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~Birchbark Hideaway~

Photo gallery for ~Birchbark Hideaway~

Beautiful two tiered boulder wall on lake side of home, stone path to lake
Exterior
Ample driveway for extra vehicles and two car garage
Exterior
king room

Reviews

10 out of 10
Exceptional
3 bedrooms3+ bathroomsSleeps 10250.8 sq m

Popular amenities

  • Beach view
  • Parking available
  • Dryer
  • Washer
  • Fireplace

Explore the area

View map
Aurora, MN

Rooms & beds

3 bedrooms (sleeps 10)

bedroom 1 main floor

1 King Bed

Bedroom 2

1 Queen Bed and 1 Single Bunk Bed

Bedroom 3

1 King Bed

Living Room 1

1 Double Sofa Bed

3 bathrooms, 1 half bathroom

1 Main floor bath

Toilet

Bathroom 2

Bathtub or shower · Toilet

Bathroom 3

Toilet · Shower only

Bathroom 4

Towels provided · Toilet · Shower only

Spaces

Deck or patio
Porch or lanai
Kitchen
Outdoor play area
Garden
Dining area

About this property

~Birchbark Hideaway~

Family friendly private lake home in Voyageurs Retreat, Biwabik MN. Enjoy endless activities to keep you busy all year round! A 5 minute drive will take you to Giants Ridge or one of the pristine golf courses (Legends and The Quarry). You can also walk right out the door to hike or bike one of the many trails including the Mesabi Trail which goes from Grand Rapids to Ely. From swimming in the summer to skiing in the winter, there is something for everyone.

The house itself has 3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, large kitchen/family room area with a fireplace and floor to ceiling windows to enjoy the view of the lake. A finished basement includes family room/TV, Ping-Pong table and a cozy reading nook. There’s also a screened in porch for that morning coffee or to watch the sunset. The outside boasts boulder landscaping with steps going down to the private sandy beach. There’s a large patio right outside of the walk out basement with a gas grill, gas firepit and tables.

**Motion sensor blink cameras are at the property for security when the home is vacant. They are turned off when guests arrive.

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Amenities

Kitchen
Washing machine
Dryer
Free WiFi
Air conditioning
Outdoor space

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House Rules

Check in after 4:00 PM
Minimum age to rent: 24
Check out before 11:00 AM
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Children

Children allowed: ages 0–17
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Events

No events allowed
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Pets

No pets allowed
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Smoking

Smoking is not permitted

Check-out instructions

The host requires you to complete the following before checking out:
Load and start the dishwasher
Strip any used beds
Remove personal items, remove leftover food and drinks and take out the rubbish
Turn off the lights and lock the doors
No dishes in the sink please. Load the dishwasher and start before you leave
Strip sheets from used beds and leave the sheets on the floor in the bedrooms
Bring all of your garbage to the neighborhood dumpster, directions posted on the fridge
Failure to complete these may result in a negative review from the host.

Important information

You need to know

Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
On-site parties or group events are strictly prohibited
Host has indicated that there is a carbon monoxide detector on the property
Host has indicated that there is a smoke detector on the property
Safety features at this property include a fire extinguisher, a first aid kit and a deadlock

About the area

Aurora

Located in Aurora, this holiday home is in a rural area and on the beach. Paul Wellstone Memorial & Historic Site and Soudan Underground Mine State Park are local landmarks, and some of the area's activities can be experienced at Chamonix Chair and Helsinki Chair. Make sure you get close to the area's animals with activities such as game walks and birdwatching.
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Map
Aurora, MN

Getting around

  • Hibbing, MN (HIB-Chisholm-Hibbing) - 56 min drive

Restaurants

  • A&W Restaurant
  • Rudy's Bar and Grill
  • Copper Nickel Public House
  • Wacootah Grille at the Quarry
  • Alpine Bar

Frequently asked questions

Is ~Birchbark Hideaway~ pet-friendly?

No, pets are not allowed at this property.

What time is check-in at ~Birchbark Hideaway~?

Check-in begins at 4:00 PM.

What time is check-out at ~Birchbark Hideaway~?

Checkout is at 11:00 AM.

Where is ~Birchbark Hideaway~ located?

Within easy reach of Chamonix Chair, Helsinki Chair and Calgary Chair, this Aurora holiday home is located on the waterfront and set on the beach. Local attractions also include J-Bar and Sarajevo Chair.

