Ice out, and the woods to yourself

Judy Garland Museum & Birthplace

The actual house Judy Garland was born in, restored and moved onto the museum grounds. Alongside it, the largest collection of Garland and Wizard of Oz material anywhere. She was born here in 1922 and the town has never once let anyone forget it.

2727 US-169 S, Grand Rapids, MN · $12 adult, $10 under 12, guided tour +$8 · 218-327-9276 · Last admission 30 minutes before close

~20 min from the cabin

Leave your name on the road

The museum's yellow brick road is made of engraved pavers, and you can add one. Quietly arranging this ahead of time is the best gift anyone in your party is going to give.

Ask at the front desk

~20 min from the cabin

About the slippers themselves

The stolen slippers are not on display. They were recovered by the FBI in 2018 and sold at auction in December 2024, well past what the museum's campaign could raise. Say so before you get your hopes up, then take the theft tour, which is the better story anyway.

The Lost Forty

A hundred and forty-four acres of old-growth red and white pine that escaped the logging era because a survey crew in 1882 mapped it as a lake by mistake. Easy loop trail, trees up to three hundred years old. The clerical error that saved a forest.

~55 min north, near Marcell

Suomi Hills

Quiet, hilly, non-motorized trails through the Chippewa National Forest with small trout lakes tucked between the ridges. Closest real hike to the house.

~20 min up Hwy 38

Scenic State Park

Coffee and Sandwich Lakes, undeveloped shoreline, and CCC-built log buildings from the 1930s that are worth the walk on their own.

Minnesota state park vehicle permit required

~50 min, past Bigfork

Paddling

Lakes, quiet river stretches, and flooded mine pits with water clear enough to see the rock walls drop away under you.

Wabana is out the back door

Open-water fishing

Walleye, crappie and northern pike. Spring and fall are the serious seasons; summer is the pleasant one.

Minnesota fishing licence required

Wabana is out the back door

Klockow Brewing

Downtown taproom. Solid list, non-alcoholic options on tap, and usually someone playing.

36 SE 10th St, Grand Rapids, MN

~20 min from the cabin

Rapids Brewing Co.

The other downtown brewery, a short walk from the first one. Doing both in an evening is the accepted local itinerary.

~20 min from the cabin

The Reif Center

A multi-theater performing arts center that punches well above a town this size, with touring acts and local productions.

Check the calendar before you assume there is nothing on

~20 min from the cabin

MacRostie Art Center

Rotating exhibits from regional artists, plus classes. Twenty unhurried minutes and a good place to buy something you will actually keep.

~20 min from the cabin

Old Central School

An 1895 Romanesque schoolhouse saved from demolition and filled with local shops and history. Worth walking into even with no plan.

~20 min from the cabin

Forest History Center

A re-created 1900 logging camp on the Mississippi, with a fire tower and river trails. The trails stay walkable year round.

The staffed living-history portion is seasonal. Call before you drive out. · 218-327-4482

~25 min from the cabin

Thunder Alley XL

Bowling, arcade and mini golf under one roof. Unglamorous and exactly right when the weather has made your plans for you.

~20 min from the cabin

Escape room

Downtown, ages 12 and up, groups up to ten.

Book ahead, it is a small operation

~20 min from the cabin

Stay put

Six bedrooms, fourteen acres, and a fire pit. Plenty of guests decide halfway through that the driving was the part they did not need.

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