Despite slow start, the season finished strong

REGIONAL- The region’s summer tourism season seems to have mostly recovered from a slow start this year, as cool and cloudy conditions in May and torrential rain in mid-June kept visitors away for a time.
“The rain certainly didn’t help, and it kind of felt like winter followed us into summer,” said Eva Sebesta, executive director of the Ely Chamber of Commerce.
Sunnier and warmer weather in July and August certainly helped businesses recover from a series of early-season challenges.
The city of Tower’s Hoodoo Point Campground, for example, saw significant damage from ice this spring. High water levels over the record mild winter left ice sitting much higher than usual. When high winds broke up the winter’s ice in April, it pushed floes well up onto the shore, gouging the campground’s beach and destroying benches. June’s torrential rain caused washouts and pushed lake levels up to dangerous levels, leaving a considerable amount of floating debris, mostly escaped docks, on the lake.
Lake levels have since receded, repairs have been made, and the return of more summer-like weather has brought campers in droves. The campground’s 100 sites have now been booked for weeks and are full up right through the end of the season.
“The beach is looking really nice now,” said Julie Kranz, campground manager. “And we have all new grass.”
McKinley Park Campground rentals are up this summer as well, according to McKinley Campground Manager Susie Chiabotti, and campers are currently enjoying a strong bite for walleye and bass on Vermilion.
But not everyone is coming for the fishing these days. Chiabotti said the campground has also seen an uptick in guests taking advantage of area bicycle and ATV trails.
Dan Johnson, owner of the Paddle Inn Motel in Ely, said that his number of guests in May, July, and August were up overall compared to last year, while June was slower. Also located in Ely and new to the hospitality scene, Wende Nelson – owner of Raven’s Wing Bed and Breakfast – reported that they were “nice and busy,” with a slower start in May and the beginning of June but had steady reservations throughout July, August, and into September.
Orlyn Kringstad, owner of the Marjo Motel in Tower, reported that a slow spring, which gradually picked up until the area was hit with torrential rains on June 18. Kringstad saw an uptick in cancellations for that week but said an increase in guest walk-ins mostly made up for the lost reservations.
These reports from area businesses are largely consistent with the Ely Visitor Center’s headcounts for the season. The visitor center tallies each person who enters the building and while not a one-to-one representation of the area’s business traffic, the figures offer insight into which months may have been more popular with tourists and can also be compared to last year’s count.
May 2024 saw a slight gain in visitors over last year, 558 to 503, while fewer visitors showed up in June as compared to 2023. But July made up for the June lull, and in a big way, as numbers skyrocketed from 1,047 visitors during the month last year to 2,512 visitors this year. August’s 2024 headcount wasn’t available at the time of publication.
While better weather helped most businesses, that’s not true in every case. Dorothy Molter Museum executive director Jess Edberg said that while most businesses get more traffic in nicer weather, the root beer lady’s house tends to get more visitors on overcast days.
“We are actually busier when it’s raining,” Edberg said. Edberg said museum visitation has been steady but more spread out this year when compared to 2023, though June and July saw somewhat fewer visits than last year.
“July was much better weather, though the bugs were bad. When it’s hot and humid, people want to be on the lake.”
The Dorothy Molter Museum has a quirk that makes it a tourism outlier for the area. Museum executive director Jess Edberg shared that while most businesses get more traffic in nicer weather, the root beer lady’s house tends to get more visitors on overcast days.
“We are actually busier when it’s raining,” Edberg said. “July was much better weather, though the bugs were bad. When it’s hot and humid, people want to be on the lake.”