I may as well admit it: I got lost at Lost Lake Lodge. A wave of city-slicker panic hit me there in the woods, but sustained by the buttermilk pancakes served early that morning in the lodge’s regionally revered restaurant, I took off for what I hoped was the general direction of Lost Lake Trail. What I found--other than the lake--is what this resort is ultimately all about: tranquillity. Birch leaves, summer clover and jack-pine needles carpeted the series of trails that led me from burial mounds circa 200 B.C. to a glacial lake born 10,000 years ago. For 50-plus years, families have traveled to the 10 cabins by this small, spring-fed body of water; the 80-acre property is linked by narrows to the Gull Lake chain of lakes. (Canoes and other boats are at your disposal.) I loved the little lake for its bird watching; I spotted 19 species in three hours, from osprey to eastern pewees. Along my journey I snacked on raspberries pulled right from the plants.

Lost Lake Lodge is owned by Cindy and Tim Moore along with Tim’s brother Kieran, who creates what is the resort’s second claim to fame: out-of-the-ordinary meals (vegetable calzone, pork tenderloin with honey basalmic barbecue sauce, baked salmon en papillotte), plus breads (wild-rice vegetable, corn meal, black-olive feta) made with flour from the resort’s tiny grist mill, which you can tour.

What began as a restaurant in 1946 (it still serves the public, but reservations are a must) is now a resort of 10 half-split log cabins, most of which face the narrows; the largest has three bedrooms and three baths. All but one unit have been updated with knotty-pine walls, fireplaces, decks and full baths; two units are wheelchair accessible. Furniture and bedding in our uncluttered two-room cabin seemed brand-new; we found the small fridge handy, the book nook eclectic, the chocolate-chip cookies a tasty sign of welcome. Electric fans take the place of AC; forget phones and TVs, but look to the lodge for a VCR and videos.

Kids can tag along on hikes with staff naturalists, while bicyclists can ride on the nearby Paul Bunyan Trail. Golf courses are as plentiful as lakes in these parts; antiques shopping in Nisswa is 10 minutes away. But there may be no better entertainment or escape here than getting lost in the woods.