If you enjoy the winter and all the activities of being out in the elements, do not miss the Ely Winter Festival! This is a 10 day event starting February 2, 2012 and ending on February 12, 2012. The focal point of this event is in Whiteside Park where the snow carving takes place. Professional carvers travel from far and wide to take part in this symposium. You will be amazed and impressed as they turn large block of snow into living forms for your pleasure! There is also an amateur showing of smaller blocks with upcoming professional carvers. Mix this in with food, art walks, dancing, and community events and you will have a great winter vacation in Ely. For more information go to www.ely.org and stay at Garden Lake Resort www.gardenlakeresort.com while attending this unique Winter Festival! 855-365-5498
Garden Lake Resort Blog
As Garden Resort ends 2011, we would like to thank all of you who have been faithful guests for many years! It has been great to also meet so many of you for the first time in 2011. We have had a busy year at Garden Lake with record bookings for our 35 years in business! We are looking forward to 2012 and anxious to see you all again. There will be some changes and improvements by this summer to make your stay with us more enjoyable. Much happened this year in Ely and the big news item was the fire burning 100,000 acres in the BWCAW to the East and South of Garden Lake. There was no impact for us regarding the fire and the winds were in our favour with almost no smoke in the Ely area. We are thankful that the winds did not move the fire in our direction. Ely continues to be a draw for many who are looking for a vacation change and unique experience. There are few places left to visit like Ely and we are thankful to live here and have you as our guests all year round! Come and visit us this Winter! You will be glad you did! Have a great 2012 and a blessed Christmas!
Here at Garden Lake we not only have walleyes but we have whale-eyes as well. When my son Jesse was small he would call the walleyes, whale-eyes, which always got a laugh! During this time of the year as the temperatures go into the single numbers and there is little snow on the newly frozen lake, there are strange sounds that we hear at night, even in the lodge. There is a groaning, thumping, and almost whale sounding noise that is heard as the lake begins to make ice. Because of the lack of heavy snow on the ice, there is little insulation from the cold temps. As the ice builds, there are cracking sounds from the pressure of the ice expansion, which when standing on the ice, is an exciting experience. Maybe all the thumping and cracking and groaning are the whales trying to come up for a breath of clean Garden Lake air! Maybe next spring and summer when you visit Garden Lake Resort and are out fishing, you might just hook a Whale-eye! That may be the biggest fish story you will ever tell to your friends. Happy Holidays from Garden Lake Resort to you all!
It is a much quieter time now in the surrounding area of Ely. As the seasons change so does the pace. What a great time to catch up on all those projects or just sit back and take a breath from the busy summer and fall. The fishing rods have been exchanged for guns, and the boats for snowmobiles. Shops and stores have cut back their hours prior to the holidays, and life is very unique and laid back in Ely. If you like to vacation when the crowds are gone and the activities are less, this is the time to come to Ely! Winter lodging at Garden Lake Resort is comfortable and warm. Bring a book, a puzzle, or a project and hang out in front of the fireplace at the most affordable prices of the year. When in Ely, why not shop for those special gifts and hard to please friends and family. You can always find something special and different in Ely. You will be glad you did!
Soon the hunters will be heading for the woods to find their trophy buck! With winter setting in and the temperatures dropping, the bucks will soon be in the rut. The population for Minnesota is high for 2011 and is allowing many areas to enjoy Hunters Choice, meaning you may shoot either a Buck or a Doe. Many hunters have their favourite areas “scoped” out and their hunting stands in place. Orange Camo is the hunter’s first choice for outerwear and most use grunts or rattling horns to attract the deer. Venison can be used for many great dish recipes and jerky, ground burger, and steaks are the preferred choice of many. Wilderness hunting is always an option in the Ely area if you like to get off the beaten trail and be more alone. It is always a great experience to hunt a remote area and enjoy a more pristine hunt! What a great time to spend in the Superior National Forest and at Garden Lake Resort. So, grab that rifle, and head north! Don’t forget to site in your scope so that you will be a successful White Tail Hunter.
