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!

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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!

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Take Lutheran Airlines to Garden Lake Resort via Duluth

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.”

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Kawishiwi Falls

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!

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.

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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.

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