Ely, Minnesota

The Last Great Pure Experience.

Ely is calling! Ely, Minnesota is the entry point to the world's premier lakeland wilderness area and is considered to be the "Canoe Capital of the World." National Geographic designated the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness as one of the world's "Top 50" scenic places that everyone should visit at least once in their lifetime. The BWCAW is the largest wilderness preserve east of the Rockies and the nation's most popular one.

Ely has a greater concentration of dogteams and dogsled racers and outfitters than any other community in the continental U.S. and is often referred to as the "Sled Dog Capital."

Ely is surrounded by 2 million acres of national forest and protected wilderness. Over 500 lakes lie within 20 miles of Ely and the adjoining forest system includes over 2000 lakes. These lakes offer some of the world's best smallmouth bass, walleye, northern pike and lake trout fishing and have produced many records.

Ely's watershed lies just north of the continental divide and its waters flow to the Arctic via Hudson Bay. Ambitious canoeists have made the trip from Ely to the Arctic in less than a month. Journalist Eric Severeid made such a trip when he was 17 and wrote his first book about it, "Canoeing with the Cree."

The Ely area's recreational resources include over 100 miles of hiking & ski trails, 200 miles of groomed snowmobile trails, 1500 miles of canoe routes and two golf courses.

The world's richest deposits of iron ore were discovered in the Ely area which let to 80 years of mining in 11 area mines, including the state's first and deepest underground mine. Two-thirds of the iron used for US armaments in WWII came from this area. Top among communities nationwide, Ely sent the highest number of men & women per capita to the WWII armed forces.

Protected by a picket fence on a side street in Ely is Greenstone lava pillows which, at 2.7 billion years old, are considered to rank among the oldest exposed rock in the world. In the 1970's NASA astronauts trained on this lunar-like rock formation.

The area's serenity and beauty have lured many renowned writers, photographers and artists. The Northern Lakes Art Association benefited from the sale (for a half million + dollars to a New York collector) of a 'long-lost' American impressionist painting that had been humbly hanging for years in Ely's library.

Ely had the first high school band in the state and the first snowmobile club in the country.

Ely-area wildlife includes bald-eagles, moose, black bear, deer, beaver, otter and the largest timber wolf population in the continental U.S. (about 3000 animals). Ely is home to the International Wolf Center, a world-class research and education enclosure where visitors can observe both timber wolves and arctic wolves.

Ely is the home base for world experts in various fields (Lynn Rogers: black bears, Dave Mech: wolves, Jim Brandenburg: outdoor photography, Paul Schurke and Will Steger: polar exploration). Ely's Bob Cary ran for U.S. President in 1980 under the "Independent Fishing Party."

Three U.S. Presidents have vacationed in the Ely area. Journalist Charles Kuralt considered Ely his top vacation spot and featured Ely in his book "Charles Kuralt's America."

During the 1930s and '40s, Ely-area fly-in resorts were a hide-out for gangsters and bootleggers and hosted a cast of characters.

The Hamm's Beer commercials highlighted a location in the Ely area. The island in the commercials lies in a group of islands across Burntside Lake to the NNE of the public boat access on Van Vac Road, County Highway #404. Behind and to the east is a big island known as Indian Island. Behind and slightly to the east is Polka Dot Island, owned by the Pattinson family of Ely. Because of its size, picturesque and small enough to fit their commercials, it caught the attention of the people at Hamm's.

Ely Quick Facts:

- Ely is the Canoe Capital of the World.

- The watershed runs all the way to Hudson Bay.

- At one time there were 11 operating mines in Ely.

- Paul Schurke and Will Steger: polar exploration

- Ely has the oldest outcropping of Greenstone in the world. The structure is characteristic of lava that solidified under water and is estimated to be 2.7 billion years old.

- Ely sent the highest number per capita of men and women to serve in the armed forces during WWII.

- 60% of the iron ore used in WWII Military efforts was produced on the Iron Range.

- Over 800,000 tons of iron came out of Ely's mines in 1889.

- In 1917 Ely had 52 liquor licenses at $1,000 a piece (hard and thirsty workers!)

- The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is the largest wilderness preserve east of the Rocky Mountains.

- The Tower/Soudan Underground Mine was the first underground mine in Minnesota and the deepest.

- Ely's Bob Cary ran for President of the United States in 1980 under the Independent Fishing Party.

- Ely is home of the International Wolf Center, North American Bear Center and Dorothy Molter Museum.

- The first snowmobile club in the USA is the Ely Igloo Snowmobile Club.