Ely Outfitting Company should be your only choice for any Boundary Waters Canoe Area adventure. I recently booked a fully outfitted, professionally guided trip through EOC, and every aspect was exceptional. The gear was top-of-the-line, well-maintained, and spotlessly clean--tents, sleeping bags, pillows, all of it! The food was plentiful, delicious, and offered a surprising variety for a backcountry trip. What truly sets EOC apart, though, is the people. Amy in the office was kind, responsive, and efficient--before, during, and after our trip. The outfitting team that got us set up and checked us in afterward was equally friendly, knowledgeable, and professional. And then there's our guide, Dave Freeman. I expected a skilled and experienced leader when I heard he was a National Geographic Explorer of the Year--but that title alone doesn't capture how perfect he was for our family. This trip was a memorial journey to honor our dad, and we had some very specific hopes for the experience. Dave truly listened and helped us make every part of it meaningful. He kept us safe, made it fun, and became part of our family along the way... even if he does cheat at Uno. Ely Outfitting Company--and especially Dave Freeman--are the absolute best in the BWCA. I wouldn't go with anyone else. read more

We rented a canoe from here just for a day trip. We had never portaged a canoe before or tied one down to the car. The staff were so friendly and helpful. They went through every piece of information making sure we knew where we were going to helping us practice portaging. We had a blast out on the water and when we came back we immediately had several friendly staff asking us all about our short trip and helping get all the equipment put away. Would highly recommend! read more

Went to the Boundary Waters as a final wish for my deceased father, he always planned trips for the area in the past. They made the process easy and provided a guide to ensure our trip was safe and successful. They delivered that and more. All members of staff were warm, welcoming, and caring from the moment we first got there until we left. Highly recommend them for all aspects of a trip to the Boundary Waters from equipping to guiding. read more

Just got back from an amazing trip in BWCA using Ely Outfitting Company. From the start they were helpful organizing which routes we wanted to take. They sent a whole email of options with details about each route. Their email responses were prompt! The outfitting package then included everything we needed for our trip. They were flexible with our orientation. Elsa helped us figure out times for our motorboat tours, and was very helpful. We were really impressed with their safety procedures with Covid 19. Everyone wore masks, and they had social distancing in place for orientation. I will be back to the BWCA and using Ely Outfitting Company again. Highly recommend! read more

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First of all I would mention that I was initially hesitant to go with an outfitters company for my bwac trip. I'm very much a forge-your-own-path kind of adventurer and did not want a cookie-cutter experience. Fortunately, Ely outfitters offers incredible muli-tiered outfitting for whatever kind of experience you need. I used the outfitters to rent canoes, fishing pole packages, and to help with out a trip route. The staff were incredibly knowledgeable and approachable. They helped design an experience based on my preferences. Note: I spoke to some people in the wilderness who were fully outfitted, including meals, and they said they loved the full package and the meals were great. I have to admit that I did not make the outfitters job easy. We had constant changes to our trip in the weeks leading up to the launch date, including group size changes and gear rentals. Ely Outfitters were very understanding and were quick to respond and update our invoice. Lastly, Ely Outfitters clearly cares about the environment and challenges their customers to adopt stewardship practices. I could not be more pleased with my experience. read more

There are a lot of Boundary Waters outfitting companies in Ely, MN and they all have similar names. It took me *months* to realize that Ely Outfitting Company wasn't the only one. I feel very lucky to have stumbled upon Ely Outfitting Company! Jason (the owner) and all of the employees at Ely Outfitting Company were responsive to my calls and emails. I started coordinating our four-person trip in March for July (and they commended me for starting at that time). Unfortunately, July is the busiest month for the Boundary Waters and it was hard to get lodging before and after our trip. Even AirBnBs were full! I recommend that you take that into consideration when planning. I also didn't realize what it meant to have an "outfitted" guided trip. I was looking for a guide, food and permits. I was surprised when they gave me the list of items that they provide for us and it included things like tents, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, pillows, a hammock and the whole nine yards! They even provided live bait for fishing and banana cream pie for dessert. Our guide Eliza told us that having an outfitted trip is very luxurious. Even though our trip was luxurious, it still took some preparation and hard work. For example, we sprayed our clothes, hats and socks with Permethrin (misquito repellent) ahead of time. We also had to carry all that luxury (canoes, packs, fishing gear, etc.) every time we portaged. We portaged at least four times a day. Our shoes and socks were wet and muddy nearly the whole trip (fortunately we had a second pair of dry camp shoes). Additionally, we canoed from about 10:00 AM to about 1:00 PM every day and then for a couple hours in the afternoon to try fishing. The misquitoes weren't as big of a problem as I expected. They weren't on the lakes while we canoed (which was most of the day). We used a lot of sun protection while we paddled (sun screen or long sleeves and pants). The misquitoes have a peak time (jokingly called "bug-thirty") at night and we made sure that we were in our tents for it. My only regret about the trip is that I didn't see the stars or Northern Lights because I was avoiding misquitoes in my tent at night. I want you to know that a trip to the Boundary Waters with Ely Outfitting Company is what you make of it. If you want a strenuous trip with lots of paddling and portaging then that's what you get. If you want a more leisurely trip then they can coordinate that for you too. Some people are really into fishing and Ely Outfitting Company hooks them up. Some people don't want a guide. My group of people were physically active and wanted a challenge (even though it was one person's first time camping) and we loved our trip. read more

