Planning a girls’ weekend in lake country? There are plenty of things to do in Crosslake, Minnesota, whether your ideal getaway involves a day on the Whitefish Chain, shopping local boutiques, great food and wine, a little pampering or simply spending time together at the cabin.
We’re local to Crosslake, so we put together 10 of our favorite ways to spend a girls’ weekend here, with a mix of outdoor activities, local businesses, food and drink, and a few experiences you can bring right to your lake home or vacation rental.
1. Spend a Day on the Whitefish Chain
It’s hard to plan a Crosslake weekend without spending at least part of it on the water.
The Whitefish Chain of Lakes is at the heart of Crosslake, and you don’t need to own a boat to enjoy it.
Crosslake Rental offers pontoon, tritoon and other watercraft rentals and serves the Whitefish Chain.
Another fun option for a girls’ trip is Whitefish Rentals. In addition to pontoon rentals, they offer a captained pontoon experience specifically suited to groups, including bachelorette parties. That means everyone gets to relax and nobody in the group has to be the designated boat driver.
Pack your sunglasses, make a playlist and let the lake be the day’s itinerary.
2. Shop Your Way Around Crosslake
Leave a little room in the weekend for shopping.
Crosslake has locally owned boutiques and shops that make it easy to spend a few hours wandering without needing a major itinerary.
Squirrelly Mama is a family-run Crosslake boutique with women’s apparel, gifts, accessories, home items and locally inspired finds.
Common Goods is another fun stop when you never quite know what you’re going to find.
And don’t overlook Key Wellness & Aesthetics while you’re shopping. In addition to its wellness and aesthetic services, Key has boutique merchandise, making it an easy stop to combine with some pampering later in the weekend.
Girls’ weekend shopping is considerably more fun when nobody is actually trying to accomplish anything.
3. Build Your Own Charcuterie and Taste Your Way Through the Tap Wall
This one is ours, but it’s also genuinely one of the most unique things you can do in Crosslake.
At UpNorth Social, you don’t order a predetermined charcuterie board.
Choose the artisan cheeses, meats and accompaniments that sound good to you, and we’ll turn your selections into a beautiful board.
Then explore the self-pour tap wall.
Try an ounce of a wine you’ve never had before. Compare a few and create your own flight. Pour a craft beer instead. Ask us what we’d pair with the cheese you picked.
It works especially well for groups because everyone gets to explore at their own pace.
One guest who makes Crosslake an annual girls’ weekend destination summed it up pretty well:
“Our wine and charcuterie exceeded our expectations… A must visit if you’re in the area!”
— Alexa Jansen
4. Book a Little Pampering
A girls’ weekend is a perfectly reasonable excuse to make time for something you never seem to schedule at home.
Key Wellness & Aesthetics offers aesthetic and wellness services in Crosslake, including facials and other treatments.
This is one to plan ahead if several people in your group want appointments.
Or don’t be afraid to split up for a couple of hours.
Some people shop. Some book a treatment. Everyone meets back up afterward.
Not every girls’ weekend activity needs unanimous participation.
5. Get Outside and Explore Crosslake’s Trails
The lake gets most of the attention, but Crosslake has some beautiful places to explore on foot, too.
Uppgaard Wildlife Management Area is a good option for a quiet walk surrounded by woods and wildlife.
You can also explore South Bay Park, with walking trails, green space and views over South Bay.
For a longer outing, the Nordic Ridge Trail system extends for roughly 22 kilometers, or 13.7 miles, with multiple loops and hiking opportunities.
This is an especially good addition to a fall girls’ weekend when the temperatures cool down and the leaves start changing.
6. Have Lunch, Dinner or Drinks on the Water
You came to lake country. At least one meal should probably come with a lake view.
Crosslake has several longtime waterfront spots that are simply part of the experience.
The Wharf is right on the Whitefish Chain and accessible by boat or car, with food, cocktails, dockside sunsets and live music during the summer.
Manhattan Beach Lodge gives you another beautiful lake setting and is especially nice when you can time your visit around sunset.
And Moonlite Bay is a classic Crosslake stop when your group wants something casual and lively. With 70 boat slips, it’s also easy to work into a day on the water.
We’re not going to tell you where every meal of the weekend should be.
Part of the fun is trying a few different Crosslake experiences while you’re here.
7. Check Out the National Loon Center
Crosslake is about to gain a pretty significant new attraction.
The National Loon Center is building a new 20,000-square-foot research and education facility in Crosslake, scheduled to open in 2027. Plans include immersive exhibits focused on loons, freshwater ecosystems, shoreland habitats and migration.
Until the new center opens, the organization continues to offer educational programming and events in the Crosslake area.
If you’re planning a future Crosslake girls’ weekend, this is definitely one to watch.
8. Bring a Private Wine & Cheese Experience to Your Cabin
One night of girls’ weekend doesn’t have to involve figuring out who’s driving, making another reservation or getting everyone out the door at the same time.
Bring the experience to you instead.
UpNorth Social partners with Ashley of Bella Wine Girl to create private Wine & Cheese Pairing Experiences at lake homes, cabins and vacation rentals throughout the Brainerd Lakes Area.
Ashley guides the wine experience while UpNorth Social creates the artisan charcuterie and pairings.
Each experience can be tailored around your group, including dietary restrictions, gluten sensitivities and guests who are pregnant or simply aren’t drinking.
One bachelorette group of 11 booked the experience right at their Crosslake Airbnb and later described it as a “15/10 experience.”
For a bachelorette weekend or girls’ getaway, this is one of our favorite ways to make one night of the trip feel completely different.
9. Give Everyone the Night Off From Cooking
If you’re renting a beautiful lake house for the weekend, you don’t necessarily need to leave it every time you’re hungry.
In fact, one of the nicest nights can be the one where nobody has to cook and nobody has to go anywhere.
Plan sunset drinks on the deck. Put on music. Play games. Sit around the fire.
And have the food handled.
UpNorth Social offers off-site catering throughout Crosslake and the surrounding Brainerd Lakes Area, from artisan grazing spreads to fresh salads, sandwiches and other options that work especially well for groups staying at cabins and vacation rentals.
It’s also a great solution for arrival night, when everyone is getting into town at different times and the last thing anyone wants to do is coordinate a grocery run.
10. Have a Rainy-Day Plan Before You Need One
Every lake weekend has one variable nobody gets to control.
Minnesota weather.
A rainy day doesn’t have to derail the weekend.
Sleep in. Grab coffee. Browse Crosslake’s shops. Book a facial. Build a charcuterie board and try a few wines. Find a creative indoor activity. Or turn the cabin into the destination with a private Wine & Cheese Pairing Experience.
Sometimes the unexpected indoor day ends up being one of the best parts of the trip.
And yes, we think this deserves a guide of its own.
Planning Your Crosslake Girls’ Weekend
You don’t need to schedule every hour.
Pick a couple of things everyone really wants to do, leave room for the lake and give yourselves permission to change plans.
A great Crosslake girls’ weekend might look something like this:
Friday: Arrive, have catered food waiting at the cabin and open the first bottle of wine on the deck.
Saturday: Slow morning, local shopping, a day on the Whitefish Chain, UpNorth Social for charcuterie and wine, then dinner on the water.
Sunday: Coffee, a trail walk or a little pampering before everyone heads home.
Or make one evening the centerpiece of the weekend with a private Wine & Cheese Pairing Experience right at your rental.
The best part of a Crosslake getaway isn’t checking ten things off a list.
It’s having enough good options to build the kind of weekend your group actually wants.