink will be ready in a couple weeks as long as the weather remains cold.
New Activities
If you read our last blog post, you know we had added two new craft activities that we were excited about. We went back to the drawing board and we’ll be introducing activities that you can do on your own or as a family. This will include medallion hunts (we had the first one on Thanksgiving weekend!), scavenger hunts and other family challenges. If you have ideas on these, let us know! We are always open to hearing guests’ suggestions. If the guidelines continue longer than currently forecasted, we’ll look in to more virtual activities like zoom yoga and online craft classes.
If you have any questions about our new activities or have any ideas for us, please give us a call at 218-663-7860. And remember – there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.
