Simply put, we love the outdoors. After years of living in the city, we began to realize we felt our best in nature, moving our bodies. It was the one thing that could truly calm our minds and allow us to breathe deeply. But, we also loved the creativity and uniqueness of certain spaces that came with living in a city.
After years of living and working away from Minnesota, we decided to come home and start on the journey of our dreams, combining nature with elements of natural design to bring guests on an unforgettable experience for the mind, body and soul.
Rewind to 2016, our very first getaway was a small condo in downtown Austin. Little did we know this would be the catalyst to the change in our careers and lives. At the time, Chris worked full time as a physical therapist and had opened his own clinic. Kelsey worked in real estate and had been renovating and designing homes in Austin for guests.
When we closed on the condo, we filled it with West Texas art, calming plants and decor and it truly is a sanctuary from the bustling city outside. We learned quickly that we loved creating spaces and getting to know guests from across the world.
Fast forward years later, our dream was to bring this feeling home to Minnesota. We purchased 3 acres on the edge of historic Main Street Crosby and with the help of friends, family and a bank loan, we moved home and built Minnesota's first tiny cabins on stilts which have direct access to Cuyuna's globally ranked outdoor adventures.
For over a decade now, we have been hosting thousands of guests, building, renovating, designing and managing unique spaces and experiences throughout the US.
We now own and operate our small business, Still Resorts, together with the hard work and help of local families in the community. We are incredibly grateful to have such amazing humans working beside us but also to be able to become close friends and build lasting relationships with so many of them.
We love what we do and are always coming up with new, creative and beautiful ways to enhance our current getaways along with building new spaces for our guests to reconnect with themselves and loved ones. We believe we can all start to live a life full of richness and begin to heal both our mental and physical health with the help of nature and through the journey of connection. Giving ourselves permission to slow down is the first step. We cannot wait to have you come stay with us and rediscover what matters most to you.
We are firm believers that deep rejuvenation and healing of our minds and bodies can be found by combining physical movement and relaxation while immersed in nature. That's why we're so excited to be building these unique cabins at Tofte Trails, located in one of the most powerful and beautiful places on Earth.
Chris and Kelsey's story started when they came together and made the decision to take the big leap in 2018 and move North in their RV. They used their 10+ years of experience in flipping & renovating homes, launching several businesses, hosting guests on Airbnb in their downtown Austin, TX condo and in Crosby, MN to start their next journey together. They bought 3 beautiful acres of trail connected land (Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area) located on the edge of Historic Main St in Crosby, MN and built/launched their very first commercial property in 2020: Cuyuna Cove. Since then, they have hosted thousands of guests and continue to add additions to the property today and always have a new project/idea to bring to life!
After they were able to find an amazing yet small team to help them welcome guests at Cuyuna Cove, they knew they knew they wanted to continue their passion of creating and building unique getaways for friends, family and their amazing guests. They had both grown up taking memorable trips to the North Shore and when they found 17 beautifully wooded acres in Tofte, MN with Lake Superior views for sale, they jumped at the opportunity to own land in one of their favorite places on Earth.
They started slowly with their vision for Tofte Trails, making the 3.5 hour drive each way from Crosby to Tofte and living out of a tent on their raw 17 acres while carefully designing and planning their next custom cabins. Every detail, no matter how small matters greatly to them and you'll notice the care and thoughtfulness that goes into both their Cuyuna Cove cabins as well as their Tofte Trails cabins. Many years of love have been poured into both projects and they cannot wait for you to come experience the power, beauty and deep rejuvenation that comes with moving your body outside in nature followed by deep rest in a beautifully designed, one of a kind cabin.
On any given day, you will usually find the two of them together, working on the land, managing the business, going on hikes with their dogs & striking up conversations with strangers everywhere they go. They love exploring new places and taking road trips to re-inspire themselves so they can bring the joy of new experiences back to their cabins in Tofte and Cuyuna. They absolutely love getting to know you, their guest, and inspiring their friends & family to join them on all their adventures outdoors! Trying new food (and finding the best coffee) is also something that drives them...they are all about traveling to places with incredible cuisine and design.
Follow along as Kelsey and Chris continue to design and build beautiful and unique spaces on their stunning 17 acres overlooking Lake Superior along with their newest additions to Cuyuna Cove in Crosby, MN. Be sure to follow along on social media and join the email list to ensure you are the first to know when they announce their next big adventures!
The five cabins at Tofte Trails will be completed and welcoming their first guests Summer 2023.
What a journey it has been! The best part of it all? Getting to know and meet so many amazing guests. Thank you all for your continued support for our small business!
“We cannot thank you enough for coming to stay in our custom cabins in beautiful Tofte, Minnesota. We’re so lucky to call the North Shore of MN and Lake Superior our ‘home away from home’. Our goal in building Tofte Trails is that you’ll have a rejuvenating getaway filled with adventure, nature and connecting to yourself and loved ones. Memories made in Tofte will truly last a lifetime and beyond! Enjoy every moment.”
A special thank you to our friends at Blaze Air for this amazing drone fly through video at Cuyuna Cove. We cannot wait to share Tofte Trails with you soon. Enjoy the tour!