One Winter Week on the Iron Range

Editor’s Note: Read what happens with someone from Florida experiences winter on the Iron Range for the first time, and what he has to say about his experience.

by Ceasar Ortega, Marketing Coordinator, Iron Range Tourism

It is difficult for people to imagine just what the Iron Range really is, and if you asked my friend Eddie a month or so ago what he expected he would run into when he came up he would not have known what to say except maybe “lots of snow” and “really cold”.

He wasn’t wrong by any means, especially considering that he had never even SEEN snow a day in his life, but we found a lot for him to remember and enjoy!

We spent the first few days exploring Chisholm and Hibbing and we tried out some pasties in Biwabik, we even played a little hockey and broke out the sleds. I could tell that he was taken by the snow by the fact that we spent a good two hours in negative degree weather and he still wanted to keep going down the hill.

Giants Ridge was booming with activity when we got there and he was excited to try out snowboarding, which has been on his TO DO list for as long as I’ve known him. Unfortunately, he fell down more than he managed to make it down the hill but he got up every time with a grin. But, long story short, Florida couldn’t cut it on the slopes!

We went out for some ice fishing the next day at Longyear Lake and just spent the day waiting for a bite and catching up. I managed to catch a sun fish but there wasn’t too much action beyond that. But it was a relaxing way to spend the day and really catch up after not seeing each other for years.

Before he left I asked Eddie what he thought about the Iron Range and he said,

“It’s pretty, the trees look like they’re made of glass and everything smells cleaner. I could walk out into the woods for miles or go out on the lake and fish and feel like I’m free. It’s not fast and crazy but it’s clean, and feels alive”