Brainerd, MN

Pequot Lakes

Next stop: Pequot Lakes, 18 miles north of Brainerd. Silver Creek Traders is a good place for a shopping break -- it's a log shop showcasing handmade furniture and other north-woods handicrafts.

The town of Walker, another 35 miles north, follows the shores of Leech Lake. Snowmobilers can zoom right up to the door of Peace Cliff Bed and Breakfast, a Tudor-style retreat perched on a bluff above the lake. Shopaholics can head into town, to Liten Hus for china, woolens, and other Scandinavian imports, or locally made furniture and Christmas ornaments at Northern Exposure.