Great place to stock up on lures and get a massive amount of ice cream. I got two scoops and I was…read moresitting there as he put like 6 scoops in. I will be coming many more times in the future.

Biggest one scoop of ice cream I have ever had in my life!!! Pretty impressed with the tackle…read moreselection as well.

Tracy is absolutely the best resort operator on Kabetogama. We stopped by the other day and she…read morehad staff detailing the stainless steel grills (that had sear stations)!!! We toured many of the cabins and we were very impressed. By far, Northern Lights has the nicest and most luxurious cabins in Voyageurs National Park.

In September, we had a fabulous relaxing get away to this resort. Friendly staff, with comfortable,…read moreclean well-equipped cabins. Fantastic expansive views of the lake as a perfect back drop to early sunrises & slow sinking sunsets. The autumn leaves were bright & colorful. One evening was cloudless & I got to see the northern lights dance across the night skies! Memories to last a lifetime. We enjoyed boating in Voyageur's National Park and exploring the islands on Lake Kabetogama (200 to choose from) and the artistic Ellsworth rock sculpture garden & picnic area. We had never seen anything like it before. Amazing! Tip: they have public bathrooms if you need a pit stop. We hope to make it an annual tradition & join the fisherman next round. They were raking in the fish (& the resort staff cleans them for you too)! And for last minute get aways you can make them a discounted offer on a cabin stay & get great value for the price.

Pehrson's has been around for over a century and is now owned and operated by the Hanson family,…read moreaugmented by their super-friendly and beautiful springer spaniels who always seem to be in the vicinity of the front desk looking for tummy rubs. The resort consists of almost 30 cabins of various sizes, plus a large "retreat home" down the shore that we haven't seen yet. The "log" cabins range from fairly cramped and rustic to much more modern and spacious. We've rented one of the larger cabins for two older couples set back from the lake the past few years and really enjoy it. Pehrson caters to family vacations and reunions, and a lot of the patrons we met have been coming there for decades. It is truly a fine lake summer experience, located in the southwest corner of sprawling Lake Vermilion. We've taken advantage of pontoon rentals; the pickleball court; 2+ mile hiking trail; the beach and swimming area with large floats the kids love to climb all over; a small but surprisingly well-equipped fitness room with a few cardio machines plus dumbbells, Swiss balls, bands, etc.; foosball, a pool table and ping pong tables at the Main Lodge; a great lakeside seating area to view spectacular sunsets; and charcoal barbeque grills (some of which are deteriorating). Yes, it is expensive -- especially compared to what you might pay at a nice Caribbean resort -- but the pricing looks competitive against other Northern resorts.

Top shelf staff, from the owners, Eric and Mary Hanson with Cayla Anderson, to the ever-helpful…read moreguides, dock workers and grounds crew. We must mention Walter, the Springer who greets the arriving guests with a total wag. This is a family-oriented resort with many activities for the kids, even including dock fishing that is all catch and release-a great ethic to teach. Watercraft of every sort is available and there is a nice sandy beach as well. And the fishing was terrific despite the 6" rainstorm that came in and flooded Cook. We will return.

I don't have enough great things to say about Steve and Ginny and the rest of the crew at Spirit of…read morethe Wilderness. We were out on Knife Lake on Tuesday July 14 2026 (the day of the closure and evacuation of the wilderness). I had rented a one way Spot and picked up my permit from Spirit. Unfortunately with the device we had no one could communicate with us, but the crew at Spirit was tracking us and keeping everyone back home aware of our situation. After we got back into Ely, they even offered a bunkhouse for us to stay the night before heading home.

Five stars isn't enough for this crew. We fish with Craig at Lake Vermilion Fishing Guides just…read moreabout every year, and our Boundary Waters trips into Basswood are the ones we talk about all winter. From the first phone call he asks the right questions about what you want out of the day, then builds the whole trip around it. Getting into the BWCA on your own takes real planning, but Craig handles all of it, and once you're out there you've got world-class fishing with almost nobody around. He reads the water, adjusts constantly, and genuinely cares that everyone on board catches fish. He handles the big fish with real care too, quick photos and healthy releases. This is what a professional guide service should be. We're already planning next year's trip.

Family vacation loved loved! Our whole family truly lived this resort - we will be making this a…read moreyearly adventure

A GREAT place for a family vacation. This is our first, but not last, visit. A beautiful spot with…read moreplenty of cabins and campground spots. What sets this apart from other resorts in the area are 2 things. 1. The family and kid oriented amenities. Paddle boats, zip line, paddle boards, bikes, water tramp, canoes, jungle gym, kayaks, bags, horse shoes.... And the list goes on. All of these are FREE to use!!! 2. The hospitality is wonderful. The campground has been in the family for several generations and they are always available to help you and lend something to you should you have left something at home.... Like we do often.... HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

I hit a rock while driving my boat on Eagles Nest Lake. I put the spare prop on, but didn't put on…read morea bushing. Needless to say, I screwed up my spare prop and lower unit gear housing. Thinking my trip was over, I was driving on SR 169 going to another lake, when I noticed their sign by the side of the road. I turned around to have them check the damage and see if they could make the repair. John came out and reviewed the damage. If I were to continue running the boat, more damage would be done. He checked to see if they had the part to fix the lower unit, and prop. They did, but couldn't get to it until after lunch. We went back to our resort and a couple hours later, Gretchen called and sent a text message telling me my boat was fixed! Great service, nice people, saved our vacation!

