Up North in Cable

This is a great area for outdoor activities. There is something for every season: mountain biking, hiking, horseback riding, canoeing, fishing, golfing, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, snowboarding, and snow-tubing. The resort also hosts the American Birkebeiner Cross-Country Ski Race in February, and the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival Off-Road Bicycle Event in September.

The hiking is great at Copper Falls State Park or in the Chequamegon National Forest. There are also many quality golf courses in the Hayward/Cable area, including a nice one next to the resort.

Take a short drive into Hayward for a nice selection of shopping and restaurants. Don't miss the antique shops, bakery, or candy shops. In the summer, don't miss the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame with its 100-foot high muskie, or the lumberjack shows.

Or take a day trip to Lake Superior and visit Ashland, Bayfield, or Duluth.

Quick Tips:

Break up your stay with a day trip to the Bayfield area. Bayfield takes you to a New England type atmosphere with a great view of Lake Superior and the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. You can take boat rides to explore the numerous lighthouses or explore sea caves. In the summer, take in live entertainment at the Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua Tent Shows.

Best Way To Get Around:

The best way to get around is having your own vehicle. The resort is in a rural area. If you have a boat or canoe, you can enjoy the many rivers and lakes in the area. Of course, if you have a snowmobile in the winter, you can enjoy Wisconsin's extensive system of trails and ride for hours. In the summer, bring you mountain bike and ride the many trails in the area.

Best Things Nearby:
Golf, fishing, hiking, biking, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, snow boarding/tubing, horseback riding, Hayward Shops, Copper Falls State Park, Bayfield, Lake Superior, and Apostle Islands.

Best Things About the Resort:
The main lodge is fantastic. Our unit was a nice updated unit with a full kitchen, large living room with a fireplace, screened porch, Jacuzzi room, and a washer and dryer.

Resort Experience:
We checked into the main lodge, which is the center of the resort. It was impressive. The lodge was designed by Architect Herb Fritz, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright. The lobby has a beautiful 55 foot-tall, 155-ton fieldstone fireplace. The lodge also has the indoor pool, hot tub, game room, choice of dining venues, and a bar. If the weather does not cooperate, this is the place to go.

The resort also hosts two large events, the American Birkbeiner Cross-country Ski Race in February, starts at the resort and ends in Hayward, and the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival off-road bicycle event in September.

To fully enjoy this area, you have to love the outdoors and nature and have your own vehicle. This area has something for everyone all year around. We enjoy golfing, so we played some nice quality courses in the Cable/Hayward area. There is a nice course next to the resort, but it had already closed for the season. We also enjoy hiking, so we went to Cooper Falls State Park, which is only 38 miles away.

I also enjoy fishing. There some nice streams and rivers close to fish, or you can go to Telemark Point (the resort has four units there), which is about 10 miles from the main resort to fish on resort property on Lake Namekagon. If you are fishing for muskies, head to Hayward and check out the Chippewa Flowage.

Hayward is also a nice place to visit and has nice shopping and dining venues. They also have nice shops to explore for antiques, bakery goods, and yes!--fudge and candy shops. Hayward also has the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame with a 100 foot high muskie, and lumberjack shows.

Telemark is nicely located to launch on a day trip to Ashland to visit the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, or to Bayfield for a taste of New England and a visit to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. During the summer, they also have the Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua which has a variety of live entertainment under a big top tent. Or make a day trip to Duluth, MN, which has so many things to do.

This resort is a great place to go as a family for outdoor activities. This has been my second stay at the resort and I will return again.

• Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
• Activities: Very Good
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

Coop's recently moved from their old building into a new log cabin restaurant. This has a beautiful rustic decor with a large aquarium along one entire wall of the main dining room. The aquarium has a nice selection of fresh water specimens which would be the envy to many a fisherman. The restaurant has three different dining areas. One is a separate area for private gatherings. This restaurant has a comfortable, casual dining environment.

We stopped for lunch and elected to enjoy their lunch buffet. This included two types of soup, a nice salad bar, two selections of pizzas, and garlic bread. All were excellent, especially the soup. The buffet is very reasonably priced at $4.99.

Considering we ate during the week, during the off-season, and it being in a small town, Coop's is a popular place with a good local customer base meaning just one thing. It's a great place to eat.

Coop's has a full menu consisting of various Italian and American items. Items start at about $3 to about $19 for their largest pizza with the works. This was a pleasant dinner experience.

Cooper's Restaurant is located in a newer rustic building. The rustic decor is enhanced by the unique tables and chairs. I haven't seen anything similar to them and they are worth a visit just to see. There are two separate dining areas.

We stopped for lunch and I selected one of their specials, the meat loaf. I was rewarded with a full meal which included soup, vegetables, two scoops of potatoes with gravy, and two generous pieces of meat loaf. This was a very generous portion for the price. Most of their daily specials are between $4-$5.

This was a very pleasant dining experience. The atmosphere was pleasant, the waitress was pleasant and the service was quick. The food was an excellent value. Cooper's has a full menu with prices ranging from $3 to $12.