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Scheduled a five day canoeing trip with Nick and overall had a great experience with him. It wasn't until we were getting ready to depart when this other guy, Jason, informs us that we have to drive to the location of our entry and that they don't want anyone going with the shuttle van that's transporting our canoe. We paid to be shuttled with the canoe and Nick already confirmed it the day before. "We require face coverings on guests being transported in our shuttle vehicles and towboats." - Nick. So why did we pay for services they did not render? We were also charged for three people in the bunk house and we only had a party of two. Plus they decided at the last minute that they would cut serves from staying in their bunk house. No towels and no bedding. We had to sleep in our sleeping bag and bring our own towels. Again, why are you choosing to charge your customers for services you are not rendering? read more

I really wanted to love it! First, I couldn't tell if our guide lady Theo liked us or hated us. I say this for many reasons. She was like a sour patch kid, seemed sour and was nice. The food, what a BIG disappointment. And what a lack of communication surrounding that. I'll be brief. The wild fires this summer really affected the food and it seemed every other day I was getting an email that stated I would be charged more due to the fires and for the "extras". I never got an email saying the food quality was going down and I would be charged less. They have pictures on their website of people eating steaks and baked potato's and raving about the food, that was not the case. I actually got a .96$ (I know this because I saw them at Walmart, I took a PIC) package of instant potato's , on top of all the MRE potato's. We ordered smores and we got whole Heresy candy bars instead. I haven't eaten a whole candy bar since I was 10 years old, how odd. And no communication around the change. Would it have been so hard to add marshmallows and gram crackers, we paid for it. We didn't have to heat them up. Oh and now for the processed oil in a tub. I have NEVER eaten Parkay, yeah Parkay Butter, I didn't even know it was still made. It was so nasty, stuck to my hands, there was a perinate ring on all the dishes. I can't imagine what it did to my insides. I can't believe it was Parkay Butter. We got a random amount of salt and paper. No paper towls, or "a" hand towel to wipe the grease off from the Parkay Butter (I understand we are in the Boundary Waters but you have sent me with pure oil.) I could go on......... I could have packed better food. I didn't because I trusted in them and they failed. The food was the most expensive portion of this trip and it was such a disappointment. I feel there could have been better options and better communication about changes. Now let's talk about the thing they gave us to sleep on. What a joke that was. An outfitter buys in bulk for mass use. Their top concern is not quality and comfort, it is to withstand mass use. Google light weight Canoes, you will not see Wenonah listed. If we had better sleeping pads I think it all would have been better. I did reach out to the owner to attempt to express my feelings, he did return my call several times but he had a gift of calling while I was in a workout class or driving. I did return his call but after I thought about it, what was he really going to do. Nothing so what is the point. But this is just my opinion. Take it as you want. read more

Originally I heard about this place in a times article for speaking out to save the Boundary Waters. This place has amazing guided tours. Our guide was very friendly and was able to teach us about how to actually paddle a canoe. On the loop we saw waterfalls, and hieroglyphics, which were really cool and definitely meet my expectations for a good Backcountry canoe trip. read more

Jason and his staff (Nick and Hannah) very instrumental in making my trip enjoyable and less stressful than I could have imagined. This was my first time ever camping and they provided me with all of the equipment that I needed. They answered every question that I had and some that I didn't have but they were used during the trip. The packs had all of the essentials from tents to cooking supplies and the food provided surprisingly good. I can't wait to plan my next trip back to Minnesota and I will be using their services again. read more

