We rode bicycles from Tower to Ely and stayed at MarJo's. The motel was spotless with organized…read morecontainers for recycling, garbage and wet towels. The mini frig and coffee maker provided all we needed. Quiet setting on a river channel to lake Vermilion and quick access to the bike trail. Lots of bang for your buck and Sandy was very accommodatIng. I'll come back whenever I can. Connie Pederson

Super cute, small, but cozy and well kept motel! Very happy with our stay. From the beginning the…read moreowner was very friendly and professional while making the reservation over the phone. We arrived late and used the code given to enter our room with no problems. It was -17 degrees out that night and we arrived to a warm and clean room. Has older tv but cable box provides ample channels, microwave, mini fridge, and small coffee maker with coffee provided. Also had a hand written message from housekeeper and informational papers in the room. Bathroom was spotless and shower was nice and hot! It honestly was one of the best motel stays my husband and I have had. Didn't hear any noise from the neighbors either. Very cute! Free WiFi!

Stopped in Ely for the evening and after dinner settled on the Lakeland motel. It was a pleasant…read morestay. It's not a motel but cabins and ours was nice. It was like a mini-house with a bed in the front, a eating area with a table, a bedroom in the back and a bathroom. It was clean and decorated northwoods style. Our room came with all the usual fixins including soap, towels, but it did not have shampoo. Staff was friendly. The only negative we had was the cabin we were in was right in front along the road. With the window open the road noise was alittle annoying.

So our tent got eaten by a bear in the Boundary Waters and we had to come back into Ely to avoid…read morethe swarm of man-eating mosquitoes. We found this place was the cheapest of all the motels, but there's definitely a reason why. First of all, the shower barely gets warm enough, and the owners provide soap but are too cheap to leave shampoo. But the most annoying part was that the owners, who live in a house attached to the office, like to set up lawn chairs directly in front of your room and invite their friends over to yak it up right just inches away from the paper-thin walls. Several times we looked out the window at night to see their huge hillbilly backsides pressed up right against the glass, and it felt like they were shouting right into our ears . We were too tired to leave the room and were forced to listen to their conversation for hours. Then, later on, the two of us were hanging out in the parking lot, not even talking very loudly, and noticed that the creepy owner woman was peering out at us through her door. It felt like staying in a very strict dorm where the RA is allowed to make all the noise he wants and treats the students like cattle. Not cool.

went Official camping for my first time this year and we drove 4hrs north to Ely and stayed at the…read moreFall Lake Campground. I'm giving this place a full 5 stars even though I have little basis for comparison. The bathrooms and showers were amazingly clean and new. the sites do not have electricity but our site was huge, we put 3 large tents up and could have fit a 4th. We also had private lake access. The lake access was rocky and very slippery! So it wasn't much for swimming but it meant we had a great canoe launch right at our site. We also rented a canoe @ $20 a day it was a nice deal. The campground has a full playground, center store and office where you can get forgotten necessities and a sandy boat launch. There is a swimming beach on the grounds but it may be a short walk. The site was $17 a night and they have nice elevated fire pits with a built in grill grate. The site is also on the edge of the boundary waters which means no motorized boats (to an extent) lots of quiet and plenty of wild life! We got close to lots of turtles, ground animals and lots of bald eagles!. The scenery was amazing, the sky is incredibly clear for star gazing at it's best. And for being so far north the lake was quite temperate and excellent for swimming and boating. I highly recommend this camp site for newbies like me and the other, more experienced campers, were also impressed.

We stayed here before we hit the BWCA the next day. Our group was nice and large!…read more While it was a little confusing on where to find our campground, once we found the office everything made sense. The gates were closed for us (not locked) for the Campground area we were reserved for. The campsite was very clean and plenty of space for the tents. The paths are paved to go from place to place...i.e. the bathrooms. The bathrooms themselves were very clean. One has a code to enter on it to get in because of it's close vicinity to the boat landing, which is understandable. The only thing I had a rough time finding was the dumpster. it is kind of hidden. All in all, I would definitely stay here again.

I stayed here for 6 days while fighting the the Jenkins creek fire. Leah (staff) was very rude,…read moreand unaccommodating. During my 6 day stay, no fresh towels, no new sheets no service at all walls are very thin and could here the person in the next room snoring all night. . Definitely will seek other arrangements if we are to return. There are better accommodations down the road where the rest of the crew was housed.

Warning! Walls are paper thin. They incise you with the hot…read moretub in the room. They don't offer any lotions/ soaps. Very generic. The Towels are old and rough. The comforter stunk. Very dirty. Take the time, spend more money somewhere else.

An incredibly different (odd?) restaurant on an incredible piece of property on White Iron Lake…read more The food was decent, but the place has an odd supper club, old-timey vibe that just felt kind of out of place. Of course, that's a pretty subjective view, so take it with a grain of salt. The property is beautiful though, especially the area near the lake. Place feels like it has way more potential. Visit and make up your own mind about the place. Interesting if nothing else.