The colors have been beautiful this fall and came earlier than normal. Many of you have taken advantage of our 35 years in business discount of $99 per night for two people. As we end 2011 we would like to extend that discount for November & December by offering a Hot Deals Special of $79 per night for two people/2 night minimum. Thanksgiving weekend and Christmas week and New Years are excluded!
For the spring of 2012 we will be offering some new changes for your comfort and enjoyment. Cabins will now have 1 full bed and 1 queen bed. For hot summer times you will find that the cabins are now air conditioned. We are pleased to offer our guests these new amenities!
Snow will be here soon offering great opportunities for the winter enthusiast. Skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, snowmobiling, ice fishing, and the popular dog sledding are some of the winter activities you can enjoy while in Ely. Winter Festival in February is always a fun and exciting time to be in Ely. Enjoy the snow carving’s and all the activities that are scheduled for that popular event! Winter is also a great time to go wolf howling and to view the Northern lights from a frozen lake. These experiences will leave you with a lasting impression. Mark & Dianna would love to help with accommodations and arranging day trips for you that will create memories of a lifetime. For those of you who are not quite so active, why not sit in a chair by the fireplace and enjoy a good book while looking over a frozen white wilderness lake.
While the lakes may be covered with ice and snow, plenty of fish are waiting to grab hold of one of you fishing lures. This is the best time of the year to go after trout, as they're at depths that can be reached with "standard" equipment. Walleye, northern and crappie fishing can be equally as exciting and productive. Many of the lakes that are too difficult to get into in the summer are now easily reached by snowmobile, show shoes, cross-country skis or dog team. You can break your own trail or travel on any number of well-groomed or packed routes. Your fishing trip can be as comfortable or as rugged as you like. Many people combine staying at a warm lakeside cabin like Garden Lake Resort with an extended trip into their favorite lake. Others prefer day trips in the comfort of a heated fish house. All in all, don’t let a little cold and ice stop you from fishing all year round. Follow this link to the MN DNR site for your fishing license and information. http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/licenses/fishing/index.html?type=fishing While in Ely, try out all the local restaurants and stores for the perfect Christmas items on your list! www.gardenlakeresort.com
Summer has gone and fall is fading fast! One of the great things about Minnesota is that we enjoy 4 seasons a year. It seems that the seasons are sometimes mixed up and if you do not like the weather simply wait a day and it will change! The nights are becoming crisp with frost in the mornings and turning into a sunny day needing a light jacket. The air is great, the smells are amazing, and it is a great time for a walk in the woods. The geese are on the move and are seen daily as they fly overhead in a south direction. Migrating birds are beginning to show up as they too are moving to new locations for the winter. Soon the loons will be gone and the lakes will freeze. Winter is a season in northern Minnesota that we embrace and look forward to the changes that it brings. Soon we will have a new style of recreation outdoors, ice fishing, skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, dog sledding, and playing in the snow. What a great time to consider a trip to Garden Lake and see the beauty for yourself. Remember, we are open 12 month of the year! Enjoy a warm cabin by the lake with a fireplace and some quiet time! See you soon!
