winter in canoe country is long.say November to May.when winter arrives you could live like the old trappers did in small cabins called tilts.lots of fish and game.this not so backwoods,like a bit farther north in Canada,that you could not snowshoe or ski to a plowed road,the Echo Trail,in a few days.in fact going back into the lakes to ice fish and just hang out is a winter sport.if you don't want to live in the woods just pick out any small hamlet around Orr or Ely Minnesota.there are folks living in million buck log homes and others in something just above shack level.