Voyageurs National Park guide · 1 min read
Winter on Frozen Lakes and Birch Forests
Winter transforms the park. When the lakes freeze and snow starts to fall, wide frozen lakes and forest blanketed in snow become the setting for everything from short walks to long days outdoors.
Snowfall typically runs 55 to 70 inches a year but varies widely.
Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing let visitors explore quiet forests and frozen waterways. A trails page on the park's site lists which routes are usable in winter. Snowshoe and ski rentals can be booked ahead online. Anyone who needs a break from the cold can stop at the Rainy Lake Visitor Center.
Start with the Tilson Connector Trail. Flat, dry ground covers 400 feet through the boreal forest, skirting a wetland, which keeps the route usable in every season. Once enough snow builds up, the trail is groomed for classic skiing. The trail gives access to the Tilson Bay Trails, a ten-mile network run by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, with options from short loops to longer routes. Reservations are required for this trail.
Riders can go out on frozen lakes and designated safety portages. The park maintains 110 miles of marked, groomed routes. Rock faces and other land are off limits to machines apart from those portages, and climbing hills on a snowmobile is prohibited. Anglers fish from ice-fishing houses set up on the lakes. The ice road is also part of the winter picture, and the trails report covers its conditions.
Conditions shift quickly, so check the Winter Trails and Frozen Lakes Report before heading out. The page updates weekly, but ice can shift faster than that. It flags chatter ice, meaning thin ice that froze again into a bumpy surface, along with bare patches that have no snow. No ice is completely safe, and its thickness can change quickly.
