This is my favorite vacation. For us it is a week of rest and solitude. We sleep, hammock, read,…read morehot tub, explore our campsites, play games, swim, and make ourselves really good food. We've had Kyle be our excellent fishing guide, bringing back and cleaning a Walleye feast. And, we know that there is still more to explore and do. The Soudan mine. The casino. Hiking trails. More. We will be back again and again. The boats: We've experienced 4 different boats. They're all clean and comfortable. Each has its strengths. They are easier to drive and park than you think. Kyle makes navigating the lake a breeze with good maps and easy to use GPS units. The campsites: Vary pretty wildly. Some are groomed. Others are pretty wild. Some remote. Some very near civilization. Some are rocky. Others are beach. Some are shoreline. Others are island(our favorite!). The people and the service: Kyle and Joy are the best. As mentioned above, we've hired Kyle as a fishing guide twice. One time he had to coordinate another guide and he was awesome. Scheduling responses are fantastic. Service to the boat is timely and efficient. And, emergency response is immediate and thorough (a very long story I'll tell you over a beer!).

we rented boat # 20 which was perfect for 4 adults and 5 kids , but when we arived the boat was not…read moreclean . Mouse poop in the cupboards and fridge. the windows were filthy, and the water pump quit half way through our trip. No hot water ! The second we left the dock I texed him the toilet was leaking in the back back bathroom , with no response. the owner tried to make like it was my fault because we didn`t tell him right away at the dock. we asked him for more cleaning products because of the mouse poop and we left the dock and cleaned all the dishes ,cupboards fridge and counter tops. Bottom line he should have inspected the boat before we arived and made sure that it was clean and everything in working order. we did everything he had asked for ,down payment presign the agrement ,credit card on file and arrivel time. My suggestion for you would be to ask for a writen guarantee with 50 % off if it is not sea worthy .

Doesn't get any better then, local and family owned…read more My cousin from Ely had previously bought a outfit for her grand baby and realized it was too small. We went in to exchange it and they could have not been more accommodating. She did not have the receipt and had removed the tags. They knew it was their product and were happy to make the swap for a larger size. As she made the swap, I browsed through the store with my other cousin. Oh my, the variety of merchandise was mind blowing. They had everything you'd need for a camping trip. They even sell camping packages for the boundary waters and when you check-in on Yelp they offer a 15% off coupon. If you're a fisher, they also offer live bait to help you catch that big fish. That way your "big fish" story will be truth instead of a made up one. My other cousin who was traveling with us, caught so much fish during our trip, that when we left Ely, we had to stop at Spirit to buy dry ice. When in Ely, I highly recommend that you shop, Spirit.

Best outfitter in Ely. Knowledgeable friendly staff. Would recommend them especially for people…read morenew to the BWCA.

My husband and I did a tour with Captain Tim yesterday on the six hour Kettle Falls tour. Tim was…read morevery knowledgeable about the park and the area. He had a wonderful personality and as other people have said became our friend right away. I loved his sense of humor. It was a very nice boat and a top-notch operation. We would highly recommend this.

This was my first visit to International Falls, and I knew I had to get on the water to really see…read moreVoyageurs National Park. I was leery of paying $120 for a 2 hr boat tour, but it turned out to be well worth it. First week of October is already past the busy season and there wasn't much in the way of fall colors on the lake yet, but it was a truly beautiful ride nonetheless. Our guide Tim grew up on the lake and was not only full of information about the incredible history (and prehistory) of the region, but had his own stories to share that added such a depth and personal touch to the experience. I could have happily listened to him all day. If I can make it back someday for the 6 hour, I hope Tim is my guide once again.

Rented the nicest pontoon. The guy was so knowledgeable, gave us a quick tutorial and off we went…read more Had an engine hiccup that the guy figured out right away. Would 1000% recommend this place! 5 stars LOVE

Horrible customer service. We dropped our boat off on the 5th for a service appointment on the 7th…read more By the 12th they still hadn't looked at it. And we were clear when we dropped it that this was our transportation to our island lake house. They didn't seem to care. If you want to be ignored, have to call multiple times to get someone on the phone, be treated rudely and have to wait five times longer than promised to get service, then by all means use these guys.

I was looking for a seat for my fishing boat. Salesperson showed me a swivel mount he said would…read morefit on seat, it clearly wouldn't fit, though. He continued to insist it would, making me feel like I was an idiot. I took the swivel out of packaging and held it up to seat- the screw holes were off by more than 2 inches! Salesperson (who appeared to be the boss) was insulting and disrespectful, and I do not recommend this business to anyone.