
Golf Photos: Brian Oar
Giants Ridge in Biwabik, Minn. offers 36 holes of golf and the state’s most extensive biking trails in the summer, and keeps the recreational activity going throughout the winter with skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing.
Minnesota is known as the “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” so it goes to reason that recreational activities are plentiful across the state. Nowhere is that more evident than at Giants Ridge in Biwabik, Minn.
Located in the Superior National Forest of the Mesabi Iron Range, Giants Ridge is a four-season resort targeting every level of outdoor enthusiast. The resort’s name is derived from the Ojibwi Indian tribe—Misaabe Wajiw—or “Big Man Mountain.” A signature bunker in the shape of a massive footprint emphasizes the legend on one of its golf courses.
Summer at Giants Ridge offers two 18-hole championship golf courses, fishing, boating, hiking and top-rated mountain-bike trails. The winter brings skiing, snowboarding and fat-tire biking.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, General Manager Fred Seymour says everything—with the exception of food and beverage—was up in 2020. “For our fiscal year, which ended June 30, golf was up 35 percent, winter recreation was up 18 percent and summer recreation was up 75 percent,” he reports.
Giants Ridge typically sees 130,000 to 150,000 guests on an annual basis, says General Manager Fred Seymour. And fortunately for the resort, the pandemic didn’t have far-reaching effects on the property.
“We were not really shut down during COVID,” Seymour says. “We closed skiing three weeks earlier [on March 15], and then opened golf on schedule on May 1.”
In 2020, in fact, all of Giants Ridge’s operating areas saw increased activity, Seymour notes, except food and beverage, which was curtailed by capacity restrictions.
“Golf, summer recreation and ski visits were all up,” he says. “For our fiscal year, which ended June 30, golf was up 35 percent, winter recreation was up 18 percent, and summer recreation was up 75 percent.”
There are more than 200 skiable acres at Giants Ridge and the ski hill has 500 feet of vertical drop. In addition to a pair of chalets, there are a total of 35 trails with seven chairlifts and a Yurt.
Accommodations include The Lodge at Giants Ridge and the Villas at Giants Ridge. The Lodge features 67 guest suites ranging from one to four bedrooms, the Sleeping Giant Restaurant & Bar, Little Giant Arcade, indoor pool and hot tub, exercise room and meeting and event spaces.
The Villas offer studios, 1- and 2-bedroom suites, plus 3- and 4-bedroom villas. Most offer fireplaces, full kitchens, and whirlpool baths. All units are individually owned, decorated and controlled by their owners.
The majority of Giants Ridge guests travel from Minneapolis/St. Paul, the Dakotas, Iowa, Chicago and other Midwest locales. Canada—just about an hour and a half to the north—was also a huge market before the pandemic hit and borders were closed.
Golf Gets a Boost

Director of Golf John Kendall says the resort’s biggest push is with introducing juniors and their families to the sport through weeklong clinics and offers aimed at family participation. “This has been a huge success and has opened our courses to guests who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to visit the facility,” he says.
Giants Ridge offers two 18-hole golf courses—The Legend and The Quarry—both designed by architect Jeffrey D. Brauer, ASGCA. John Kendall, who has been the resort’s Director of Golf for 24 years, says the resort generally sees around 32,000 rounds per year, before getting the boost in 2020.
“I believe that people rediscovered their enjoyment of the game and appreciated the benefits of simply getting outside and being active,” Kendall says. “Hopefully we won’t see anything like 2020 again, but it rekindled the golf spark in a number of our guests.”
The Legend opened for play in 1997, with The Quarry following six years later. The diversity of the tracks is a big part of the consistent appeal of golf at Giants Ridge, Kendall says.
“I believe the biggest strength of our golf courses are not only their quality, but the differences between how they look and play for our guests,” he says. “I have never been to another golf facility that has the same level of design variety and quality between courses.
“The Legend is what most guests would expect from a Northwoods golf experience, with the towering Norway Pines, lakes, and boulders commonly seen in our region,” Kendall describes. “It is an excellent mix of playability and aesthetics, and has earned its place in our region’s golf market.
“The Quarry is an excellent example of a reclaimed industrial site being transformed into a recreation venue,” he continues. “The look and feel of the Quarry is unlike anything else our guests will see anywhere in the Midwest, and is a great complement to the traditional golf played at the Legend.”
Kendall and his staff also promote play at Giants Ridge by not just focusing on current golfers, but also offering ample “grow the game” initiatives.
“Throughout the season we conduct weekly beginner and women’s clinics designed at exposing new players to the facility and the game,” he says. “Our biggest push is with introducing juniors and their families to the sport through weeklong clinics and offers aimed at family participation.
“Juniors 15-and-under play for free in the afternoons if accompanied by a paid adult,” he notes. “This has been a huge success and has opened our courses to guests who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to visit the facility.”
Casual Culinary