I have been here a few times for the prime rib dinner (my favorite), and cocktails at the bar and…read moredining room. Entertaining live accordion and button box music may accompany your meal thanks to Dr. U and friends. This place is quite unique-chalet style lodge, restaurant and bar with very nice rooms to rent. I may stay here for the winter trout opener. Located on white iron lake, not far from the city of Ely.

My father's family used to come here on vacation when he was a boy many years ago. We came back…read morewith him this year and discovered for ourselves what a gem this place is! Betty Espland is daughter of the original owners and keeps the place very neat and welcoming. The cost is very reasonable, the cabins are older but larger, and well stocked with cooking equipment. Beds are quite comfortable, we've slept really well! Bring your own towels, soaps, and garbage bags though. Full size fridge, and gas stove, with newer microwave and coffee maker. Lot of lakefront yard! There are two kayaks free to use, and a canoe and three rowboats - all in great working order, with paddles and life jackets too. Decent swimming off the dock, but be warned for kids there is not really any "beach" and it is pretty rocky (wear water shoes!) and has a steep dropoff. Betty also has a pontoon that can be rented but should be reserved ahead of time so she can get it in the water. We LOVE this place, and Betty the owner, and I am sure I will be back again many times in years to come - the tradition has been renewed for our family! :)

Hey, after a week on a northern lake, how hard could it be to earn a 5-star review?…read more Well, unless you've checked out a lot of northern Minnesota resorts, you might not see the difference. Most of them are woefully outdated -- with few plans for improvement -- or astoundingly expensive. My wife did the research for this place, so I wasn't sure what to expect when she put in on my calendar and said, "We're going." (She's an Iron Ranger and likes her lake life). We reserved a "duplex" cabin up on the ridge above the lake, shared with retired owners. Talk about nice -- it was well-appointed (the owners are artists), clean, tidy, and comfortable. I enjoyed it so much that I heartily endorsed a return visit this summer. The main lodge has a few video games, but is a great place to chill and read. The owners are relaxed but hard-working and attentive. The beach is a bit tiny (good for little ones), and overall the resort was quiet enough that I never was irritated with neighbors. A highlight of our visit was a pontoon rental that we navigated through the lakes to the edge of the Boundary Waters (actually, about 50 yards into the BWCA before I realized that I shouldn't be there and promptly turned around). Lovely, medium-sized lakes with a lot of great scenery (at least for flat northern Minnesota). We're coming back with our 9-year old grandson to rent an older cabin right on the water where he can step outside to fish at 6 in the morning without worrying about him. Oh, and bring your bicycles so you can ride the Mesabi Trail out to Tower. Surprisingly hilly in places, but a beautiful trail. We positioned two cars to avoid a round-trip.

This was our third stay with Sandy and Kerry Davis at WIBR! Their cabins are nice, and if you…read moreneed anything, all have to do is ask. The power actually went out one night while we were there, and they had a back up generator so that the well would stay running to supply us with water! We were able to cook on the grill and had flashlights, so we fared just fine. They have pontoon rentals (extra charge) , canoes and paddle boats that are included in the rental. They have a swimming beach on the lake. We have always enjoyed our stays here. Will likely go again in the future.

My wife, daughter, and I arrived at Big Lake Wilderness Lodge on a Thursday around 8 PM, just after…read morea significant storm had passed through the area, affecting their satellite dishes. Upon checking in and settling into our cabin, we discovered that our TV was not working. Normally, this wouldn't be a major issue, but our daughter, who has a disability, loves watching TV, and it was important for her comfort. We spoke with Cheryl, and she immediately came down to our cabin to assist us. To our delight, she quickly moved us to a different cabin that had functioning satellite TV and excellent Wi-Fi reception. Our daughter was thrilled, and we truly appreciated Cheryl's swift response and willingness to help. Each cabin at the lodge comes with its own fishing boat or pontoon boat, which adds to the experience. The cabins themselves are beautifully decorated, impeccably clean, and very comfortable. There is a self-serve bait shack located by the water, offering live minnows, nightcrawlers, and leeches for purchase, as well as kayaks available for guests to use. Big Lake is a stunningly beautiful lake with very few cabins, ensuring a peaceful experience on the water--often, we found ourselves surrounded by only one or two other boats. Although Big Lake Wilderness Lodge is a bit of a drive from Ely, Minnesota, it is absolutely worth it. This is one of the most relaxing, perfectly laid out, and beautiful fishing lodges I have ever visited. I highly recommend Big Lake Wilderness Lodge, and we can't wait to return next year. A big thank you to the owners, Cheryl and Chuck, for making our stay so memorable!