Burntside offers quiet oneness with nature. Its rustic architecture, built with local materials by local craftsmen, never overpowers, settling instead for understated elegance.

Families have returned year after year to summer at historic lakeside log cabins here - places like Burntside Lodge - where, since 1913, nature's quiet pleasures have continued to be the driving attractions.

Creak open the screen door of the main building at Burntside Lodge, with its pine paneling and stuffed wildlife, and step into a different era. Then head to your cabin for another brush with history. Burntside is on the National Register of Historic places not for one building but all of them: It is its own historic district. No surprise that the resort that began as a hunting camp in the early 1900s excels at old-school vacation delights. The lakeside resort boasts swimming, boating, fishing and a lakeside sauna, with no blaring TVs or Jet Skis. But there are important nods to the current century: sophisticated fare and wines in the cottage-like dining room, a cappuccino bar with fresh-baked pastries, even hydrobikes for a zip across the water.

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There's a reason Burntside made it into the travel book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. This truly is the best Minnesota has to offer.

From sea to shining sea - A tribute to the people and places that make this country great.

Cabin Two not only looks out over the lake, but hovers above it. The entrance to the cozy log house is off a dirt path, and if there were a door on the opposite side, it would lead to a splash into crystal clear waters. Directly below the picture window, a smattering of lime green plants shaped like skinny starfish sway with the waves.

That was my view -- and my cabin -- when I visited Burntside Lodge, a historic resort outside of Ely on richly wooded land beside Burntside Lake. Whenever I left my bedroom door ajar, it eventually, gently swung closed. I was bemused until the cause struck me: The floor slants slightly; it'd be unnoticeable except for the tip-off from gravity.

Turns out that Cabin Two -- like the entire resort -- tilts toward the water.

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To the canoe-country experience, Burntside Lodge adds hand-crafted log cabins, sauna, Internet, and great dining - all on the craggy shore of Burntside Lake.

Ely's Burntside Lodge knows that roughin' it in style is as Minnesota as wild rice. A family-owned tradition since 1941, this summertime resort's fresh American cuisine exudes a backwoods gourmet vibe. After house-made dessert (with a single-malt scotch on the side), you'll be ready to retire to a log cabin that's listed on the National Register of Historic Places but tricked out in North Woods chic.

Best for: Enjoying canoe country without a tent.

Channeling the Boundary Waters. Burntside Lodge makes a promise- a canoe country experience with perks and a roof. From your hand-crafted log cabin, listen as loons call on craggy, clear Burntside Lake. Take a sauna, sip a cappuccino, and enjoy first-rate dining. Most cabins have internet access, but TV and phone are only at the main lodge.

Where to Stay-Burntside Lodge

Nicely appointed lakeside cabins, lodge and gourmet restaurant outside Ely.

Snuggled beneath bed covers, I'm embraced by big log purlins, rough-hewn walls and the warmth of a small fireplace in the cabin's corner. Windows on three sides open to the lake. As the morning fog lifts, two adult loons swim past the window, trailed by two babies. Last year, a blue heron stalked along the rocky shore of a small island nearby. We're celebrating another anniversary in Cabin 26 at Burntside Lodge near Ely, Minnesota.

One of the largest U.S. wilderness areas east of the Rockies, Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is made up of more than 1 million acres of land, rivers and streams- including 1,200 miles of mapped canoe routes. You won't find any roads and motorboats are scattered over nearly 1,200 lakes– leaving a paddler's sense of isolation and timelessness intact.

Where to stay: The lakefront Burntside Lodge consists of 21 pine-nestled cabins from the early 1900's and offers the best food you'll find in this remote outpost.

After several nights in the backcountry, treat yourself to a stay at the Burntside Lodge. Handsome log cabins, solidly built by expert local craftsmen, nestle in the woods at this early 20th-century lakefront resort. The Burntside is especially sought out for its excellent kitchen and wine list, an unexpected delight in this remote outpost.

Historic Burntside Lodge near Ely, Minnesota is a step back in time. The pine lodge and cozy cabins scattered along the shores of Burntside Lake are almost a century old, and the lodge has been operated by generations of the same family– the LaMontagnes- since 1941.

The place to be in the evening is the old-fashioned dining hall, where families reconvene for some of the best locally inspired food around.

"A final nod to civilization (and infinitely more appreciated after a few shower-free nights in the wilderness) is Burntside Lodge, an early-20th-century lakefront resort. A series of handsome log cabins nestled in wooded privacy, solidly built of local materials by expert local craftsmen, the Burntside is especially sought out for its kitchen and wine list, whose unpretentious excellence is unmatched -and unexpected- in the area."

"I'’ve heard the haunting call of a black and white loon ... and rediscovered the essays of Sigurd Olson, the conservationalist largely responsible for preserving the 1 million-acre Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness within Superior National Forest. The Singing Wilderness and several of Olson’s other essay collections articulate why the human spirit soars in wild places such as this.

It’s more than the food at the first-rate restaurant that inspires me here. It’s seeing the most spectacular sunset of my journey and hearing a loon.

