Yesterday (July 21st), Meredith Fjelsted, South St. Paul, participated in an Amateur Wildlife Photography Workshop at Minnesota Wildlife Connection, Sandstone. The event was a birthday gift from her husband, Scott. What an adventure it was! In three hours, Meredith took hundreds of photos of an adult and pup timberwolf, young foxes, a bear cub, baby racoons and a whitetail fawn.
Wildlife Photography at its Best!
July 22nd, 2012 by woodlandtrails
Congratulations to Plunkett’s!
June 30th, 2012 by woodlandtrails
As almost all past guests know, Woodland Trails innkeepers John & Sandra spent their working careers as owners and operators of Plunkett’s, a regional pest control service company. When daughter Stacy took over in October, 2003, John & Sandra built the B&B.
Plunkett’s has thrived under Stacy’s direction. Most recently, the company was recognized for the third year in a row by the StarTribune as one of Minnesota top 100 workplaces.
The award is based on an email survey of employees. Plunkett’s provided the StarTribune with email addresses for all employees and 80% responded to the StarTribune survey.
Congratulations to Plunkett’s and all the people who help to make the company great!
St. Croix State Park Adventure Near Woodland Trails B&B
June 11th, 2012 by woodlandtrails
St. Croix State Park is Minnesota’s largest, with over 34,000 acres, and is located just minutes from Woodland Trails B&B.
Getting to the park from Woodland Trails is easy: Take MN Hwy. 48 west 8 miles to the main park entrance road. From there go south on County Hwy. 22 five miles to the park check-in building.
For park information check their web site or contact Megan Jonhsen at 320-384-6615 x254 or via email at Megan.Johnsen@state.mn.us
Check out park events here.
Interested in Geocaching in the park? Bring your GPS receiver or borrow one of theirs.
Coming Events — Woodland Trails B&B
June 9th, 2012 by woodlandtrails
| Friday, May 10th at 6 p.m. | Freddy Fender, Jr. presents a special Dinner Show. Dinner is served at 6 p.m. followed by the show at 7 p.m. Tickets $25. Call 800-238-894. |
| Friday & Saturday, April 26th & 27th at 9 p.m. |
Roy Dawson & the Bootleggers perform in the West Winds Lounge at St. Croix Casino, Danbury, located just four miles from Woodland Trails. |
| Friday & Saturday, May 10th & 11th at 8 p.m. | The Chippendales (Male Review)at Grand Casino Hinckley Events & Convention Center. Tickets go on sale March 14th at 10 a.m. |
| Saturday, May 11th from 8 – 10 a.m. | Spring Migration Birding Tour at Crex Meadows Wildlife Area |
| Tuesday, May 14th, 8 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. | Songbird Banding at Crex Meadows Wildlife Education and Visitor Center located near Grantsbury, Wisconsin, just 20 minutes from Woodland Trials.Many birds migrate through Crex Meadows each spring and fall. Join expert birder, Bruce Bacon, as he demonstrates and bands songbirds. He will demonstrate different methods used to capture birds for banding and the different bands used. Mist nets will be used to capture and then band songbirds. Participants will be able to hold, release, and photography birds! This will be a special experience for all involved! Space limited; reservations required; Cost $8 adults, $5 children (under 12) to help offset banding expenses; lunch not provided. Please bring your own sack lunch. Please call 715-463-2739 for more information and registration |
| Friday & Saturday, May 17th & 18th at 9 p.m. |
Darlene & The Boys perform in the West Winds Lounge at St. Croix Casino, Danbury, located just four miles from Woodland Trails. |
| Friday & Saturday, My 24th & 25th at 9 p.m. |
The Wolf River Band performs in the West Winds Lounge at St. Croix Casino, Danbury, located just four miles from Woodland Trails. |
| Saturday, May 25th at 8 p.m. |
Tony Orlando at Grand Casino Hinckley Events & Convention Center. Tickets go on sale April 4th at 10 a.m. |
| Saturday, June 16th | Dinner at the Lake with Will Steger at Audubon Center of the Northwoods. |
| Friday, May 20th at 7 p.m. | John Conlee presenta s special outdoor concert at St. Croix Casino, Danbury, located just four miles from Woodland Trails. Tickets go on sale May 1 for $15. Call 800-238-8946. |
| Saturday, May 21st at 7 p.m. | The Atlanta Rhythm Section presenta s special outdoor concert at St. Croix Casino, Danbury, located just four miles from Woodland Trails. Tickets go on sale May 1 for $25. Call 800-238-8946. |
| Thurd., Fril., Sat. July 11, 12, 13. |
The Spooner Rodeo starts at 7:30 p.m. each evening followed by country music with the Michael D Band at 10:00. |
| Saturday, August 31st 8:00 p.m. |
Alabama performs at the Grand Casino Hinckley Amphetheater. |
June 9, 2012
Bears and Other Wildlife at Woodland Trails
April 27th, 2012 by woodlandtrails
Fred the Bear (bears are less frightening if they have a name!) made his first appearance outside Woodland Trails B&B on April 22nd, the earliest we’ve ever seen him. In most years we see him regularly, sometimes during the day and sometimes at night, through the end of August. After September 1st, he must find a better deal somewhere, such as field corn in the milk stage, and he disappears.
