Blog entries

Ely Area Trails - March 21, 2012

Ely Chamber Of Commerce — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 19:39:15 +0100

Due to warm temperatures in the last two weeks, the trails are almost snow free.

Grooming operations have been suspended for the season and all MN State Snowmobile Trails will close on April 1.

The Ely Area provides unique opportunities for those seeking hiking experience. Depending upon the experience you are seeking, assorted hiking trails can lead you either on a short jaunt, vigorous day trip or an extended wilderness trek. Hundreds of miles of hiking tra...

Wilderness camping is a great way to appreciate our lakes and rivers and relax

Chris Rich — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:15:50 +0100

Do you love the outdoors? Enjoy getting away from the hustle and bustle of everyday living? Wilderness camping in Ely, Minnesota is a great way to appreciate our lakes and rivers and relax. The best thing about wilderness camping in Ely is you can rough it, or experience it in “luxury,” depending on the wilderness lodging and amenities you prefer. Ely has private campgrounds as well as state- and federal-run campgrounds.

Sometimes wilderness camping is categorized in...

Your Winter Daydreams Can Transform into Summer Reality in Ely

Chris Rich — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:35:48 +0100

While Ely is bursting with winter activities for the whole family, there comes a day when all of us grow weary of the snow and ice. Are you daydreaming about your summer vacation yet? It may seem early, but planning and budgeting is key to a perfect summer vacation in Ely.

By asking yourself some simple questions and researching a few details, you can escape the winter doldrums and plan a trip to Ely this summer!

Who’s going? Ely is great for the whole family. A...

Get Your Boundary Water Permits Now

Chris Rich — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 18:45:05 +0100

Jim Sanders, Forest Supervisor for the Superior National Forest has decided to implement changes to the lottery and reservation system for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW).

The lottery will be retained for Fall Lake entry points D (Fall Lake & Beyond) and 24 (Fall Lake) and Moose Lake entry points F (Moose-Newfound-Sucker), G (Moose-Prairie-Basswood) and 25 (Moose Lake).

People wanting day use motor, overnight motor, and overnight paddle permits for thes...

Birding with Bill Session 5 by Jo Kovach

Ely Chamber Of Commerce — Thu, 05 May 2011 04:00:00 +0100

The wonderful rain had frozen overnight and all the buds were encased in ice. That’s spring in northern Minnesota.

As we piled into the van (all hatted and gloved again!), Bill told us we were headed out to scratch trees. Scratch trees? Well, if you scratch at the base of a tree having cavities in which birds are nesting, the birds will pop their heads out. Our target was Pileated Woodpeckers. We drove out to the area around the Kawishiwi Campground (Highway #1, just after the se...

Birding with Bill Session 4 by Jo Kovach

Ely Chamber Of Commerce — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 04:00:00 +0100

It was a crisp 26 degrees when I pulled into the parking lot to meet the “birding” van. The sun had been up for an hour, rising over an hour earlier than at our first session. We headed out for one of the few open areas in our town – the cemetery. It is apparently a Mecca for birds.

We checked four Bluebird boxes and found “reservations” in three of them. It seems that Eastern Bluebirds are very careful about the placement of even the earliest pie...

Birding with Bill Session 2 by Jo Kovach

Ely Chamber Of Commerce — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 04:00:00 +0100

We met again before the rest of the world was stirring – interesting to note that the sun was already up – what a difference a week makes. Also not as cold.

Bill took us to Winton to begin the morning. He reminded us that it is always good birding in Winton. Between the twisting of the Shagawa River and the meandering shoreline of Fall Lake, one can always see something in motion. But be aware that most of the areas are private land.

Bill set up his marvelo...

Birding with Bill Session 3 by Jo Kovach

Ely Chamber Of Commerce — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 04:00:00 +0100

The sun was well up when we assembled at 6 AM, but it still was cold and we were all gloved and hatted. This week we had one focus: Great Blue Herons. Bill took us to the rookery on Eagles Nest. I didn’t even know that Ely had a rookery, and it turns out there are at least two.

Finding the rookery is not easy. I’d suggest that anyone not really familiar with the area find a guide. From the Eagles Nest Road we turned west on to Walsh Rd., then wound along that ext...

Birding with Bill by Jo Kovach

Ely Chamber Of Commerce — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 04:00:00 +0100

We met at 6 a.m. (!) in the parking lot outside Vermilion Community College. Eight of us piled into a van with the heater going on high. It was a brisk 28 degrees. The sun was just beginning to show on the eastern horizon. Today is the first of a six-session field-based class on the Ely-area birds. I was lucky to get a spot on the roster.

Around 6:20, Bill Tefft (VCC instructor) started us out near the Birch Lake Dam on Highway 1 south of Ely. The water is exceptionally low ...

Ely, Minnesota Trail Conditions (04/01/11)

Ely Chamber Of Commerce — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 04:00:00 +0100

All Minnesota State Snowmobile Trails officially closed on April 1.

