Recently, we have been experiencing a dry spell lately. The current weather hasn’t been great for local outdoor-based businesses in the Northland relying on winter conditions. This winter is still shaping up to be better than last year’s but many business owners are still itching for more snow to fall and stick around.

Blake Cazier is the co-founder and director for Positive Energy Outdoors. They offer lessons year-round, but the winter season is his favorite, because of the dog sledding. While this season has been better than last year, it still hasn’t been ideal.

“We’re enjoying what we have for sure, but we need a full winter. We need snow fully through March, well into April, ideally. We started out a little slow, we were a little concerned around the holidays. A little warm, a little wet, but not like the previous winter,” Cazier said. “The dogs are happy running regardless of the temperature. But as a good dog musher, we want to make sure that they’re safe so we don’t have them pull when it’s super warm. January is an important time for dog racers. There may be some races that will be able to happen in February and March. We need snow and cold temperatures well into March to keep some of the races going that might be scheduled.”

Northland residents aren’t the only ones holding onto hope for more wintery conditions. Kerri Sorrell, the co-owner of Wander Women, traveled all the way from Iowa with other campers to experience the winter weather in Minnesota. She says they visited last year when conditions weren’t great, so they were excited to be out in some real snow.

“It’s nice to see a good blanket of snow up here. We’re supposed to get more tomorrow. This is just a winter wonderland up here,” Sorrell said. “Embrace it. Especially this time of year, we need the vitamin D. We need movement. It’s really great for our minds and our bodies to be outside. Find a friend to do it with you and, just explore.”

There is snow on the horizon, over at Mont Du Lac resort, they’ve also been dealing with the changing weather. General Manager Mike O’hara, says nearly a quarter of people who ski and stay at their resort are out of state tourists visiting the Twin Ports.

“We get about 25% probably of our guests. It’s tough in Duluth because it’s a tourist mecca for everybody who comes up. Our snow is great. But it all depends on the weather. Yesterday it was 50 degrees so it’s really hard to make that kind of plan. The weather is getting colder so we were able to make more snow. If you don’t come out on a day when it’s 25 degrees and the snow is great, I think you’re missing out.”

Also for another story about a local outdoor-based businesses you can read more here. WDIO News will continue to track conditions for upcoming events like the Gunflint Mail Run, which is on February 8th.