Thankfully, Fred has never caused serious problems. He is content to eat corn or sunflower seeds under one of the feeders and leave the B&B and other buildings alone.
We have named him Fred, although we are probably seeing a different bear each year. If we think it might be a female, she is Freda. If she has cubs, they are Fanny, Francis and Freddy Jr. On one memorable occasion several years ago, we saw the whole family at one time.
Other wildlife that guests enjoy seeing out the B&B windows include whitetail deer, an occasional fox, and lots of birds such as wood ducks on the pond and goldfinches at the feeders.
Complimentary Massages at Woodland Trails
October 30th, 2011 by woodlandtrails
For those staying at Woodland Trails two or more nights, we are happy to offer one complimentary massage at Caring Hands Massages located in Webster, Wisconsin, just 15 minutes from Woodland Trails.
- Linda at Caring Hands Massages
Proprietor Linda Baum has a newly remodeled salon and offers a variety of massages and related services. Under this special, enjoy a complimentary one hour Swedish Massage or other comparably priced service. If your spouse or partner would also like a Swedish Massage, they can choose between a half hour massage at $25 plus tax or a full hour at $50 plus tax.
Advance reservation is recommended, particularly if both of you would like a massage. We can make the reservation for you or you can contact Linda directly at Linda@CaringHandsMassages.com or by calling 715-790-3499.
Let a Caring Hands massage add to your relaxing stay at Woodland Trails!
P.S. Margo and her mother, Doris, both enjoyed massages recently. Doris said, “I’ve had one or two massages a month for years and this was the best one ever!”
Sleigh Rides at Woodland Trails!
October 28th, 2011 by woodlandtrails
Bella and Ace are calm, well-trained Percherons owned by Darwin and Pam Brown, Coomer Creek Farm, Frederic, Wisconsin.
In 2013, Darwin and Pam will have Bella and Ace at Woodland Trails giving free sleigh rides to guests every Saturday evening from January 19th through February 23rd.
The rides begin at 6:00 p.m. with one or two couples going on each excursion. 
Riding through the woods on a horse-drawn sleigh is an experience you both will cherish!
A Wildlife Photography Adventure!
July 29th, 2011 by woodlandtrails
Minnesota Wildlife Connection, located in Sandstone, Minnesota, just minutes from Woodland Trails, maintains a variety of whild animals for photographers. Their collection includes racoons and porcupines to cougars and timber wolves.
The farm caters to professional photographers but several times a year they have a session for amateurs. Woodland Trails innkeeper, John O’Reilly, and his daughter, Stacy, participated in one of these events. Here’s their story.
Now, Lee Greenly, owner of Minnesota Wildlife Connection, has just announced dates for amateur sessions during the rest of 2011 and all of 2012. See them here.For an unforgetable adventure, combine a stay at Woodland Trails with a photo session at Minnesota Wildlife Connection!
Jim Jordan’s Buck at Woodland Trails
July 5th, 2011 by woodlandtrails
Jim Jordan's Buck
Many guests enjoy seeing the replica of Jim Jordan’s world record buck hanging over the fireplace at Woodland Trails and hearing his unique story.
Now, the whole world will be able to hear the story. A film crew was here a couple of months ago preparing a segment on the buck for Bass Pro Shops King of Bucks program. The segment will be aired on the Outdoor Channel on these dates in 2011:
Wednesday, July 13th at 11:30am
Thursday, July 14th at 7:30am
Sunday, July 17th at 11:30am
We have been promised a CD copy of the segment so if you miss it at one of the times above, you’ll be able to see the segment on your next stay at Woodland Trails!
New Dining Guide
April 17th, 2011 by woodlandtrails
We have developed a new dining guide for guests. It includes suggestions for:
- Do-It-Yourself meals you can enjoy at the B&B,
- Light meals at nearby restaurants,
- Dinner choices presented in Good, Better and Best categories.
All of the restaurants can be enjoyed with Woodland Trails Anniversary, Honeymoon and Happy Birthday Specials.