Jason and the rest of the team did a fantastic job of getting us set up and arming us with all the knowledge and equipment needed for a great weekend stay in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. The entire process was very straightforward and we left feeling confident to tackle our first group canoe trip. Would use this company again in a heartbeat for the next adventure! +extra points for having the best employee on 4 paws. #gooddoggo read more

This August my family took a guided trip with Ely Outfitting Company. We had the best gear and the best time. Our guide, Steve, was a fantastic outdoor chef and fisherman as well as knew the BWCA very well. We stayed at the bunkhouse next door after we got off the water, a really nice extra. No packing up and moving, we just walked down the street for a great dinner. Everything went seamlessly well. The reservation process, the preparation guides, the trip, and the return. Can not recommend Ely Outfitting enough. read more

We had a very good experience with ely outfitting company. We where looking for a trip in the boundary waters and we didn't know at all what company to reach out too. So we reached out to a bunch of outfitters and Ely outfitting company was the most affordable, convenient and simply just the best one. The food is really good, great gear, great guide and over all just really good service. To add on that, we reached out to them 2 days before the trip and they managed to give us a very good experience even though we where not planning ahead. Good job Ely outfitters! Highly recommend!! :) read more

This is just about the most beautiful place you can imagine and the only way to see it is to head in with canoes. But you don't want to do it on your own. Hook up with these guys for a spectacular get away. Jason and his crew do a fabulous job with the best equipment and stellar service. Everything was perfect from start to finish. read more

Ely Outfitting Company provided great equipment and stellar service. They had everything we needed, including obscure fishing gear and bug spray that specifically targets the biting flies in the BWCA. They had great advice, deep knowledge of the area, and were just friendly and helpful in every way possible. I highly recommend this business. read more

They're great! I booked my permit and made my equipment reservation about 6 months in advance. They offered a wide range of "favorite guide routes" that they recommend which was critical since I had never been there before and was trying to plan this trip from afar. What more can one say? They enthusiastically answered all of my questions, gave great advice, and got us on the water at the time we asked for. They gave us a run-down of things to keep in mind for the area and sights to check out. A huge storm rolled in the weekend before so it was great to have some "boots on the ground" to tell us whether or not we'd be able to make it to the entrance that we had booked. Everything was smooth sailing so they get 5 stars in my book! read more

The team at Ely Outfitting Company & Boundary Waters Guide Service is fantastic! I used them to set up a honeymoon trip in the BWCAW for my brother and his new wife as a wedding gift and they took care of everything! From getting the proper permits, suggesting the perfect route for a couple of novices, organizing all the food and camping equipment, and even suggesting a nearby B&B for them to stay at the night before the trip (and then working it out so that they could canoe into the Boundary Waters directly from the B&B). Despite some challenging weather, my brother and sister-in-law had a great first trip into the BWCAW (so much so that they're going back for a second trip this summer!) and I'm certain it had everything to do with the care taken by Jason and his team at Ely Outfitting. read more

Jason and team were great! They had everything ready for us, very responsive and helped us get the trip/route planned on what we wanted to see and do. Can't wait to visit them again, highly recommend them to anyone. read more

Amazing experience! Jason and his staff were super helpful getting us prepped for the trip and gave us great tips on which camp spots to go to and how to plan our route for the amount of time we had available. We had an amazing time in the wilderness! read more

Jason and his crew are great. They were efficient, well organized and super friendly. He outfitted us very well, and set us up with an amazing guide, Steve, who helped us navigate the waters, portages and cooked great food - including a fish dinner that he helped us catch. We went with our 12 year old son and 15 year old daughter, who had never been back country camping, and (except for a few complaints about the mosquitos and biting flies) had a fabulous time. A word of advice: FOLLOW THE PACKING LIST. Jason includes a checklist of what to bring and we had EXACTLY what we needed for the trip. If you want peace and solitude with your family to bond, this is the trip. read more

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We LOVE Jason and Ely Outfitting Company. We come into town from New York City - everything is packed and ready to go, which is such a relief. Our guides have always been fantastic, safe, knowledgeable and fun. Though a special shout out to our guide Bob -- if you get him, you've won Boundary Waters lotto. read more

