Northern Wilds

First, the history. Tom’s Logging Camp and Old Northwest Company Trading Post recreates a northern Minnesota logging camp from days gone by. The main visitor trail winds through thick spruce and pine woods to a series of authentic-to-the-period buildings, among them a horse barn, a bunkhouse, a blacksmith shop, a cook shack, and, of course, a Finnish sauna. Each building boasts historically accurate tools and decor.

Interspersed along the trail is a trout pond and pens with pygmy goats and llamas. The trading post features local staples like wild rice, maple syrup, jams and jellies, handmade soaps and Minnetonka moccasins.

Tom’s Logging Camp is run by Lauren and Bill Weckman and assisted by their twin daughters. The original owner, Tom Deebach, settled the business at its current location around 1960. Lauren is the daughter of the second owner and has been running the operation for almost 25 years.

Bill Weckman adds cream to his popular cream of wild rice soup.

In 2010, the Weckmans added food to the mix. Sandwiches, soup, beverages and ice cream can be purchased at the café. Sit down inside the café or outside at a picnic table, or get it to go if you’re in a hurry. The food is prepared on-site, using local goods whenever possible. For example, the bread is crafted at an artisanal bakery in Superior, Wis. and the wild rice hails from Grand Rapids.

Bill runs the food side and has two made-from-scratch soups each day along with sandwiches and sides like cole slaw and potato salad. Try the soup and sandwich special if you can’t decide what to get.

My wife Mary and I recently stopped at Tom’s Logging Camp for a lunch date. She got the corn chowder and a turkey sandwich on cranberry-wild rice bread, while I sampled the cream of wild rice soup and a beef sandwich. The cream of wild rice is the bestselling soup. Its tastiness is unsurprising, given that the recipe calls for a quart of cream.