Published September 4, 2026 03:46AM
Ever come across an incredible hotel that stops you mid-scroll and makes you think: Wow, wouldn’t it be something to stay there? We do, too—all the time. Welcome to Friday Fantasy, where we highlight amazing hotels, lodges, cabins, tents, campsites, and other places perched in perfect outdoor settings. Read on for the intel you need to book an upcoming adventure here. Or at least dream about it.
I’m soaking in the wood-burning hot tub with my family, gazing up, watching for shooting stars, as a log lightly crackles over the fire, when I reach for my phone to take a selfie and realize it’s not there. I can’t remember the last time I lost my phone. I’m usually within a six-inch range of it, ready to answer any message at a Slack’s ping.
It takes me a minute of hunting around in the dark to find it: out of battery, tossed aside under a blanket inside the dome tent I’m spending the night in with my husband, four-year-old son, and one-year-old daughter. I glance up through the clear, massive window in front of the bed, and can just make out the outlines of my family chatting under the string of outdoor lights. As my daughter splashes and my son laughs, I smile and set my phone back down, eager to get back outside. Sweetbriar Ridge, tucked away on the edge of a forest in Pine City, Minnesota, has achieved the impossible, I realize: it’s made me unplug.
Lodging
Bri and Dave Rodgers founded Sweetbriar Ridge, which opened in May 2024, in an effort to make the outdoors more accessible to everyone. What better way, after all, than to add a touch of luxury to camping? Bri had worked as a naturalist for 12 years, and Dave was a paramedic with training in wilderness medicine. The Rodgers view their glamping site, located an hour north of the Twin Cities, as a way to share their personal love for nature with guests.
“Sweetbriar was born as a place to escape the stress of life and unplug in luxury surrounded by nature,” the Rodgers told me over email. “The domes were built to pamper while allowing the surrounding nature to help heal the mind.”
The property features three domes, which feel remote on 56 acres of fields and pine trees. “One of our passion projects at Sweetbriar is restoring the prairie. The prairie is one of the fastest diminishing ecosystems in North America, with roughly 80 percent of the original grasslands lost to development,” said the Rodgers. “At Sweetbriar, we are doing our best to restore the prairie as it once was. We’ve spent thousands of dollars on native seed, and are in the works with several organizations to continue to restore the prairie as it once was.”
Each dome—named the Chengwatana, Solidago, and Basalt—comes with its own features and decor. I stayed in Basalt, one of the two domes with a wood-burning hot tub. (Chengwatana being the other.) Basalt is billed as the “moody, romantic, private” dome with a prairie view on the company’s website. It was painted with olive green walls and navy and pine accents, with one king-sized bed downstairs and another queen in the loft above it. An extra-wide window looked out onto the prairie from downstairs, and a pentagon skylight sat directly over the upstairs bed. (My husband told me he saw a shooting star as he put down our son that night.) The indoor bathroom was dark with bronze accents, including an oversized rain shower, flushing toilet, and towel warmer.
Each dome comes with firewood, a private firepit, and a complimentary s’mores spread. A selection of books sprinkled the shelves, and a full stack of board games and puzzles kept my kids busy for hours. There was also a yoga mat, a full kitchen, and plenty of coffee and tea.
“We’re in the process of building a mirrored all-glass treetop sauna for our Solidago dome. We’re currently working on design and logistics, and if all goes according to plan, we’ll start building this fall,” said the Rodgers.
Prices start at $250 per night midweek and in low season and can get up to $650 during peak.
Adventure Intel
There’s plenty to keep you occupied at the dome itself if you’re interested in a slower pace, and it can be tempting to stay put. Guests also receive access to inflatable SUPs and life vests to take out on Snake River in the summer and snowshoes to tour Sweetbriar Ridge’s grounds in the winter. But there are hidden gems to explore in and around Pine City, too.
Moulton’s Orchard
Pick your own apples, raspberries, flowers, and pumpkins at this family-owned orchard. Luke and Whitney Moulton now run the 22-acre property after taking it over from Luke’s aunt and uncle. What began as primarily wine grapes is now 2,200 trees, rows of raspberry bushes, pumpkins, and flowers, a corn maze, and a storefront that carries apples, jams, local honey, and more. Because of its northern location, Moulton’s Orchard opens in late August, but my family and I were lucky enough to get a tour and pick some raspberries when we visited mid-month. Apple varieties offered include: First Kiss, SweeTango, Honeycrisp, Triumph, Sweet 16, Ambrosia, Zestar, Haralson, Blondee, SnowSweet, Fireside, Chestnut.
Hike and Bike
Booking a stay at Sweetbriar Ridge gets you access to dozens of acres of private meadows and woods. There’s an already established trail system near the domes, and there are plenty of hiking trails near Cross Lake and the 100-mile-long Snake River.
Chengwatana State Forest and St. Croix State Park, 4 and 26 miles from the glamping site, respectively, both feature mountain bike trails that wind through rolling hills of forest and meadows.
St. Croix, the largest state park in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, stretches across 34,000 acres and the Saint Croix and Kettle Rivers. A 100-foot-tall observation tower is also in the park, which visitors can climb to catch views of the trees. Visit during late September for epic leaf-peeping from the top.
Stargazing
One of the biggest draws to a place this remote—Pine City’s population is under 4,000—is the lack of light pollution and perfect stargazing conditions. While I didn’t catch any shooting stars on this trip myself, I’d definitely book one of these glamping domes ahead of a big meteor shower. Sweetbriar Ridge’s location closer to the auroral zone also makes it an ideal spot for northern lights hunting.
Eat and Drink
As a vegetable farmer and herbalist where we live in northern New Mexico, my husband’s favorite stop of the trip was the Hinckley Community Amish Farm Market. Open Monday through Saturday, this little indoor store sells local produce and homemade baked goods, canned foods, and soaps from nearby farms. We walked out with watermelon, cherry tomatoes, frosted molasses cookies, a jar of pickles, and some fresh honey.
In town, stop by the local sports bar, the Garage, for burgers and beer, or grab a craft brew from Three Twenty Brewing Company. My kids especially enjoyed the playroom tucked into the back of the brewery. There’s also Cabina Coffee for fresh roasts and pastries, and mouth-watering Thai food at Lotus Thai Cuisine.
When to Visit
Sweetbriar Ridge is open year-round, with AC in the summer and heat (plus, heated floors!) in the winter. Having grown up outside of the Twin Cities, though, I’d personally prefer to venture north during warmer months or in late September or early October as the leaves peak.
