True North Basecamp — Hotel in Crosby

10/23/24 update: the owner of True North reached out to my parents directly and apologized for the experience they had and offered ways to make it right. Like I mentioned below, this place has so much potential, but needs a little more attention to detail on maintenance and hospitality.

Original review: This has been on our Cuyuna list of places to stay for a while and we wanted to love it, but were pretty bummed about a few things My parents decided to join us and the grandkids for a long weekend of biking and booked the main cabin. When they arrived, there was poop in the toilet, pubes everywhere and a number of other gross things they had to clean themselves! Later in the weekend, the cabin ran out of propane so they didn’t even get warm water to shower post ride. We’re used to roughing it, but this not what you’d expect for the description and price. It’s also away from the rest of the camp by the main road, right under the water tower next to the gas company building. While the idea of contactless check-in is good in theory, having a camp host or main office can be really helpful. People kept trying to open the door of the cabin my parents stayed in because it looks like it’s the main office.

My kids found a broken TV under the bunk beds the night they wanted to have a sleepover at their grandparents’ cabin. The bunk room didn’t have a window covering and there was a bright light outside shining directly onto the top bunk. There were trim pieces coming off, a random hole in the wall filled with foam, a missing couch leg held up by a brick, unfinished paint on the walls and some other odd things.

The same weekend we had three families book cabin tents that looked close on the map, but were on three different levels of the campground and pretty far apart. Ours was down a long hill with no drive-in option to drop supplies and no carts so make sure you bring a wagon since they don’t have carts like you’d find at state park cart-in sites or the Yurts at Yawkey. We only used the battery power to charge one phone at night and it died halfway through the weekend. While we didn’t really need the WiFi, it didn’t work on the lower sites we were at. One of the cabin tent areas had a bunch of open platforms with no cabin tents which was a little odd for the family who stayed in that area. We also had to clear some small trees/brush to safely have a fire. Our fire ring was about 12 inches from a lot of brush and one tree was hanging over the ring. They were also sold out of firewood while we were there, but there are a few places around town you can pick some up.

While the location is trail connected, it should be pointed out that you need to be comfortable walking down and back up a steep ravine near the mucky swim area/stream. It was tricky for the kids to get down without slipping on the loose gravel and they’re seasoned mountain bikers. If you’re trying to get to the paved trails or single tracks with little ones, you may want to find another route.

Overall, the kids had a good time and the staff was helpful with answering a few questions we had ahead of time, but maintenance and hospitality were sub par. I really hope it improves because there is so...

Great place to stay for biking Cuyuna. It's right on the trail system and a very easy bike or walk to town. The lakeside setting is serene with lovely sunsets. The adjacent babbling stream makes a sand bar that stretches into the lake, great for wading, cooling off after a day on the trail, or just listening to the water and birds. The cabins are well laid out and the heating/cooling unit works well and is quiet. There are some nice convenience features too -- It has lots of outlets in handy places, there's a drying rack and hooks on the walls, and you can park right next to the unit.

Here are things I'd wish for that would make for a 5-star review: Dimmer switches for the inside (and outside) lights-- they're too bright in general, and it would be nice to be able to tone it down for mood or to let others sleep. Less caustic lighting on the shower house (which obliterates the night time ambiance and washes out the stars). It's literally a bare light bulb sticking straight out of the wall. They could do a better job of mood lighting that building so you can find your way around without light-polluting the surroundings and sky. I'd suggest warm white led strip lights under the eaves. That would light up the building nicely, make it easy to navigate to and from, and would have minimal impact on the cabin ambiance. Wifi improvements. The first time we stayed there in cabin 1 the wifi was awesome (the router was in our cabin) but this time in cabin 4 it was intermittent and painfully slow when it worked (no router in the cabin, so I presume router/s in other units have trouble reaching through the metal walls to the ones without). It's easy to wish the cabins were a bit farther apart... it can feel like you're squeezed in with your neighbors, especially when cooking outside, campfire time, etc. It does encourage a bit of a social atmosphere between guests which is nice when you're in the mood, but it's hard to feel like you have much privacy or seclusion. It would be nice to have some shelves or bench or something to put stuff on so it wasn't all just laid out on the floor. Finally, since this is a highly bike-oriented facility, why not put some bike racks or lock anchors next to each cabin? Strangely there's nothing to lock bikes to near the cabin. We rolled them inside at night, but with a larger group and more gear that would not have worked.

Regardless, it's a great place to stay. My suggestions are not complaints really, just wishes for my next visits, of which I am sure there...

I hate to bash this place because I love the concept and there are good things about it, but I had a bad experience and I want to help you avoid my mistake. The good thing is that the cabins are right on a nice, clear, cool lake, and of course, right on the trail system. Also nice is that it is just a short bike ride into Crosby where there is a brewery and possibly the best pizza I have ever had at the Iron Range Eatery.

Here is what I did not like about the cabins: the mattresses were not actually mattresses, but pads that offered little to no cushion. The full size pad had a piece of plywood under it and was too hard for me to sleep on. My husband and I only brought enough bedding for one bed. We ended up stacking two twin pads on the floor and sharing it. We got no sleep. Even though we double stacked the pads, they were still so hard that our limbs kept falling asleep. It was miserable. If I had known ahead of time, I could have packed my REI air mattress and all would have been good. I made the mistake of assuming that "beds" meant beds. The other bad thing is that while the curtains provide privacy, they do not block light. We like to sleep in on vacation and it just isn't possible in these cabins because they are BRIGHT. The air conditioning worked, but in the 80+ temps, the sun beating in during the afternoon sucked. We booked Friday and Saturday night, but we ate the non-refundable $140 and went home on Saturday. I couldn't spend a second night on the hard "beds". Other things I did not like, but could have lived with if we hadn't paid just shy of $140/night: The wifi cut in and out and was unusable. The guests a few cabins down had a dog that barked constantly when the guests were gone. The mayfly hatch made a middle-of-the night visit to the bathroom rather disturbing. I thought the outside of the bathroom building was covered in carpet, but it was bugs. I'm sad to have to write this review. We were really...