Nature surrounds you inside and out.

Manhattan Beach, Minnesota

A landscape of snowdrifts and evergreens, along with apricot-colored sunsets, helps create the romantic solitude at this lodge, which resembles a Spanish mission along the Whitefish Chain of Lakes (28 miles north of Brainerd).

Besides the pines and lakes, north-woods memorabilia decorate the log-and-stucco lodge, from trophy fish to antique skis and carvings of loons. The log furniture and hand-hewn log columns warm to a golden glow around a roaring hearth.

Every detail gets attention in all 12 guest rooms and six suites, which overlook Big Trout Lake, down to the log trim around bathroom mirrors. Handmade quilts make you forget it's winter.

The handcrafted log furnishings and handsome lobby are only a few years old. But the lodge dates to the late 1920s, when it flourished as a summer escape for prominent Twin Cities and Chicago families. That era's big bands played at the lodge. In fact, when one group's saxophonist mysteriously disappeared, he became the subject of decades of ghost stories.

The original two-sided stone fireplace still warms the dining room and parlor. Guests travel miles for the walleye and wild rice cakes, chicken pecan pasta, black-pepper steak and roast duck. Warm bread pudding completes your meal.

You can hike or cross-country ski on nearby trails, exploring the quiet woods and frozen lakes. Then, wind up your foray in the lodge's hot tub or sauna. At night, the haunting melody of a ghostly saxophonist might even lull you to sleep.

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