Fernwood Bar

09/07/2026

Fernwood is closed today. We will reopen at 1pm on Thursday. We are now on Fall, Winter, and Spring hours. No more Wednesdays until after Memorial Day 2027. Thanks for the great summer.

09/02/2026

Pub crawlers we all did great this year! Big thanks to everyone involved.

Thank you to everyone that participated in the 7th Annual Pub Crawl! Also thanks to the 5 participating bars and their amazing staff, and all the vendors for your donations. The below numbers reflect proceeds from sign-ups as well as 50/50 raffle and Shotski Raffle.

On top of the below proceeds Fernwood Bar had donation buckets throughout the summer and raised an additional $428 for Saving Grace Animal Reacue and $54 for Birchwood School District. WE LOVE OUR SMALL COMMUNITY!

If you signed up after the pre-order of shirts, the shirts are now available for pickup at the bar you signed up at.

08/27/2026

Lake drawdown this fall.

Birch Lake Winter Drawdown Notification

WINTER DRAWDOWN SCHEDULED. The annual winter drawdown for Birch Lake is scheduled October 1st, 2026 through October 15th, 2026. Water levels will be dropped 6 inches from the normal summer target elevation of 1231.0 to the winter target elevation of 1230.5. Water levels will be kept at the winter target elevation until all of the ice melts in the spring. AS OF 8-27-2026 WATER LEVELS ARE AT 1230.68 DUE TO THE ONGOING DROUGHT. WATER LEVELS WILL BE BROUGHT DOWN TO THE WINTER TARGET ELEVATION BY OCTOBER 15TH. UNLESS THE AREA GETS SIGNIFICANT RAIN, EXPECT WATER LEVELS TO STAY LOW THROUGH THE DRAWDOWN PERIOD. IF THE DROUGHT CONTINUES, WATER LEVELS MAY DROP BELOW THE WINTER TARGET LEVEL TO KEEP MINIMUM FLOW DOWNSTREAM. PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY.

Brian Danielsen, P.E. Washburn County Highway Commissioner

08/01/2026

RIP Jeanne Hocking You were a very good friend to Cy, my dad. Have a few drinks with him when you see him. Tell all the dachshunds Hi.

08/01/2026

Crawlers, the punch cards are from another year. Ignore what it says. Completed cards should end up at Sportsman's. Grand prize drawing at 6 pm.

07/31/2026

For all the crawlers: Shirts and punch cards are at the bar you signed up at.

We will be open at 11:30 a.m. for your drinking enjoyment.

07/30/2026

It's almost here. Pub Crawl 2026 is on Saturday, noon to 6. Happy hour prices for pub crawlers. The Tree of Life in Birchwood will be our gift to the Crawl. Come join the fun on the lakes. Drawings at Sportsman's after 6 p.m. Hope to see you there.

07/21/2026

WE HAVE 157 PEEPS SIGNED UP ALREADY FOR THE PUB CRAWL!
WOOT! WOOT!
If you haven't signed up you still can up to the day of the Pub Crawl, Saturday August 1st. We will be ordering any other signups shirts the day after the crawl and you will be able to pick them up later.
Pub Crawl starts at noon and runs until 6pm. You will receive a punch card to take to each stop. Bring in your punch card by 6pm to Sportsman's Lodge, Bar & Grill for the final drawings starting at 6pm. We have lots of prizes coming in from vendors that we will be drawing for plus one main prize. All proceeds will be going to the Birchwood School system and Saving Grace Animal Rescue ~ How cool is that? PLUS we will have some fun music entertainment by Bakers Dozen starting at 4pm until the drawing time and than for another hour afterwards.
Anyone that is pre-signed up can pick up your shirt and punch card at the bar that you signed up at prior to starting the crawl.
LET'S HAVE SOME FUN!!!

07/18/2026

Power is on and we are open. Remember to thank a lineman!

07/16/2026

Yes, the smoke is heavy. It smells bad and it’s not pleasant. It’s an inconvenience to our summer lifestyles. But let’s all take a moment to be thankful we haven’t had to evacuate our homes, or watch our environment and its animal habitats go up in flames. Thoughts and prayers to all those up north. 🙏🏼