This 218,000-acre national park is one of the most remote northern spots in the lower 48. The International Dark-Sky Association designated it an official dark sky park in 2020, meaning there’s minimal light pollution way out here. Pitch a tent at one of the park’s more isolated campgrounds—there are 15 hike-in or boat-in backcountry campsites—for the best viewing spots in the park. If you’d rather have a bed to sleep in, stay at the 31-room Cantilever Hotel in the town of Ranier, ten minutes from the park’s entrance, which has a rooftop sauna and hot tub for night sky-gazing, free yoga, and whiskey tasting at the in-house distillery. (Michelson)

Outside Magazine

"Gingerbread spice and everything nice, that's what Christmas is made of." 

Launched in January 2020, the Cantilever Distillery and Hotel is the first lodging facility built in Koochiching County in the past 30 years, giving the city a much-needed modern gathering space. The area’s history was an important factor in the construction process, including its role as a border town once known for smuggling spirits into Prohibition-era United States. The 26,000-square-foot facility includes a 31-room boutique hotel, a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for making spirits, cocktail room, restaurant, yoga studio, private events space and an expansive rooftop bar with a sauna and hot tub. The building uses locally sourced material where possible, and the restaurant and distillery use local ingredients. The bourbon, gin, vodka and rye whiskey are handmade onsite using Minnesota grains and water from the Canadian Shield. The Cantilever Distillery and Hotel was made possible by a strong team, including Kalan Wagner, Marty Goulet, CEO Lindsey Goulet, Lead Distiller Charlie Fuller, and Operations Managers Ed Gackley and Robert Olson, and others.