Dis is da latest air service to sprout up in Minnesnowta. Also serving Visconsin, Nort Dekota, and Moontana. Try it - you vill like it. “If you are traveling soon, consider Lutheran Air, the no-frills airline. You’re all in da same boat on Lutheran Air, vere flying is an uplifting experience. There is no first class on any Lutheran Air flight. Meals are potluck. Rows 1-6, bring rolls; 7-15, bring a salad; 16-21, a main dish, and 22-30, a dessert. Basses and tenors please sit in the rear of the aircraft. Everyone is responsible for his or her own baggage. All fares are by freewill offering and the plane will not land until the budget is met. Pay attention to your flight attendant, who vill acquaint you with the safety system aboard this Lutheran Air 599. Okay then, listen up: I’m only gonna say this once. In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, I am frankly going to be real surprised and so vill Captain Olson because ve fly right around 2000 feet, so loss of cabin pressure would probably indicate the Second Coming or something of that nature, and I vouldn’t bother with those little masks on the rubber tubes. You’re gonna have bigger things to worry about than that. Just stuff those back up in their little holes. Probably the masks fell out because of turbulence vhich, to be honest with you, ve’re going to have quite a bit of at 2000 feet, sort of like driving across a plowed field, but after a vile you get used to it. In the event of a water landing, I’d say forget it. Start saying the Lord’s Prayer and just hope you get to the part about “forgive us our sins as ve forgive those who sin against us, vich some people say trespass against us,” vich isn’t right, but vat can you do? The use of cell phones on the plane is strictly forbidden, not because they may interfere vith the plane’s navigational system, vich is seat of the pants all the way. No, it’s because cell phones are a pain in the wazoo, and if God meant you to use a cell phone, He vould have put your mouth on the side of your head. Ve’re going to start lunch right about noon and it’s buffet style vith the coffee pot up front. Then ve’ll have the hymn sing; hymnals in the seat pocket in front of you. Don’t take yours vith you ven you go or am going to be real upset and I am not kidding! Right now I’ll say Grace. “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest and let these gifts to us be blest. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, may ve land in Duluth or pretty close. Amen.”
Most people have to turn on their Discovery Channel to see an 800-1200-pound moose in the wild. The back roads of the Superior National Forest in Minnesota provide the perfect boreal-forest habitat for a Moose on the loose! Come fall, bull moose go into the rut, and cows are in estrus. There is some fascinating behaviour that takes place during this mating season starting around the third week of September. They are active and on their feet and moving much of the time. This helps to provide opportunity to view and see these animals during their most visible time. Look for wide open spaces in the woods or shallow waters and where the audible call of a Bull is best heard. It will not be hard to spot sign as moose leave significant scrapings on the ground and rubs on trees. Always remember to give moose their space and do not get to close. Moose can be unpredictable and you should use common sense with keeping a respectable distance when on their turf. Best to avoid areas where hunters are active from (Oct 1-16). Remember to bring your camera for some exciting photo opportunities. A great place to stay while on your moose adventure is Garden Lake Resort! We can help you find your locations to view and provide you with amazing accommodations. You might even be able to rent Moose Lodge for your visit to the Ely area. See you soon! www.gardenlakeresort.com 855-365-5498
Garden Lake, Farm Lake, White Iron Lake, and South Farm Lake are all part of a larger watershed that ends at the Garden Lake Dam. Here the water levels are regulated, power is generated, and control of run-off is monitored. There is a large spill way and three gates that are used to move the water into Fall Lake. There have been advantages to having this dam which allow for more stable lake levels. A tremendous by product of all of this is the Kawishiwi Falls that are spectacular! There is a trail off the Fernberg road, just past the Garden Lake Bridge, that allows access to view the falls. What a great place to take pictures, go for a hike, a picnic, or even a wedding ceremony. When water levels are high the falls produce a mist of fantastic colors and a roar that can be heard at Garden Lake Resort just a short ½ mile from the Falls. Why not check out the Falls the next time you visit Garden Lake. You will be glad you took the time to see nature at its best!
Have you ever wondered what the Superior National Forest look like from the eye of an Eagle? You can experience that sight when you fly with “Van Air” right from the docks of Garden Lake Resort. Your flight will encompass spectacular views and the true beauty that the North Country is renowned for. Your flight will be in a floatplane over many of the area lakes. All aircraft are outfitted with an intercom, headsets, and life jackets to add to the enjoyment and safety of your voyage! Imagine a sunset moose tour or a dinner flight with a view. You can take a short 20 minute flight or an hour flight following the route of the early fur trading Voyageurs. See the untouched wilderness and take in the true meaning of “10,000 Lakes”. During this flight it is not uncommon to see moose, bear, deer, and wolves. Looking for a little romance or celebrating a anniversary or birthday? Fly with VanAir for your dinner date to area restaurants on the water. A popular flight is toNelson’s Restaurant, a fine establishment on Crane Lake, at the U.S./Canadian border. Where ever you fly you will always be amazed as you view it with new eyes, as though you are on Eagle’s Wings! This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tower, Mn.
