After 20+ canoe trips, I have finally got my wife to spend 3 days in my second favorite ttown in America. The trade off to get her to head to Ely was "no canoes" (she doesn't like to paddle). So we will be doing "tourist" things for a couple days. After all the trips I've done, I've never really seen the non-paddling things either.

Figure I'd take her to see the Bears, the Wolves, Dorothys cabin, breakfast at Brittons and a hike to Kawashiwi Falls . We also thought maybe some time seeing the mine at Soudan?

Anything else you would recommend we see that doesn't include going on the water?

(I do head up the week following for my second permit of the summer, so I'm fine just being a tourist.

Good list of activities. I would try to take a tour at Soudan. We’ve both taken the mining tour and sometimes just enjoy a stop up top with going down. Some time wandering the shops downtown is fun too.

We did a trip like that with my Mom and she had a great time. Only things we added were going out on a friend’s pontoon boat and the same friends invited us over for a fish fry. While she wasn’t up to canoeing, she was curious about the BW and so we also drove around some of the lakes to look at them from the entry points.

Brain Storm Bakery, Ely Farmer's Market (Tues 5pm), Bass Lake Hiking Trail, visit Pillow Rock, have a drink at Burntside Lodge, have pizza at Sir G's, Boathouse Brew Pub, Ely library book sale, visit Ely Chamber of Commerce, tour Sig Olson's historic cabin, Ely-Winton History Museum, shop at Piragis, see a show at Broadway in the Boundary Waters, check out Little Free Libraries in Ely, Ely Golf Course, USFS Visitors Center...

Underground mine tours have been suspended due to maintenance. Make sure to check for updates.

Site

Breakfast at Brittons and dinner at the steakhouse. Never been in town for more than half a day so that’s all I got.

Hiking some EP portages could be good also.

Have fun!

Check out the Ely-Winton Historical Society museum at the community college campus in Ely. An interesting eclectic collection of artifacts.

Phil,
I checked out the Tuesday farmers market.
Bought a bottle of birch syrup.
Maybe not for pancakes but smoking salmon......
..
If ya can track him down, a guy drives around town in a old Willis jeep with a .30 cal mounted on top.

A fun road trip up the Echo Trail (Ely-Buyck Road) with a layover for a meal or drinks @ Nelson's resort lodge on Crane Lake would be fun day trip. They have a pretty good menu and the view is spectacular from the deck. The piano is maybe worth the drive alone.

This is all great info. Gonna be kinda awkward driving around without my Northstar on top. (I hope she forgives me for leaving her at home).
My wife claims I love my canoes more than her :)

I would second the following referenced things to do-

Hiking

Kawishiwi Falls trail - short, easy, nice little walk and area to explore.
Bass Lake Trails - longer, more challenging, several options. I would put this as one the top hikes in Minnesota. Nice swimming area if you want to hang out for a while.
North Arm Burntside trail system - I have only skied here, not hiked, but I imagine the hiking would be pretty great. Old growth forest is magnificent.

Biking
Hidden Valley Ski area has some short but very scenic mtb trails.

Eating
Dinner / drink at Burntside Lodge. Although call in advance, not sure if they are open to non guests for dining this year.
Stony Ridge Resort and Cafe. I think the food is ok, although I know some people really like it, but go here on a nice day, outside seating is just above the water surrounded by trees.

Bear Head Lake State Park

Lot of good biking opportunities, for the road/casual biker there's the Mesabi Trail or the trail around Miners Lake. For the mountain biker there's the previously mentioned Hidden Valley Ski Area in town and with a bit of a drive the Laurentian Divide trails just north of Virginia. For the really adventurous, Giants Ridge downhill trails in Biwabik and Spirit Mountain in Duluth.

JD

100+ Things To Do. A checklist of activities in the Ely area. Pick up at the Chamber of Commerce.

Just curious, what town tops Ely in your book?

fadersup: "Just curious, what town tops Ely in your book?"

For outdoor recreation? Maybe Bend OR ... or Moab UT.

Or, were you phishing for a response of "Grand Marais MN" ?

Maybe I missed it but I can't believe someone didn't mention dinner and or drinks at Grand Ely Lodge. I like their steaks and the view over the lake is spectacular

fadersup: "Just curious, what town tops Ely in your book?"

My hometown of Amery, WI. :)

wxce1260: "

fadersup: "Just curious, what town tops Ely in your book?"

My hometown of Amery, WI. :)"

WAAAAY back in the day I worked at WXCE in Amery, part time while I was going to Brown Institute in Mpls.! It was a brand new station back then having just gone on the air. Can't remember the guy's name but the GM made us wear a dress shirt and tie when doing our on-air shift. His (lame, we all thought) philosophy was that the better we looked, the better we'd sound! : )