The old Borderland Lodge, rebuilt about 40 years ago, has been newly refurbished by owners John and Rose Schloot, who now operate the business as Cross River Lodge. The lodge and all of its suites and cabins have beautiful south-facing views of Gunflint Lake.
No one wants to see Cook County’s “mom and pop joints” disappear. John Schloot, who has vacationed on the Gunflint Trail his entire life, felt so strongly about this that he and his wife Rose, with silent partner Ken Kormeier of Columbia, Missouri, resurrected one two years ago – the old Borderland Lodge, later known as Moosehorn Lodge and now known as Cross River Lodge. “We’re kind of putting one back,” John said.
Cross River Lodge is situated a mile down North Gunflint Lake Road (otherwise known as County Road 46—46 miles from Grand Marais) on the shore of Gunflint Lake.
John first came to the Gunflint Trail in 1957 when he was a baby, staying at Borderland Lodge with his family. His dad worked for Honeywell, which gave all its employees vacation time in July.
At that time Dave and Ann Clark, who had previously owned Rockwood Lodge, owned Borderland Lodge. They sold some nearby land to John’s parents, who built a cabin there in 1965. John remembers his older brothers going out fishing with their dad, but John, being the youngest, would stay back with his mom and fish the Cross River from the county road bridge. “Quite a few of the times they’d come back and we’d have more fish!” John said. He still owns the cabin with one of his brothers.
Cross River Lodge’s fireplace is original to the lodge that Charlie Johnson built in the 1920s and continues to help guests warm up after outdoor adventures near the end of the Gunflint Trail. The lodge features cozy seating by the fireplace, a wall of windows overlooking the lake, a lounging area with large-screen satellite TV, a dining room where homemade food is served, and a screened porch with a gas fireplace.
John and Rose’s small crew includes previous owner Paula Beattie and retired firefighter and fellow Missourian Doug Turner. Friend Vern Johnson comes up from Missouri and helps out as well. Together, they seem like family.
Reclaiming the lodge
The original Borderland Lodge property was divided up into several parcels in the late 1990s. What was left of the property when John and Rose bought it was the lodge, a cabin, a storage building, and a half-finished cabin that had been vacant for years. John and Rose have been trying to piece it back together as much as possible, buying two cabins that were part of the original parcel. They have done a lot of renovation.
Why did John go to all the trouble of buying the property and restoring the lodge and cabins to the modernized, stylish state they are now in? “The motivation for me was love of the property,” John said. “My roots run deep in this ledge rock.” In fact, he started working at the lodge when he was 13 and still has a scar on his knee from falling on that ledge rock.
The original lodge was built in the 1920s by Charlie Johnson. It was rebuilt and expanded about 40 years ago, but the original foundation and the massive fireplace remain in place. The reason it is no longer called either Borderland Lodge or Moosehorn Lodge is that there is now a Borderland Lodge somewhere else in Minnesota and a Moosehorn Lodge in Canada.
Guests can expect to be treated well and have a lot of recreational options including boating, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, hiking, birding, mountain biking, and horseback riding in the summer and cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, ice fishing, and dog sledding in the winter. Their website, www.crossriverlodge. com, even has a link to horse-drawn sleigh rides with the Patten family a few miles back down the Gunflint Trail.
Of course, sitting in front of the lake with a couple of good books, whether cozied up next to a fireplace, enjoying balmy breezes on the screened porch, or sprawled out on the ledge rock outside, might be all some guests need to be happy. WiFi and satellite TV are available in the lodge.
“We have a real nice breakfast every day,” John said. “About every other week we’ll have a back yard barbecue.” They can send guests off with boxed breakfasts and lunches and can provide all meals for people who want them.
The guest suites and cabins have kitchen facilities ranging from microwaves and fridges to full kitchens, all with decks, most with barbecue grills and fireplaces, and one with a jacuzzi. One phrase that might describe John and Rose’s redo is “Northwoods refined.”
Cross River Lodge prices are affordable, starting as low as $95 a night.
Other careers
Rose Schloot has successfully switched gears from her former career in distribution and marketing with the Missouri Farmer’s Association, a large farm supply and marketing cooperative. When asked how she likes owning and operating a lodge up the Gunflint Trail, she said it’s great. “We were spending most of our summers up here anyway,” she said.
This is not John and Rose’s first business venture. Or second, or third, or fourth, or fifth. They have had their hands in numerous businesses, including Mulnix Industries, which sells custom boardroom and classroom furniture; Town Square LLC, which owns a small shopping center and commercial residential properties in Missouri and an office building in Illinois; Town Square Industrial LLC, which owns an industrial park and other real estate; Central Marketing Inc., an audio/visual manufacturer’s rep in Crystal, Illinois; and last but not least, Treehouse Foods, which manufactures Pig In A Polka, a healthy meat rub with a lower-than-usual sugar and salt content.
The Schloots also started a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Hallsville Area Family Clinic in Hallsville, Missouri, the Columbia bedroom community where they live when they are not on the Gunflint Trail. John still needs a little more to keep him busy, so he serves as chairman of human resources on the Shriners Hospitals of St. Louis board of governors and executive director of the Hallsville Chamber of Commerce.
Mission
John and Rose recently received news that they had been named one of the best places to visit in Minnesota in Midwest Living magazine’s 2011 Best of the Midwest Guide.
When John and Rose started on this venture, they thought about what they wanted Cross River Lodge to be known for. They decided on three things: cleanliness, good value, and hospitality. Combined with beautiful interiors, desirable amenities, and a spectacular location, they offer the finest in Northwoods getaways.
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