In recent years, winter thunderstorms have been about as prevalent as snowstorms in the Chicago area. While that's good news for some, the season isn't the same for those who prefer an annual dose of snow, solitude and contentment in northern Wisconsin.

Newer snowmobiles offer smoother rides these days, according to riders. Improvements in clothing and on-board hand-warmers also keep riders snug. Photo credit travelwisconsin.com

"We have a ton of snow now," says Holly Tomlanovich, the self-proclaimed "snowmobiling grandma" of Vilas County, Wisconsin. Tomlanovich, owner of Bayside Motor Lodge in Eagle River, also runs a snow conditions website likely to elicit tears from snowmobilers and skiers with Illinois ZIP codes. With 40 years of snowmobiling behind her, Tomlanovich still delights in introducing newcomers to the area's 500-mile system of groomed public trails, which currently boast at least a 20-inch base of snow.

"Most people think snowmobiling will be bumpy, but it's comfortable," says Tomlanovich. "The machines have good suspension and hand-warmers and the ride is more fun than they think and certainly not as cold," she says.

For 43 years, Eagle River has been host to the World Championship Snowmobile Derby, sort of an Indy 500 of the sport, which attracts thousands of spectators and a multitude of top national racers in mid-January.

Helping cement Eagle River's "cradle of snowmobiling" reputation was area resident Carl Eliason, who built a sort of motorized toboggan in the 1920s. Modern snowmobiles evolved from his contraption, which is still on display at the Vilas County Historical Museum in Sayner, near Eagle River. (While the museum is closed in winter, its Old Curiosity Shop ambiance makes it fun to poke around in during the summer).

An upcoming winter attraction in Eagle River is Klondike Days, which draws crowds of about 20,000 people and is set this year for Feb. 18-19. The family-oriented weekend event has lumberjack competitions, a wildlife art show, Bluegrass music and a re-created fur-trader and trapper's camp where re-enactors brave the elements and camp outdoors with period equipment, fur hats and buckskins.

Native American Nick Hockings, of the Lac du Flambeau Band of the Lake Superior Ojibwe, brings his Waswagoning Dance Theatre to Klondike Days, with terrific performances of traditional and modern Native American dance.

In spite of the organized winter events, solitude and time together is what many families and couples enjoy most about a weekend up north. For our family, a network of cross-country ski trails in the Nicolet National Forest east of Eagle River is a favorite haunt.

Snowmobiles aren't allowed on the trails, and the hilly woods are home to twittering chickadees and the smell of Balsam fir mixed with a hint of woodsmoke.

Our boys, aged 2 and 4, don't ski yet, so we pulled them along on sleds during a visit to the trails this year. The Anvil Lake Trail system has a small log cabin warming hut, usually empty, with a glowing fire tended by skiers as they come and go. Inside, there is a bag of sunflower seeds, and if you stand like a statue outside the hut, the chickadees will swoop down from the evergreens, landing on hats and gloves to eat the seeds you offer.

That close up, the thrumming cheerfulness of the chickadees is a treat for adults, but our kids found the birds almost as thrilling as pterodactyls. It was good clean fun of the highest order.

There are half a million acres of public forest land in Vilas County, so the 12 miles of groomed ski trails at Anvil Lake provide a mere introduction to cross-country skiing in the area. Miles of trails are maintained in the county by private clubs plus county, state and federal agencies. Some visitors prefer to bushwhack through the Nicolet on snowshoes, with nothing between them and the woods. A few years ago, my wife Ann splurged on a plane ticket to Eagle River from Palwaukee Municipal Airport to join me for a summer weekend. "There are so many lakes!" she said, after getting off the plane. "It's half water down there." She was right. Vilas County has over 1,300 lakes. While locked in winter ice, the lakes may seem out of reach, but recently our family has tried a little ice fishing on the lake outside a cabin my parents bought east of Eagle River in the 1980s.

No relative or guide ever showed me the ropes, but it doesn't take long to figure out that ice fishing at its most basic means little more than drilling a hole, baiting a hook, and setting out a "tip-up" or two. This winter, temperatures in the 20s have meant ice shelters haven't been needed too often.

The tip-ups have a hooked line that release a red flag when a passing fish takes the bait. Last month, while playing around with sled rides and a snow fort on the ice with my 4-year-old son, we hooked a 17-inch northern pike without much effort.

"Daddy, you're the best fisherman," my son said, and for once, I didn't correct the lad.

Newcomers to several winter sports don't need much experience to get started. Local communities in northern Wisconsin are long on fishing guides, for example, and rental equipment from snowmobiles to cross-country or downhill skis are available by the day.

After a day spent outside, you can feel you've earned a night at a restaurant. Eating out is the unofficial sport of the Northwoods. At the start of an Eagle River visit, pick up the local weekly, the Vilas County News-Review. It's a good resource for local activities, and the restaurant ads let you know who's touting the Friday night fish fries. Not in the mood to clean a fish, we released our northern pike back into the lake and headed for Bent's Camp, in Land ŚO Lakes, a favorite restaurant. Unlike most lodges in the area built in the 1930s, Bent's was established in the 19th Century when northern Wisconsin was a real wilderness. With a great setting on a large lake, the resort's restaurant is among the best in the area and a great place to watch snowmobilers come and go.

The Guide's Inn in Boulder Junction is also recommended by locals, and Little Bohemia on Little Star Lake was frequented by John Dillinger and his gang in the 1930s. Restaurant owners since then have preserved luggage and other items left behind by the gang when FBI agents stormed the place, killing a couple of local residents but not Dillinger. Bullet holes in the windows have even been glazed over and preserved. Boating, hiking and fishing make summer visits to the Eagle River area a different kind of adventure when long summer days are ushered out by the loons. Winter visits, however, aren't inferior when visitors embrace the cold weather. There are outdoor sports and Christmas card landscapes, and the region gets quieter and even more relaxed. It's only 327 miles north of Chicago, but in attitude and appearance it's a world from the Chicago suburbs.

Contact Information:

* Eagle River Visitors Center: 800-359-6315

* Wisconsin State Tourism: 800-432-8747

* Snow Conditions: www.snowtracks.com/wisconsin/eagleriver.htm