Executive Chef Doug Sperry refers to all of the property’s restaurants as “casual with a relaxed atmosphere.” The resort has multiple dining options, including The Burnt Onion Kitchen and Brews, Wacootah Grille, Bunkers Snack Bar, and a Food Court during the winter ski season.
Executive Chef Doug Sperry has worked at resort properties throughout the West Coast and Upper Midwest for 26 years, and the past two at Giants Ridge. He refers to all of the property’s restaurants as “casual with a relaxed atmosphere.”
The Burnt Onion Kitchen and Brews is adjacent to the Lodge at Giants Ridge and The Legend course. It features seasonal lunch and dinner menus, and a full bar with a creative twist on classic American fare. Down the road, the Wacootah Grille at The Quarry course offers breakfast, lunch and dinner menus and a full-service bar. Indoor and patio seating overlooks the 18th green and the sparkling blue waters of Mine Lake.
There’s also Bunkers Snack Bar, located at The Legend course, for breakfast and deli sandwiches, burgers, brats, hot dogs, snacks, mixed drinks and assorted beers on the outdoor patio. The Winter Food Court is located in the main Chalet.
“Our Food Court offers winter enthusiasts a casual setting overlooking the ski slopes, with offerings from fast food, pizzas, snacks, sandwiches with house-made soups, and a coffee bar that provides cozy warmth on winter days,” says Sperry.
Bunkers and Wacootah are open during the summer only, while the Food Court is a winter-only operation. Burnt Onion is open year-round.
An Agronomic Tag Team
Joe Marafioti and Jeff Simondet split golf course superintendent duties at Giants Ridge. Marafioti, who directs care of The Legend, has been at the property for his entire 20-year career. Simondet is in charge of The Quarry and has been in the industry for 17 years—the last eight at the resort.

Joe Marafioti and Jeff Simondet split superintendent duties for Giants Ridge’s two golf courses. Marafioti (The Legend) has been at the club for his entire 20-year career, while Simondet (The Quarry, pictured above) has been at the resort since 2013.
The different nature of the two courses also requires different maintenance approaches, Simondet reports. “Water management is the most unique and critical challenge at The Quarry golf course, with it being built on a former sand/gravel quarry,” he says. “It requires daily monitoring of the soil to ensure adequate moisture levels are met and aren’t being exceeded.”
While many clubs used the lockdowns during the early stages of the pandemic to tackle some needed projects, Simondet says golf restrictions in Minnesota were loosened shortly before the golf season started, so it was business as usual at Giants Ridge.
And Marafioti doubts they would have had the manpower to do too much, regardless. “We were very short-staffed in the early stages,” he says. “We had seven employees at each golf course to get them ready for play.”
While it has been hard in the past to hire a full staff for the summer, Marafioti adds, the last two years have been getting better.
Simondet agrees. “Every year is different with staffing,” he says. “Some years we will operate the majority of the season at full or near-full capacity at the course, and there are some years where we are running around half-capacity.”
All-Season Optimism
Whether it’s golf, hiking, biking or myriad snow sports, Seymour has an enthusiastic outlook on the future of Giants Ridge.
“Bright!” he says emphatically. “We offer guests the opportunity to explore, get outside and recreate in the great Northwoods of Minnesota.”
At a Glance:
Giants Ridge
Biwabik, Minn.
www.giantsridge.com
Two 18-Hole Golf Courses: The Legend and The Quarry
Golf Course Designer: Jeffrey D. Brauer
Annual Resort Guests: 130,000-150,000
Annual Golf Rounds: 32,000
General Manager: Fred Seymour
Director of Golf: John Kendall
Executive Chef: Doug Sperry
Superintendent: Joe Marafioti (The Legend) and Jeff Simondet (The Quarry)

In addition to golf on two championship courses, Giants Ridge offers fishing, boating, hiking, chairlift rides and top-rated mountain-bike trails. The winter brings skiing, snowboarding and fat-tire biking.
C+RB
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