Golf Digest rated this course as four stars. It is one of the nicest courses in northern Wisconsin. The course is 6685 yards, par 72. It was originally built in 1924, but was nicely redesigned in 1998. Even though we played it in October, it was well maintained, nicely manicured, and falling leaves were not a problem. The course slope is 125, and has four tee boxes. It has 10 doglegs, 52 sand and/or bunkers, and four well-placed water hazards. The layout is challenging to the expert golfer while still being playable for those of us with lesser skills. Playing this course was pleasurable.

If you play this course during the busy summer season or weekends, reserving a tee time is recommended. They will schedule tee times 30 days in advance.

The golf course is located approximately 15 miles east of Hayward. This course is 3300 yards, par 36. There are three small water hazards, but two are close to the tee boxes and don't present much of a hazard. There are three tee boxes. We played the course in October and it was well manicured and maintained. The course has only pine trees, so leaves were not a problem. With the exception of the first and last holes, it is a wide open course and there should not be a problem with losing balls. The final hole is a challenging par-five with a narrow fairway.

Playing this course was pleasurable and it would be a great course for a family outing. If you are an expert golfer, this course would not be challenging.

Copper Falls is a short drive from Telemark and is one of Wisconsin's most scenic state parks. The park is 2676 acres, has 7 miles of hiking trails, 8 miles of mountain bike trails, and 14 miles of cross-country ski trails.

We enjoyed the hiking and departed the main set of buildings, which are rustic log-cabin structures. These buildings are only open during the peak season and include concessions. The hiking trails crisscross two rivers which merge in the park. When we crossed the first bridge, we saw one deer close to the river. It seemed so tame, but we were not a threat to it, being on the bridge. Just a short distance away, we saw two more deer along the hiking trail. We moved slowly so not to scare them. Little did we know that they are so used to being close to people that two of us posed for pictures with these two deer within 15 feet of us. What a special experience to be so close to these beautiful creatures.

We continued with our hike. The park has ancient lava flows, steep gorges, and spectacular waterfalls. The largest waterfall is 29 feet. The hiking trails are nicely marked; in some places they are planked, other places dirt, and still other places with lots of steps. The trails snake along the top of the gorge and have numerous bridges. Sometimes the trails go down to the rivers or waterfalls. There are numerous observation platforms along the trail which provide better views of the more spectacular sites in the park.

There is one observation tower which is well worth the climb. The view overlooks spectacular vistas. On a clear day, you can see 30-40 miles. If you look towards the north, you can see Lake Superior. This is one beautiful sight to see in the fall when the trees are at peak color.

At the entrance to the park is Loon Lake, which provides most of the water activities such as swimming, fishing, canoeing, and boating. If you take your boat, we can only use the trolling motor. The rivers have nice populations of rainbow, brown, and brook trout.

Our trip to Copper Falls State Park was a memorable experience. Being so close to the park's deer, seeing the beautiful gorges and waterfalls, and viewing the beautiful fall colors from the observation tower make this a great experience.

Telemark Golf Course is next to Telemark Resort, but under different ownership, so it is very convenient. The course is 6407 yards, par 72. It has a slope of 124, 22 sand bunkers, nine dog legs, and water comes into play on six holes. The course was in beautiful shape considering it was October.

The course features the northern forest, rolling hills, peaceful ponds, and streams. It has three tee boxes. The course is cut into the woods with few fareways adjacent to each other. Accuracy is a necessity and the course is a challenge. Putting is also challenging because of the breaks on the greens. Both and front and back nines are equally difficult.

The signature hole is number 16, which is a par three over a 90-100 yard pond onto a slanted green. It is a beautiful hole when your tee shot lands on the green.

This is a great course, but very challenging, so bring extra balls. If you can play on Sunday's during the peak season, the course has a Don Ho Sunday scramble which starts at 1pm (call them before nooon if you want to play). It has a Hawaiian theme, so wear your Hawaiian shirt. The cost is your normal green fees plus $10 for the prize fund. All prize money is paid out. The golf pro will set up the teams.

This was a pleasant experience, but since the course is challenging, it could become frustrating for those of us without good accuracy. But since it is so convenient to the resort, give it a try!

The Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center is an impressive five-story building located approximately 2.5 miles west of Ashland just off Highway 2. The visitor center features a 30-minute multi-media presentation regarding the history of this area pertaining to its geographic formation and cultural heritage. The remainder of the visitor center contains interactive displays and presentations about the interaction between human cultures and the land and natural resourced of this area. The center also houses the History Center and Archives which concentrates on the local area history. This includes a comprehensive 9-county historical archives and research area. The visitor center also has a nice gift ship with books and items unique to this area.

Take a walk (or the elevator) to the top of the five-story building to the observation tower. This gives you an excellent view of the area and of Lake Superior. Take a walk on the outside trails/boardwalks of the visitor center and explore a cedar and black ash wetlands and enjoy the wildlife as well as the scenery.

The Visitor Center is free and open from 9am-6pm, June to October, and 9am-5pm the rest of the year. The archives at open from 1-4:30pm Tuesday-Friday. Their phone number is 715-685-9983.

This would be a great family activity, as well as a great place to do family research if you have roots in this area.