Based in Ranier, Chris Hemstad of Boreal Explorations EcoAdventures (2111 Spruce St., 218/286-5487, www.borealexplorations.com [1]) offers guided and unguided trips in and around Voyageurs National Park [2] via foot, sailboat, kayak, skis, or snowshoes. The focus of your adventure will be tailored to your interests, whether you want to hear a wolf howl or add a boreal owl to your life list. He also has fishing and sailboats for rent.
You can pedal, skate, walk, or ski from International Falls [3] to Ranier and Voyageur National Park’s Rainy Lake Visitor Center, a 12-mile trip, along the paved Rainy Lake Bike Trail.
Tara’s Wharf (2065 Spruce St., 218/286-5699, 11 a.m.–9 p.m. daily summer), on the waterfront in Ranier, rents bikes, canoes, and paddleboats.
If you are here on a hot summer day and want to cool off, City Beach is located on the east side of Ranier, and there is another small, unsupervised swimming beach right in Ranier itself.
The 18-hole course overlooking the Rainy River at the Falls Country Club (Golf Course Rd. off Hwy. 71, 218/283-4491, 7 a.m.–dusk daily, $35) is one of northern Minnesota’s best links.
Links:
[1] http://www.borealexplorations.com
[2] http://www.moon.com/destinations/minnesota/the-arrowhead/voyageurs-national-park
[3] http://www.moon.com/destinations/minnesota/the-arrowhead/international-falls