Reviews

10

Exceptional

10/10

Cleanliness

10/10

Check-in

10/10

Communication

10/10

Location

10/10

Listing accuracy
Rating 10 - Excellent. 71 out of 73 reviews
Rating 8 - Good. 2 out of 73 reviews
Rating 6 - Okay. 0 out of 73 reviews
Rating 4 - Poor. 0 out of 73 reviews
Rating 2 - Terrible. 0 out of 73 reviews

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Michelle W.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Wonderful stay

Clean, cozy, and well kept property! Owners were lovely and very helpful before the stay and had lots of resources for finding things in the area.
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2023

10/10 Excellent

Matt O.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great Stay

We had a great time for a father/son golf and fishing trip. The house and property had everything we needed for a great time inside and out.
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2021

10/10 Excellent

Anthony R. S.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Long Weekend in July

Great trip - our third visit. We wouldn't keep coming back if it wasn't awesome.
Stayed 4 nights in Jul 2023

10/10 Excellent

jason g.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Base Camp

2nd time I have stayed here and will not be the last. Great communication with the owners, clean, well equipped, great location. Thank you, look forward to staying here again.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2023

10/10 Excellent

Casey L.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Wonderful as Always

This was our families third year staying at this property and we love it. We’ll be back year after year.
Stayed 3 nights in Sep 2023

10/10 Excellent

Tom T., Minnesota

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great golf trip home base

Lovely home in the best location for quick access to the Giants Ridge golf courses. We’ve stayed in quite a few locations in Voyager’s Retreat and this home Is in the perfect spot. The home was clean and spacious. We enjoyed the ping pong table in the basement and some great nights around the fire pit.
Stayed 4 nights in Jun 2020

10/10 Excellent

Travis M., Leander, USA

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Family Trip

We enjoyed our stay. We really enjoyed swimming and kayaking in the lake. The house is very nice and has a great spot on the lake. The only drawbacks are the upstairs bedrooms can get a little on the warm side and with the unfinished basement things can get very loud for anyone sleeping down in the basement.
Stayed 4 nights in Jul 2020

10/10 Excellent

Mollie W., Excelsior

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Lovely spacious home

Our group of 8 (4 adults, 4 teenage boys) loved this location and space. Close to skiing, lakeside for snowshoeing and we loved the ping pong and space to spread out a bit for those looking to stay up late. Kitchen is well appointed and we took advantage of parking in the garage since it was -25! Thank you, we’ll be back!
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2023

10/10 Excellent

Nathan A.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Private setting on the water

Very clean & private,deer in the driveway when we arrived! We had 6 adults and 4 kids, all had our own space. Very comfortable beautiful home on the lake and just 5 mins from Giants Ridge made this ideal for our ski/snowboard wknd! Thanks Bill & Tanya, we’ll be renting again!
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2020

10/10 Excellent

Aaron B.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Wedding Party Weekend Getaway

Absolutely beautiful property tucked away in the woods. Very spacious and clean. Conveniently located less than 10 minutes from town(grocery store and liqour store). Our favorite spot to hangout was the screened in porch that looks out over the lake. Bill and Tanya were very easy to communicate with. Definitely recommend staying here if you get the opportunity!
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2023

10/10 Excellent

Amber H.

Awesome get away!!

We had a great time hanging with family in this gem! Open floor plan with plenty of room for us all to relax. Beautiful views from the cabin. Kids loved the ping pong table in the basement. Bon fire by the beach was perfect. Can’t wait to come back in the summer and enjoy the lake and the sand!! Owners were very responsive and great to work with!

10/10 Excellent

Jackie G., Saint Paul, MN

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great cabin rental

We give Bill & Tanya’s cabin 5 stars! We had a wonderful week there. The cabin was clean and comfortable and provided everything we needed for a nice stay. The highlight for our kids was the private beach and dock- so many hours were spent swimming, kayaking and canoeing! We started our days on their screened in porch with a cup of coffee and ended them by the fire pit roasting s’mores. What a perfect way to relax. Thanks!
Stayed 5 nights in Aug 2020

10/10 Excellent

Ben J.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Wonderful holiday away from home

We stayed at Birchbark Hideaway over Thanksgiving weekend. We had stayed there a couple years ago and had such a great time that this was a return visit. Thanksgiving weekend is a perfect time at Voyageurs Retreat. It’s not busy at all and there was a little snow, but it wasn’t deep enough to prevent us from hiking each day. Indoors, we played ping pong, cards, and board games, and enjoyed the gas fireplace while watching the World Cup. This will not be our last trip to this lovely property.
Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2022

8/10 Good

Todd D.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Good

Good
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2023

10/10 Excellent

Chad F.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great spot as always

We love it here. This was our third time staying at Birch Bark and won't be our last. Appreciate how well the property is cared for and love the various improvements made over time like the finished basement, patio, and comforts such as wifi and streaming services. The only downside recently has been the increased development occurring nearby as new lots/cabins are being developed which can be noisy from time to time. That said, the location of this property is one of the most protected and naturally quiet given where it sits at the end of the lake and inability to develop most of the land surrounding. We love Lake Wynne but admittedly need help catching more fish :) Thanks for being great hosts.
Stayed 7 nights in Aug 2023

10/10 Excellent

Nicole H.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Beautiful Home

This property is everything you see in the photos and more. The surroundings are beautiful and very private. Plenty of room for everyone. Owners were very responsive before and after (I thought I had lost something) our stay. The home uses a app to lock/unlock the doors. I was fine with it but we had some older people in our group that struggled. Just make sure you are prepared and download the app and register prior to getting to the property. We were there for a wedding in a nearby town and this sure beat staying in a hotel. Loved it and looking for an excuse to go back.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2019