From the owner: Aronson Boat Works was established in 1914 and has proudly been family-owned since. We are a full…read moreservice marina on beautiful Lake Vermilion offering sales, service, and storage. We also have a gas dock that is open to the public. Another hidden gem we have is the Mailboat. With that we deliver mail to patrons on the lake and also provide Mailboat excursions (Mon-Sat, June 1 - Labor Day).

Our family of 6 had a lovely vacation on #18 Lake Vermilion Houseboat. It was clean and everything…read morewas in working order. We were given a good complete orientation on how to drive the boat and where and how to moor for the night. We had the boat for 3 nights and stayed in a different spot on beautiful Lake Vermilion each night. We had great weather the first 2 nights and had no issues finding a site to moor. The 3rd day was windy and the water was choppy. Luckily, we had 2 strong teenagers to tie the rope to anchor the boat to shore. We appreciated getting a text from Joy and Kyle about the wind speed and direction that day. They told us a time to get our boat anchored and gave their recommendation on which spot to choose. Overall, positive experience for an adventure we had never done before. Thank you Joy, Kyle and staff!!

This is my favorite vacation. For us it is a week of rest and solitude. We sleep, hammock, read,…read morehot tub, explore our campsites, play games, swim, and make ourselves really good food. We've had Kyle be our excellent fishing guide, bringing back and cleaning a Walleye feast. And, we know that there is still more to explore and do. The Soudan mine. The casino. Hiking trails. More. We will be back again and again. The boats: We've experienced 4 different boats. They're all clean and comfortable. Each has its strengths. They are easier to drive and park than you think. Kyle makes navigating the lake a breeze with good maps and easy to use GPS units. The campsites: Vary pretty wildly. Some are groomed. Others are pretty wild. Some remote. Some very near civilization. Some are rocky. Others are beach. Some are shoreline. Others are island(our favorite!). The people and the service: Kyle and Joy are the best. As mentioned above, we've hired Kyle as a fishing guide twice. One time he had to coordinate another guide and he was awesome. Scheduling responses are fantastic. Service to the boat is timely and efficient. And, emergency response is immediate and thorough (a very long story I'll tell you over a beer!).

It's always a pleasure to deal with Manick's. We only need to make one phone call a week before…read moreheading up to the cabin and when we get there the docks, Shore Station and the boat are all back in the water and ready to go. This operation runs like a well-oiled machine! When we leave we only need to call again and they pick up the boat at the dock and haul it to their storage yard for the winter. They take care of raising the docks and moving the Shore Station out of the lake before it freezes. We do stop by the store to visit once in a while even if we don't need any boat stuff just because they are such nice folks.

It was our first time staying in a houseboat and our experience with Ebel company was great. We…read morefelt comfortable working with Katy, Justin, Justin's wife, Dennis and Garvin. Our family has been in some national parks but the whole family all agrees that this trip to Voyageurs National Park on is one of the best. The main reasons are that we stayed on Ebel's houseboat, did motorboating, kayaking and some camping. Before this trip, we didn't know much about operating boat. But Dannis explained everything in details and went extra mile helping us on our first day. On the 3rd day something unexpected happened and we needed urgent help. Justin and Katie responded quickly and efficiently solved the problem. They truly care about their customers and we really appreciated their help. We highly recommend Ebel.

This was our second adventure spending a week traversing Voyageurs National Park on a houseboat…read morefrom Ebel's and we have only positive things to say!! They are so welcoming, friendly, and go above and beyond to help!! We had a flat tire on our boat trailer about 6 miles away from them and they went above and beyond to help us!! The houseboats are truly the adventure of a lifetime. Talk about having all of the amenities in the middle of nowhere...there is truly nothing quite like it. We had the vista series this trip and it was amazing! We loved the solarium front of the boat and the hot tub on the upper deck! Thank you to Katie, Justin, Heather, and the rest of the Ebel's crew for a great time!

I stopped in this afternoon to purchase a new globe for my pontoon canopy. The parts person took a…read morequick look at the identical globe from my other pontoon canopy and directly handed me the exact one that I needed. I have always had such ready service from Grand Rapids Marine, and surely appreciate it. Frederick

Luke and Dan in the service department are incredible. We called on short notice with a trailer…read morebearing issue on our way to a Canada fishing trip. They adjusted their schedule to get us in promptly and saved our trip! We appreciate their commitment to customer service and making our day!