Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge

10/19/2026

Last call! Holiday Dogsled Fun

Our season is filling faster than ever. We've arranged for a few additional holiday dogsled vacation openings on these dates:
Dec 20-23 3-night "BEST" 2 openings
Dec 23-27 4-night "BETTER" 2 or 3 openings
Dec 30-Jan 3 4-night "GOOD" 2-4 openings
Jan 6-10 4-night "BETTER" 2-4 openings
(+ other scattered openings available mid-Jan thru Mar)

10/15/2026

North to the Pole! 40th Anniversary Recap

Big THANKS to the Minnesota History Center & the Ely Theater for hosting our North Pole team's 40th reunion events last week -- all jam-packed, sold out & big fun. What a time warp! We kept saying, "This is like wandering thru the afterlife!"

Our many talks culminated in a downtown dance party and then pizza party at Will's homestead. With each talk, our team got more glib and shared ever-more crazy tales from the trail. But Will took the prize with his surprise reveal about our antics on our last day on the ice. His reveal was unbeknownst to the rest of the team (and completely forgotten by Paul). You'll find it here: https://timberjay.com/stories/stories-from-the-north-pole-an-adventure-hatched-in-ely,46835

10/13/2026

10/01/2026

North to the Pole! The original dogsled that reached the Pole in 1986 (the "Bria") is now on display outside Ely's Wintergreen store and the team's North Pole clothing (including the very first Wintergreen anorak) are displayed inside.

As of this morning, the Ely Theater says just a couple dozen tickets remain available if you'd like to join us for our team reception, talk, film & bluegrass dance party with Stony River: 6-10pm Fri Oct 9.

09/15/2026

UPDATE on our NORTH POLE TEAM REUNION

--Thur Oct 8 St. Paul. The MN History Center 5-8pm event is nearly sold out. VIRTUAL EVENT TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE: https://www.mnhs.org/events/60064574005

--Fri Oct 9 Ely. The Ely Theater 6-10pm event includes reception, team talk, film & dance party. Tickets at https://ticketing.elystatetheater.org/websales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=578620~49e1a34c-0302-4a79-be99-c8016e8c5f8f&epguid=2b85f2c3-84c3-44f5-8fa9-baf46663735b&mdy=10/9/2026&

FLASH NEWS! National Geographic is re-issuing our Sept 1986 expedition cover story in their Sept 24, 2026 digital edition

07/11/2026

Where oh where have the Schurkes been for the past month?

Our Arctic travels included sailing Svalbard Island --which lies between Norway & the North Pole-- with son Peter skippering the 8-berth schooner Nanuk. Enjoy this spectacular montage thanks to Layne Kennedy who, for 30 years, has taught Wintergreen's Dogsled Photography Adventures. Thanks Layne!
https://vimeo.com/1209117744
NOTE: The sequence of polar bear pics shows a young bear approaching a research hut whose occupants scare the bear away with a 'cracker shell'-- noisy & smokey but harmless.

A small group of eight folks, family & friends, exploring Svalbard in a 50ft. sailboat captained by Peter Schurke based out of Longyearbyen, Svalbard. Here's some visual samples from their journey in the high arctic.

07/08/2026

Enjoy this Boundary Waters Podcast on the native American history of our beloved canoe country
by Paul Schurke with WTIP radio host & Grand Portage direct descendant Staci Drouillard

"Paul Schurke is a business owner and winter adventurer from Ely, Minnesota. In this episode Paul shares stories about the deep human history of the Kawishiwi Triangle and the White Iron Chain of lakes, including the site of a Laurel-era settlement on Birch Lake. He also fills us in on the Finnish and Ojibwe cultural history of the area, and explains why he feels that history is an important part of exploring and paddling in the Wilderness."

https://wtip.org/podcasts/boundary-waters-podcast/

06/07/2026

SUMMER AT WINTERGREEN

Wintergreen's Canadian Inuit dogs, being Arctic animals, go into a seasonal torpor & generally sleep the summer away. Nonetheless, we give them plenty of room to groove and they run free in open pens or on our new zip lines, and some are free to roam the grounds as our "Walmart Greeter Dogs" (like Frazer, Brewster & Alice!) Industrial sprinklers cool the kennel on warm days. Guide Henry is doing a great job with kennel care.

Paul & Sue Schurke are headed to Norway for a month to catch up with son Peter, captain of the Arctic sailing ship Nanuk, to sail the Svalbard Islands with a group of friends & Wintergreen's Dogsled Photography host Layne Kennedy. We're sure to come back with lots of great pics from a stunning place where polar bear, blue whales, walrus & caribou are often seen.

FLASH NEWS! Wintergreen's 2026-27 Dogsled Trip options are now posted on our website. Because of the huge response to the recent New York Times article on Wintergreen, many trips are already filled, but contact us if you're preferred options are full and we'll see what we can do. Please note that we'll have limited contact until our return from the Arctic in early July.