By Steve Weisman

One of my favorite places to go on a winter ice fishing trip is the Northwest Angle on Lake of the Woods. The fishing is awesome, but there’s just something about going up to the Angle. You see, you have to travel through Minnesota into Canada, travel 40 miles in Canada and then back into Minnesota to reach the Angle.

Yes, it is remote with only a dozen or so resorts. It is that remoteness that was part of the Angle’s alure.

However, for the past year, the border has been shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Except for medical situations and purchasing essentials to live for the locals, the border still remains closed. Unfortunately, that also means that the resort business has pretty much dried up for the past several months. A few resorts tried ferrying customers in via boat, but that’s one long way by boat!

Joe Henry has been a friend of mine for probably the last 15 years or so. Joe is an outdoor writing colleague and the Executive Director for the Lake of the Woods Tourism. For several years we would meet in Sioux Falls for the Outdoor Show in March to just talk shop and share our love for the Lake of the Woods. During the year I will periodically check into Joe’s website and Facebook page just to see what’s happening up at the Angle.

How about an ice road?

Well, around the first of the year, Joe began talking about an unusual way to get up to the Angle from the United States without going through Canada. The Angle resort owners got together and came up with a plan to plow a 22-mile ice road on the lake and then another 8 miles through forest  all the way to the Angle. The NW Angle ice road begins at Springsteel Resort just south of the Canadian border on the SW corner of Lake of the Woods and makes its way north on U.S. ice and eventually connects to one of the main roads leading into the NW Angle that will then take visitors to the resorts. Maximum speed is 25 mph.

Lots of planning went into this one. First, comes making sure the ice is thick enough and that took until about mid-January. It’s taken a lot of thought and planning making sure the ice depth is good, to stake out the road, place signage and in some spots erect temporary bridges over pressure ridges and seams. Of course, there is constant plowing to keep the ice road from filling in with drifting snow.

Obviously, there is a cost to travel on the ice road. The cost is $145 for a round trip pass and $500 for a season pass.

A second option is the Lake of the Woods Passenger Service that will take guests in a Bombardier for $140 round trip based on six people riding. It usually takes about 90 minutes depending on the weather to reach the Angle.

A couple of weeks ago Terry Thomsen, President of the Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club (IGLFC), and several members of the IGLFC went up to the Northwest Angle and experienced the ice road. Reflecting on the trip, Thomsen says, “It was really pretty cool. We had to go online to get our pass, and when you get on at Springsteel Resort, they check you for your pass. They have set up hours for traveling on the Ice Road, which is 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. They really don’t want you on the road in the dark.”

Thomsen notes that the ice road is well marked and well maintained. “There were three or four areas where there were single lane temporary bridges that went over the seams and heaves. They were one lane bridges.”

Thomsen adds that they felt confident in traveling this ice road. “The road does narrow when you go the last eight miles or so through the timber. This section was more up and down and bumpy. You end up coming out at Jim’s Corner.”

National news

Yes, this entire ice road thing made national news a couple of weeks ago. I was watching Sioux City’s KTIV Channel 4 one evening and sure enough there was an interview with people up at the Angle. Low and behold it was Paul and Karen Colson, who own Jakes Resort at Northwest Angle, the very resort I have stayed at several times over the years. It was good to see their faces and hear their story of resilience to make it through this world-wide pandemic.

Northwest Angle guest ice road sign (Photo courtesy of Lake of the Woods Tourism)

Aerial view of the Northwest angle ice road (Photo courtesy of Lake of the Woods Tourism)

Building temporary ice bridges to allow vehicles to go over seams and heaves. (Photo courtesy of Lake of the Woods Tourism)

Once off the ice road, guests then travel another eight miles through the timber. (Photo courtesy of Lake of the Woods Tourism)

Northernmost Point Marker. (Photo courtesy of Lake of the Woods Tourism)