About this city
Also known as: Canoe Capital of the World
Ely is an internationally celebrated, wilderness historic town located in northeastern St. Louis County, Minnesota, deep within the pristine boreal forests of the Vermilion Iron Range. Founded in 1888 as a rough-and-tumble underground iron mining boomtown, the city masterfully transitioned into a world-class Mecca for wilderness eco-tourism. Ely serves as the premier canoe gateway to the world-famous Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), a massive one-million-acre network of glacial waterways. The town features an exceptionally vibrant, walkable main street filled with rugged outfitter shops, historic log buildings, and global wildlife research centers, tightly safeguarding its independent high-country pioneering spirit.
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Practical Tourism Metadata
Suggested stay: 2–5 days
Gear up at local outfitters to paddle or camp among the crystal-clear glacial lakes of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Watch active wolf packs interact through massive glass viewing windows at the International Wolf Center. Observe rescued black bears and browse wildlife galleries at the North American Bear Center. Descend deep underground to explore rich mining history at the Ely-Winton Historical Museum.
