ST. PAUL — John Fredrikson and his wife, Mindy, have owned Gunflint Lodge and Outfitters in Grand Marais, Minn., since 2016. They say this past winter was the worst one they have seen.
The business rents out 26 cabins year-round and offers customers access to winter activities from snowmobiling and ice fishing to 70 kilometers of ski trails.
Last winter, with a dearth of snow, the lodge did not charge for cross-country ski passes due to the poor quality of the trails, and a pair of Clydesdales the resort uses for sleigh rides mostly had the winter off, Fredrikson said.
“It was pretty brutal as far as activities and business-wise,” he said. “We were impacted pretty heavily.”
While Gunflint Lodge saw its revenues fall 30%, Fredrikson said smaller businesses faced an even bigger impact from the winter that wasn’t.
“There’s a few that do really well in the winter with snowmobilers coming but there’s zero snowmobiling going on,” he said, adding that…
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