The boats and lifts are out, and the snowmobile trails stay closed until December 1. For roughly the next month, every restaurant on the Whitefish Chain can be reached only by car. Going by the hours these places post right now, the Chain becomes a dinner town strung along County Road 66, and lunch on a weekday is the meal that takes some planning.
The places people boat to all summer are still open. What changes is the clock. Most of the chain's best-known dining rooms now open at 3 or 4 in the afternoon, a few close for whole days early in the week, and only a short list will feed you before mid-afternoon on a Tuesday.
County Road 66 is the whole chain for now
All summer the water ties the Chain's restaurants together. Once it can't, the road takes over, and most of the familiar names share it.
Zorbaz Crozz Lake sits at 36215 County Road 66 in Crosslake. Pine Peaks Restaurant & Gifts is at 35654 County Road 66. Moonlite Bay Family Restaurant & Bar is at 37627 County Road 66, where it meets County Road 16. Ox Lake Tavern is at 38136 County Road 66. Manhattan's at Manhattan Beach Lodge is at 39051 County Road 66 in Manhattan Beach.
The other road in this story is County Road 3, in Crosslake. Maucieri's Italian Bistro is at 34650 County Road 3, and Riverside Tavern is at 35322 County Road 3. The Crosslake Area Chamber's listing for Riverside says it is "Open now and fully remodeled!!!" and names Charlie Spanier as proprietor. Riverside has a sister restaurant, Lakes Tavern in Pequot Lakes, and both appear on the same Lakes & Riverside Tavern site.
Moonlite Bay's homepage shows why these weeks are a gap. It lists three ways to arrive: by boat, with 70 dock slips; by snowmobile, with "4 trails, one coming from every direction"; and by car. Right now only the third one works.
Lunch is the scarce meal
These are the hours each place currently posts on its own website. None of them lists a seasonal closing date. Hours can change with little notice this time of year, so call or check the restaurant's page before you head out.
| Restaurant | Road | Posted hours | Earliest open |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Peaks Restaurant & Gifts | County Road 66 | Restaurant daily 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.; gift shop daily 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. | 7 a.m. |
| Moonlite Bay | County Road 66 | Seven days a week from 11 a.m. | 11 a.m. |
| Zorbaz Crozz Lake | County Road 66 | Daily 11 a.m. to midnight | 11 a.m. |
| Maucieri's Italian Bistro | County Road 3 | Deli Mon. to Sat. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; bistro Sun. through Thu. 3 to 8 p.m. except Tue., Fri. and Sat. 3 to 9 p.m. | 11 a.m. at the deli |
| Riverside Tavern | County Road 3 | Fri. to Sun. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Tue. to Thu. 4 to 9 p.m. | 11 a.m. on weekends |
| Ox Lake Tavern | County Road 66 | Mon. to Sat. 4 p.m. to close; Sunday brunch 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. | 9 a.m. Sunday, otherwise 4 p.m. |
| Manhattan's at Manhattan Beach Lodge | County Road 66 | Wed. to Sat. from 4 p.m.; closed Sun. to Tue. | 4 p.m. |
Seven names are on the list, and five of them have County Road 66 addresses. On a weekday before 3 p.m., four are serving: Pine Peaks until 2, the Maucieri's deli from 11 to 2, and Moonlite Bay and Zorbaz from 11 on. Of those four, only Moonlite Bay and Zorbaz are still open once the afternoon wears on. Riverside adds a lunch option from Friday through Sunday. The other dining rooms on this list don't open until 3 or 4.
For a weekday lunch with friends, a contractor's lunch break, or a quick bite between errands in Crosslake, the real choices are breakfast-and-lunch at Pine Peaks, a deli counter on County Road 3, or one of the two all-day places on County Road 66.
Early in the week, dinner thins out too
Evenings run deeper, but not every night. Manhattan's posts Sunday through Tuesday as closed. The Maucieri's bistro is closed Tuesday. Riverside's posted schedule skips Monday entirely.