Birds are everywhere in the Ely area and Superior National Forest depending on the season and the habitat. Approximately 155 species of birds breed in the forest.
These include about 100 small and inconspicuous song birds that are often hidden by thick foliage. Their presence is more easily noted soon after dawn during the early summer when they are the most active and in full song. Warblers and vireos comprise about half of the songbirds nesting in the national forest. They spend a remarkably short time on their northern breeding grounds, 3 months at the most, and actually nesting takes about 6 weeks – long enough to produce one brood of young. Upon first arrival in late May, the birds rapidly set up territories. Singing male activity is most conspicuous from June 1 to July 4. Most young are fledged by mid-July and the woods then are very quiet in contrast to the territorial songs heard only a few weeks before. Wandering flocks of post-breeding birds, usually family groups of warblers or chickadees, are encountered beginning in mid-July. Migration really gets underway by late July or early August after the birds have molted.
Most birds migrate for the winter due to the lack of food sources and the climatic conditions. Resident bird life during the winter is augmented by erratic influxes of species from father north or west. Most species originate in the northern boreal forest-tundra zone, but it is possible that some invasions come from large local populations. The species regularly involved in winter invasions include: vertebrat predators – goshawk, great horned owl, hawk owl, barred owl, great gray owl and boreal owl; berry eaters (mostly mountain ash) – American robin, Bohemian waxwing, and cedar waxwing; seed eaters – evening grosbeak, purple finch, pine grosbeak, hoary redpole, pine siskin, red crossbill, and white-singed crossbill.
Tourism in Minnesota is a major industry and creates countless jobs and large revenues for the state. Is it no wonder why the Lodging & Camping facilities, especially seasonal, like to see our public schools letting out early for spring and then start after Labor Day each year. When the state and schools cooperate in doing this, it generates huge additional revenues for both. It also allows students who need to work in the tourism industry, access to jobs that start in early spring and go into the fall. This benefits operators and their employees with work flow issues and gives extra income to their employees! Recently, it has been a disappointment that the State of Minnesota could not come up with a budget for 2011 and have had to shut down all state related business and jobs. The effect is widespread and also has hit tourism hard in camping and state parks revenues. This loss cannot be made up for prime time summer camping. Hopefully, the legislators will soon work out a compromised budget to get the state and tourism rolling again. We need good laws and state supported tourism efforts to keep the industry healthy! Let’s all do our part to support a healthy economy for 2011.
Garden Lake Resort offers high tech options that most travellers expect and need when on their vacation!
Even though you are in a remote location in the heart of the Superior National Forest, you are still able to have FREE high speed Internet access at each cabin and on the properties decks and grounds. Garden Lake Resort has invested in its service to our customers so that they may stay connected with family, friends, and work. Many guests have found they need to be able to work for periods of time during their stay, connecting with employees at their business or work place. With high speed DSL Internet, it is easy to connect with the wireless WI-Fi on your lap top, phone ,or any device needing Internet connection. Downloads and uploads are fast and help to send those pictures of your vacation experience or a picture of the days catch!
Enjoy your own music when you bring your Ipod, phone, CD's or any music device and plug in to our stereo. For those rainy days, bring your favorite DVD's or check out our free rentals at the office.These are only some of the amenities you will enjoy at your cabin during your stay. Although you have the ability to stay connected, we encourage you to disconnect and enjoy the lake & woods, a nightly campfire with good conversations and all they have to offer! Don't forget to check out the night sky for the Northern Lights!
When visiting Ely and Garden Lake Resort, you have endless lakes to fish! The Kawishiwi River Lake Chain of Garden Lake, Farm Lake, White Iron Lake, and South Farm Lake offer some of the area’s best fishing. Walleyes, Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, Black Crappies, and Bluegills are all caught on this lake chain.
Trophy fish are not uncommon and great to brag or lie about! For many years the Minnesota DNR fisheries has had an aggressive stocking program for Walleyes and slot limits for Walleyes and Northern Pike. Slot limits were set in place years ago which are now showing a difference in size and numbers of fish caught.
