Local Business Spotlight: Hungry Jack Lodge

As trail and winter conditions improve daily, lodge owners along the Gunflint Trail embrace the winter season and welcome guests eager to enjoy outdoor recreation.

“We’re pretty pleased with what we have, and most people that are out recreating have been enjoying it and been happy, especially after last year,” Forrest Parson, owner of Hungry Jack Lodge, said.

Each winter, Hungry Jack Lodge welcomes new and returning guests wanting to partake in snowmobiling, ice fishing, skiing, or simply relaxing by the wood stove with family and friends. While many travel from across the U.S. to stay at Hungry Jack Lodge, Parson said, the “majority of our winter business is locally here in the Midwest.”

Parson said that the wide variety of services and offerings at Hungry Jack Lodge are what keep guests coming back year after year. The business has 14 cabins, a campground, a bar, and a dining room, and offers boat and snowmobile rentals.

Snowmobile rentals | Photo by Hungry Jack Lodge

“I think it’s just what we do here, the offerings that we have, and the hospitality that people receive,” Parson said. “I think that’s one of the big things that also brings people back.”

Parson has owned Hungry Jack Lodge for over twenty years, taking over from his dad, Jerry Parson, in the early 2000s. Throughout the past two decades, the most rewarding part of owning the business, he said, has been “seeing those return customers.”

“We don’t sell a tangible product. We sell memories,” Parson said. “I would say that’s the most rewarding.”

Looking toward the rest of winter and the years ahead, Parson said he has no major expansion or improvement plans. Instead, as many other business owners do, capitalizing on the slower off-season months to focus on a growing list of maintenance and upkeep projects. “We’re constantly doing updating here.”

WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins spoke with Forrest Parson, owner of Hungry Jack Lodge, for the latest edition of the Local Business Spotlight. The audio from the feature is below.

The Local Business Spotlight highlights our local business community’s economic strength and innovation. This feature is brought to you in partnership with Visit Cook County and the Cook County Chamber of Commerce.

Kalli Hawkins February 14, 2025