This was my family's first trip to Boundary Waters and the folks at Ely Outfitters were wonderful. They were informed and flexible in making adjustments to gear, working with our friend and personal guide who is an regular BW visitor. They were happy to go over equipment use as much as we needed and trained us newbies in more than one way to hoist and carry our canoes and proper paddle use. They gave us suggestions for day trips and specific areas to visit based on where we were entering and how many days we'd be out. We stayed in the Bunkhouse next door which was beautifully equipped without overdoing amenities. We'd do it again if only to see Dennis the shop dog again. read more

I was part of a 4-man self-guided trip this summer. We started our search for Ely-based outfitters and while several were polite and responsive to our inquiries, no one matched Jason and his team at Ely Outfitting Company. What impressed me most about their service is how fast they tailored a trip to our criteria. I must have sent a dozen nuances such as dates, gear rental needs, fitness levels, distances, etc and Jason provided 3 great options within the day. His team was incredibly accommodating over the next few months as our group size changed and we debated internally about which route to take. Ely Outfitting Company took care of all our permitting and their electronic invoicing was a breeze. We couldn't believe how nice and new their bunkhouse was when we arrived late into Ely from Chicago. Would have definitely stayed another night if our schedule allowed, but we wanted to get out on the water and then back to our families like we promised. Between help securing the necessary maps and a briefing session before we put in, Ely Outfitting Company allowed my crew to feel that we were learning and making our own adventure while remaining safe. Ely was professional, friendly, and in every way exactly what my novice self-guiding team wanted in an outfitter. read more

Ely Outfitting Company was the perfect choice for our 4 day, 3 night, 9 person trip. We had a blast. They were so attentive and answered every question - big or small - all the way up to our departure and did everything the could to ensure a successful family adventure in the Boundary Waters. They thought of everything - were our one stop shop for our permits, gear and food, and it made our lives so much easier than if we were to have attempted to outfit our trip on our own. The food was delicious (they let you pick your menus online!), the gear was in great shape and clean, and everyone we crossed paths with was kind, knowledgeable, and helpful. They have a bunkhouse right next to the shop that is $25/night/person and it was adorable. Very fun and much easier than if we had stayed in a hotel somewhere close. Jason, the owner, came to meet with us after the shop had already closed to chat through routes with us and make sure we had all of our questions answered prior to our departure. This was so helpful. He even gave us some expert tips and highlighted his favorite campsite for us. At the end of our trip, some of our family members who had never camped before wanted to stay for a few more days. I have no doubt this is a direct result of having everything we needed. Ely Outfitting Company made it so so easy. We will absolutely be doing through them again! read more

Staff was super helpful, genuinely interested in what we had planned as well as how it went when we returned. Outdoor enthusiasts that want you to enjoy it as much as they do. read more

Jason and the Ely Outfitting Company helped make our BWCAW trip easy. We had most of our own gear, but the kevlar canoe we rented and the help with the maps was important in making sure our trip went smoothly. It was also very convenient to have them bring the canoe and us out to our entry point so we could leave our vehicle at their place. The drop-off and pick-up went exactly as planned, our ride was even there to pick us up a little early when we exited. I'm sure we will use them again in future trips. read more

We met Jason when he was our guide on a dogsledding trip with Wintergreen. He was such a great guide we decided to go back to Ely to visit the BWCA and let his company Ely Outfitting Co. take care of all the details for us. Our family headed up the summer of 2011 and spent several days in the BWCA canoeing, exploring, and relaxing. Our guide Ellen was awesome, the food was great, the environment couldn't have been more perfect. The all around experience was one of the best we've ever had (dogsledding with Jason was the other). We look forward to going back this summer for another guided trip with Ely Outfitters. read more

First time we used Ely for a complete outfit and was very glad I did. Equipment was newer, lightweight, efficient and exactly what we needed. In 5 days time I never thought to myself, "I wish I had...." because we had everything we needed and nothing more which was appreciated at the portages. Orientation was thorough and helpful. I will use them again for sure. read more

We had a wonderful trip to the boundary waters this September thanks to Ely Outfitting Company! Jason helped us plan our trip before we arrived in Ely, but the most help came once we got there. He went over our route in detail, showed us how to portage the canoe, printed our permit, and made sure that we were completely prepared before going in. We rented our canoe and had our food packed for us. The food we were given was delicious and very well organized. The map that they marked out for us was gold - there were changes in the portages that they noted for us, nice campsites were starred, and we were told where to look out for poison ivy. The time Jason took to prepare us and the quality of equipment we rented made our first trip the boundary waters stress-free. We hope to go back again soon and recommend Ely Outfitting Company without hesitation! read more