10/10 Excellent

Chad F.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Private, Relaxing, and Upscale

A week in Northern Minnesota is a rite of passage for our family. My kids beam with anticipation for weeks and even months prior to our yearly cabin adventure. We’ve done a few years of resort hopping - Gunflint Trail, Ely, Bemidji, Lutsen all fun and so memorable! HOWEVER, Biwabik and this lovely VRBO “Birchbark Hideaway” will become our family’s staple. The word perfect doesn’t seem to fit. We hadn’t even stepped in the house before my kids and I were requesting a return trip for the next year. The privacy, the landscape, and the energy of this corner of Earth is magical. We made sandcastles, caught frogs and reptiles along the shore (bring water shoes!) kayaked and canoed over to uninhabited shoreline, bonfires, swimming, catch in the backyard... that is just to list some of the fun. The love and warmth of this cabin is felt instantly, it deserves its own 5 star review. The small conveniences of a nice Cuisinart Coffee Maker, sharp knives, Tupperware, pots and pans (a well stocked fully-capable kitchen), filtered water out of the fridge, hand soap at the sink, nice washer and dryer, tv for family movie night- WIFI, plush towels, clean comfortable bedding, ping pong in the basement: THE LIST COULD GO ON AND ON! Staying at the older northern resorts always took me a couple of days (half the vacation haha) to get comfortable and feel relaxed because everything is a little, well different. I got to enjoy every moment of our trip because so much dedication and thoughtfulness has gone into making this home comfortable. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING! Ps. Let us know if you ever consider selling ;-)!
Stayed 7 nights in Aug 2020

10/10 Excellent

David P.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great Space for a Ski Get-away

We (two families with young adult children) had a great stay at this house. The layout was perfect for us and the place had everything we needed. There was a basement rec room with pool table and big TV where the kids hung out. Two large bedrooms for the parents and a set of 4 bunk beds worked for the kids. We skied two days at Giants Ridge, and the location was ideal for that, but it looks like it would also be a fun place to come in the summer. The owners were helpful - we had one minor hiccup getting the door open and the owner was able to help us within minutes.
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2022

10/10 Excellent

Casey L.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Wonderful

This was our third year in a row gathering at this property and we can’t wait for our fourth next year. Everything is terrific!
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2022

10/10 Excellent

Courtney S.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Best getaway from the city

This house is beautiful and so is the lake. We felt relaxed as soon as we stepped out of the car. The fire pit, beach area, and dock are perfect for hanging out all day by the water fishing, kayaking, and playing on the Lily pad. We even saw beavers from the lodge on the island across the lake!
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2022

10/10 Excellent

Anthony R. S.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great Week!

Loved it. Ready to go back. Property was perfect. Highly recommend. Highlights included evening canoe rides, watching the beaver build his house, the Maui mat/lily pad at the dock, nature walks, and catching fish every day (northern and walleye).
Stayed 5 nights in Jul 2022

10/10 Excellent

John L.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great cabin near Giant's Ridge

Beautiful spot on the lake. Had trouble with the front keypad but owners corrected it pretty quickly.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2022

10/10 Excellent

Marcel S., Minnetonka Beach

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

great house , great location

we came up here for snowmobiling, where able to hit the trails from the lake. Fantastic!
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2022

10/10 Excellent

Nathan S.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great House

Great house on the lake... we loved it so much that we will look for a time to rent during the summer! This was perfect for our State Meet team, good kitchen for meals and plenty of space for the kids to relax and prep for the race.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2022

10/10 Excellent

Gregg M.

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great Property

Had a great stay. House was perfect!
Stayed 5 nights in Dec 2021

About the host

Hosted by Bill and Tanya Schmidt

Host profile image
We have four kids and live in Becker, MN. We love the Biwabik/Iron Range area and are excited to share our property with others.

Why they chose this property

We have been in the rental business for 11 years. Our previous property was in Clear Lake, Iowa. Over the 4th of July every year we have stayed at my brother's place (now our cabin neighbor!). Biwabik has been on our mind for investment property/personal use ever since we started going there. You will not be disappointed with our lake home or the area. Year round rental was key for us in buying another rental property and Biwabik truly does have it all!

What makes this property unique

Private 1.2 acre lot, not the high traffic tourist busyness that comes with other lake shore destinations. You can enjoy four seasons of fun at our place with outdoor activities including~swimming, fishing, golfing, downhill and cross country skiing, miles of ATV/snowmobile trails, Mesabi bike trail, hiking trails and so much more! Golf Digest's list of 100 Greatest Public Courses in 2019 rated The Quarry at Giant's Ridge as the TOP public course in Minnesota (#31 overall) with The Wilderness in Tower, MN not far behind (#72 overall) and only 30 minutes from Biwabik. In a one hour radius there are numerous places for a day trip such as Duluth, Ely, Lake Vermillion, Virginia etc. OR stay in the cozy home, read a book and have a glass of wine on Wynne!

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English
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