Here is how each early-week night shakes out from the posted hours:
- Sunday: Ox Lake Tavern runs brunch from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Riverside is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and the Maucieri's bistro from 3 to 8 p.m. Moonlite Bay and Zorbaz are open. Manhattan's is closed.
- Monday: The Maucieri's bistro from 3 to 8 p.m., Ox Lake Tavern from 4 p.m., plus Moonlite Bay and Zorbaz. Riverside lists no Monday hours, and Manhattan's is closed.
- Tuesday: Ox Lake Tavern and Riverside both open at 4 p.m., and Moonlite Bay and Zorbaz are open. Manhattan's and the Maucieri's bistro are closed.
- Wednesday: Every dinner spot on the list is serving by 4 p.m.
Mid-week is where the Chain's dinner options fill back in. Manhattan's reopens Wednesday at 4 and the Maucieri's bistro is back at 3, so from Wednesday through Saturday all six evening restaurants on the list serve dinner. Pine Peaks, which closes at 2, is the one exception.
Private bookings can close a dining room too. Manhattan's posted special-date list showed the restaurant closed for private events on October 3, 10 and 17. Those dates have passed. If you're planning a dinner there before the holidays, check that page first.
December 1 is a date, not a promise
The road-only stretch has an official end date, and it depends on the weather. The Crow Wing County Snowmobile Trails Association currently posts that "Trails are closed until December 1st, 2026." The association covers 1,670 square miles with nearly 1,000 miles of trail. Its 12 member clubs have about 800 members, and those volunteers clear, groom and maintain the routes. Pequot Brushpilots, Ideal Sno Pros and Gull Lake Drifters are among the clubs it lists. On the association's 2026 map, the local routes are labeled "CROSSLAKE TR" and "CITY TR."
The Minnesota DNR says Grant-in-Aid trails are open December 1 through March 31 when snow conditions allow. In a November 2025 season reminder, the agency said trails should not open until the ground is frozen, there's about 12 inches of snow for packing and grooming, and clearing, signs and gates are ready. So December 1 is the earliest the trails can open. In a thin-snow December, the drive-only stretch keeps going until the clubs can groom.
The DNR also says a snowmobile needs current trail-use registration to ride state or Grant-in-Aid trails. Sleds registered in another state need a Minnesota trail pass. The Paul Bunyan State Trail is open to snowmobiles along its entire length. For current routes, the DNR interactive snowmobile map is the official place to check. We're passing along the DNR's rules as general information, not legal advice, so confirm your own sled's requirements with the DNR before you ride.
Once the trails open, you can reach Moonlite Bay by its four trail approaches again.
What's already on the winter calendar
A few winter dates have already been announced:
- Wednesday, December 2, 2026: The Pequot Brushpilots ride on the CWCSTA 2026–2027 ride schedule, one day after the earliest legal opening.
- Sunday, January 24, 2027: The CWCSTA raffle drawing at the Deerwood American Legion, with lunch at 1:00 and the drawing at 2:00.
- February 4 to 6, 2027: Crosslake WinterFest, as listed on the Crosslake Area Chamber events calendar.
Last winter's WinterFest deals page is a decent guide to which restaurants join in. Manhattan's, Maucieri's, Moonlite Bay, Ox Lake Tavern, Riverside Tavern, The Wharf and Zorbaz Crozz Lake all offered specials for the February 6 and 7, 2026 event. The 2027 list hasn't been posted. The Wharf, which bills itself as a boat-or-car stop with a gas dock and sunset views, doesn't post current hours on its own site, so call before you go.
Our family has spent decades on the Whitefish Chain, and we know County Road 66 by every season it has. If you're thinking about a place on the water and want to know what the off-weeks are really like there, from where Tuesday dinner is to how far you are from a trail, the Pederson Team would love to show you. Schedule a Lakeside Consultation and we'll talk it through.