There is a variety of fishing styles and conditions throughout the year for the angler to enjoy. When you are fishing structure, current, reefs, shallow water and vegetation, all produce fish! You may fish areas of this lake chain that allow any size motor, limited motor or paddle only.
Mark & Dianna are excited to announce that 2011 is the 35th year that they have been operating Garden Lake Resort. Much has change in those 35 years, but much has remained the same. We remain small with exceptional cabins, facilities, and all the amenities that make your stay with us comfortable. We offer our guests a unique 4 season vacation experience!
Resorting in Minnesota has gone from 2,200 Resorts in 1975 to around 850 in 2011. We are one of a small group of Mom & Pop resorts left and continue to operate as such. We are able to continue the tradition of personal hospitality which has been lost in much larger Resort/Motel settings. Customer service is very important to us and making your stay at Garden Lake memorable and lasting is important to us. Families and friends come here to enjoy peace and quiet and recreate in an incredibly special environment. Ely hosts a pristine and naturally beautiful experience that is hard to find anywhere else. When visiting Ely and Garden Lake Resort, you will experience a simpler time when families enjoyed walks, hikes, campfires and fishing together, remembering the past, and discovering new things together. Many of you have become regular guests at Garden Lake Resort and even more special to us have become good friends who we are always glad to see!
We will be offering Specials and Hot Deals throughout 2011 to celebrate our 35 years in business! These specials will be found at our website www.gardenlakeresort.com, through email alerts sent to you by Garden Lake Resort, or by calling our new toll free number 855-365-5498 for information about these upcoming great deals! We are excited that some of you might visit us at different times of the season as well as your repeat times with these special offers. September, October, January, February, and March are quickly becoming some of our most popular times. Please check us out at Face Book and Twitter to see what is happening here at Garden Lake Resort year round!
Because Garden Lake Resort is a small resort of four cabins, it's not uncommon for families to book all four of our Ely Minnesota cabins for their family and extended family for a week.
Grandma and grandpa, mom, dad, brothers,sisters, nieces, nephews, aunts, and uncles share time together in ways that they may not have the opportunity to do in everyday life, especially if they live far apart.
They have time together to share meals, activities, outings, and adventures-but also space apart in their own cabins. They have all the comforts of home-soft bed, hot showers, full kitchen, TV/DVD/Wi-Fi, fireplace-without the to-do's and responsibilities of home. At the start of the day, they may break off into groups to fish, golf, swim, read, hike, bike or nap and then come together at the end of the day to to share food, stories and s'mores around the campfire. Usually by mid-week, they start thinking about booking again for next year, if they haven't already. They recognize that the commitment they make to their week together at the cabins is one of the greatest gifts they can give each other. Booking all four cabins at our northern Minnesota resort is a wonderful idea not only for families/extended families, but also for book club members, high school and college reunions with friends, and other groups of 6-24, any time of year. We'll provide the place and space--you'll create the memories.
E.B. White wrote a number of stories for children and adults, Charlotte's Web being perhaps his most well known. He also wrote an essay, "Once More to the Lake," about taking his pre-adolescent son to a cabin on a lake that he used to go to as a boy with his family. In the essay, White describes seeing the cabin for the first time in years and the joy he felt discovering the lake "right there, right where I left it."
It sounds funny at first. Of course the lake is right there, where it was when he last left it. But for anyone who has ever enjoyed good memories in a cabin on a lake--and returned--White's words make perfect sense.
For our guests who return to Garden Lake Resort every year--or even every few years--there's a certain comfort they feel when they drive the familiar roads to Ely and make the turns that lead them down Garden Lake Road to our Ely MN resort and to the cabin they stayed in last time on the lake that is right there, right where they left it.
It's blueberry time in Ely!
One sure sign is seeing cars parked along the road in the Ely area where there is seemingly little else around. Today, there were two parked cars at different places along the Kawishiwi Trail, just before the turn down Garden Lake Road to our Ely MN resort. Sure enough, about 100 yards from one of the vehicles, someone with a bucket was crouched down in the brush, picking wild blueberries.
The berries are here--ripe and ready and just in time for Ely's biggest event of the year, The Blueberry Arts Festival.