Done Too Soon by Ellen Cashman

Ely Chamber Of Commerce — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 04:00:00 +0100

Where did the winter go?

I took my last fishing trip up to Basswood three weeks ago, the morning of February 25. The temperature was 24 degrees below zero when we arrived at the Fall Lake landing at 8:00 AM. It was a perfect day for the teams. We had three teams, a total of eighteen dogs. All were in prime end-of-the-year condition and ready to roll.

Many teams had gone out ahead of us, and the landing was full of excited, barking, howling, dog teams.&nbs...

Your Mother Would Not Approve by Becca Brin Manlove

Ely Chamber Of Commerce — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 05:00:00 +0100

Orion is spanglier than the rhinestone cowboy tonight as he jumps up into the eastern sky and the crescent moon lends a little illumination to what would be a lovely snowshoe stroll.

But I am not strolling.

I am being pulled along lickety-split behind Mantis the recreational skijoring dog. Neither one of us has a headlamp, and she sometimes switches tracks which I find only by feel and luck beneath my skis.

Jeff is hooked to Nacho the Iditarod dog who does not...

A Friendly Place by Becca Brin Manlove

Ely Chamber Of Commerce — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 05:00:00 +0100

After an evening with friends, made lively by a tumble of dogs and kids in a small house, one of them says, “Want to go for a ski sometime this week?”

So I clip an hour off the end of a workday, and we slide around the Trezona Trail.

Our pace varies with our conversation, and at times we come to a full stop so that we can face each other. The warmth of the sun is helping balsam and pines release snow loads from branches. We hear the occasional shoos...

But, What Do You Do in the Winter? by Becca Brin Manlove

Ely Chamber Of Commerce — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 05:00:00 +0100

Doesn’t it get cold there?

We nod and pull long faces. “Yeah, it does.” We walk away feeling tough and stoic.

We don’t confess that when the ice comes on we hope for cold that will give some thickness to the ice, then we hope for snow and more snow, then more cold.

We’re not hard and long-suffering.

We’re a bunch of kids.

We pull on long johns, mukluks, mittens. Then we go outside and PLAY. We jump on s...

Wild Ride on the 4 Mile by Becca Brin Manlove

Ely Chamber Of Commerce — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 05:00:00 +0100

I am dogsitting Nacho, a former Iditarod dog, this weekend, so when I found a friend willing to try skijoring we set out from Fall Lake. The friend hadn’t skijored before. I thought of Nacho as a steady puller so she hooked up to him while I harnessed myself to my dog, Mantis.

There were several trucks already in the lot with dog boxes, meaning there were at least two teams already out on the trail. Another truck with a team pulled in just as we were filling out our BWCAW p...

Skijoring by Becca Brin Manlove

Ely Chamber Of Commerce — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 05:00:00 +0100

I am sliding along behind my dog, Psycho Mantis. She’s trotting through 3 inches of powder and my weight’s drag on the skijoring rope is slowing her down while I work each mitten through the straps on my ski poles. Finally, I yank my hat down more firmly over my ears and pull my neck warmer up over my chin. “Thanks, Mantis. Now we can go.” I alternate between classic strides and double poling behind her. This is our first venture out onto Burntside Lake this seas...

Picnic by Becca Brin Manlove

Ely Chamber Of Commerce — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Strolling out onto
a grand expanse
of frozen lake,
a slice of snow and
ice spread liberally
with sun glaze
I find myself
the ant in
Today’s picnic.

Training for Winter by Andy Levar

Ely Chamber Of Commerce — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 05:00:00 +0100

I was wide awake at 4 am today, thanks to Demon. He was very persistent with his howling until the rest of the kennel joined him in welcoming the cold northwest winds. The yearlings were the last to silence and I could hear them all returning to their houses for more rest. I smiled at the thought of quietly traveling across frozen lakes with them, heading out into the country.

Later today I’ll run a team of 7 first and then the remaining 8 next. We’ll only g...

Canoe Expedition by Nate Dierdorf

Ely Chamber Of Commerce — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 04:00:00 +0100

On Thursday, September 10, thirteen people from the Canoe Expedition class at Vermilion Community College put out of Fall Lake. Because of Boundary Waters regulations, we had to split into two groups, one of six people and one of seven. We paddled about eight or nine miles in the first day, through Newton Lake and Pipestone Bay. As it was my first canoe trip, I decided to give into my exhaustion instead of journaling.

Days Two through Five were as follows:

Day Two: A...

Two Rows of Wood by Becca Brin Manlove

Ely Chamber Of Commerce — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:00:00 +0100

When two big rows in my woodshed fell over, I was so TICKED (wood-ticked)! I just jumped right into the self-pity thing—poor me, spent so much time stacking wood and now have to do it all over again, etc., etc. Fortunately, there is a lot of time to think or better yet, not think, when doing something repetitive like wood splitting and stacking. When I went back to the pile, I had to work for awhile before I could get past the mad space. Slowly, my mind...