Burntside Lodge

 P. T. Brownell, an early Ely businessman , purchased a small portion of the property once logging was completed on Burntside Lake in 1910. Starting as the Burntside Outing Company, he and other Ely area businessmen soon recognized the potential of tourism and started the development of what is Burntside Lodge. 

The Lodge is on the National Register Of Historic Places as of 1988: “It is the earliest full scale commercial operation in this part of the country”. It is also significant because it contains the finest, largest collection of log resort buildings of high integrity in northern St Louis County. 

 In 1923 Willy Alden assumed ownership of the resort and with his brother Lyman constructed many cabins on the property and the lake. In the early 1930’s a young Ray LaMontagne arrived from Duluth to work as a bookkeeper; he and his wife Nancy purchased the resort in 1941. They raised their family of two daughters, Ann and Noel, and son Lou. In 1984 Lou and his wife, Lonnie, began the management of the resort with their own young family. The third generation of the LaMontagne family is represented by their adult children, Nicole and Jacques. 2026 marks 85 years of ownership by the LaMontagne Family and 116 years of continuous operation as a summer resort. 

Visiting The Lodge is a chance to step back in time, many of the furnishings in The Lodge and cabins are original (although all of the cabins have been thoughtfully updated). The natural beauty of Burntside Lake, authentic cabins and the hospitality have welcomed several generations of guests from throughout the country as well as international visitors.

The lodge is featured in many publications throughout its’ storied past, Burntside Lodge “Getting away from it all without roughing it”. It is also included in the book, 1,000 Places To See Before You Die, Burntside Lodge 

 You are welcome to visit The Lodge, walk the grounds and by the lake and tour a 100+ year old cabin.