I start my tour of the resort ... at Cabin # 26...I hike to the main lodge for my real purpose here: eating....Convivial guests are gathering in the lounge area awaiting the 6 pm opening of the big porchlike dining room..My traveling companions and I are reavenous so we start with appetizers , ....then we share the headliner walleye dish ..risotto, free-range chicken...other specialities appear from the selection of pastas, steaks and barbeque ribs.

An inquiry about dessert reveals Nicole’s creations: berry sorbet served with a delicate ice cream as well as Burntside’s creme brulee....pastries such as blueberry sconces, cinnamon rolls and biscotti, tiramisu.

Gazing out the window over coffee I glimpse several returning canoeists as they near the dock. The summer season is short at Burntside Lodge, and the restaurant is open only from Memorial Day into late-September. Perhaps that part of what makes dinner in this ‘singing wilderness’ so very magical."

"An old wooden fishing boat blooming with bright red cannas greets guests as they make their way oup the Burntside Lodge driveway. It's the first indication that the hunting camp built in 1913 has evolved far beyond its modest roots. Northern Minnesota was still mostly wilderness when Terry Brownell and Thomas Miller established their outing company on Burntside Lake near Ely around the turn of the centry. Ray and Nancy LaMontagne bought the resort in 1941 and managed it for 42 years, transforming it into one of Minnesota's premiere tourist destinations. Famous for its scenic location, fine dining, and meticulously maintained log buildings, the lodge has earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places"

"When the Brownell Outing Company built a major addition to its hunting camp at the turn of the century, it was renamed Burntside Lodge. The company also put up sturdy log cabins, most of which are still there, still beautiful, and remarkably well preserved. The charming old dining room, staffed by perky uniformed waitresses in 1926, continues to welcome diners."

"Burntside Lodge, in Ely, Minnesota, offers the classic Boundary Waters experience for fishermen and paddlers. But instead of taking in the shimmering northern lights from a Therm-a-Rest–enhanced rock, they can watch the show from the veranda of one of 20 impeccably restored 1914-era cottages. There's also a cedar sauna, cappuccino bar, and dining room with an award-winning wine list."

"Cabin 26 seems to glow on the rocky, fir-lined shore of Burntside Lake. Though it's part of Burntside Lodge, this structure seems to stand alone: a tiny home with a green roof, smokestack, and the lodge's trademark red-orange varnish... Cabin 26 is iconic ? what you expect in a cabin, if your expectation is a retreat from everything you think you want to everything you really need. "

"If you haven't slept in a lodge made from trees, you haven't lived. Our state is filled with log lodges, and, fortunately many historic log structures still stand on the North Shore and along the Gunflint Trail and around Brainerd. For the full experience, our favorite is Ely's Burntside Lodge, established in 1913 and owned by the same family since 1941. The lodge hasn't been transformed by golf courses, Jet Skis, and a conference center. It's just a summer resort—one that happens to be on the National Register of Historic Places, recognized for having the nation's largest collection of log buildings (most designed in the 1920's). The food has moved way beyond old-timey creamed chipped beef, however — note the Wine Spectator Aware of Excellence from 2003. Burntside is nestled on twelve-mile-long, spring-fed Burntside Lake, which holds more than 125 islands. God's country, indeed."

"One of the lovliest resorts in all of Minnesota— and certainly the most photographed —Burntside Lodge...got it's start as a hunting camp in the early 1900s. Many of the 21 ultra-cozy cabins overlooking island-studded Burntside Lake were built in the 1920's and each is unique. The National Park Service, noting both its age and architecture ("a remarkable architectural achievement in an outstanding state of preservation"), has added it to the National Register of Historic Places."

"Built in 1914 and now on the National Register of Historic Places, the lodge is almost as legendary as its surroundings. Fourty-four log cabins, many hewn by Finnish immigrants, were built here upon a rocky point of Burntside Lake. Today, 21 remain, spread among the pines on stilts like unobtrusive forest creatures. Glowing in the lodge's trademark red-orange varnish, waterfront Cabin 26 is perhaps the most photographed cabin in the state. Its pine logs still bear the marks of the broadax."

"Burntside Lodge, built in 1911, still holds its original magic for vacationers."

One of the oldest summer retreats in Minnesota is Burntside Lodge near Ely, which includes a picturesque collection of cabins with knotty pine interiors. Many of the cabins, which range in size from one to three bedrooms, were built of native timbers in the 1920's; however, the lodge has been standing since 1913.

At Burntside, which successfully combines the antique with the contemporary, guests can enjoy gourmet dining, and award-winning wine list and a cappuccino bar. The summer resort also offers marine facilities, two sandy beaches and a Finnish sauna kist a skip away from Burntside Lake.

"Burntside Lodge offers wilderness luxuries on the shores of my favorite lake - Burntside. This place has it all and can become the launching pad for a wide variety of wilderness adventures. The food and spirits are also top-notch."

"Vacationers can get deep into the north woods without roughing it at this first-class century-old retreat west of Ely. From the renovated log lodge to the remodeled log cabins, Burntside caters to city dwellers' tastes. The lodge has a cappucino bar, and the dining room's wine list has won awards.

Lou and Lonnie LaMontagne, whose family has owned the lodge since 1941, balance these comforts with reverence for tradition."

"Surrounded by the pines, rivers, and clear lakes of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Superior National Forest, Ely is the epicenter of Minnesota's outdoor paradise...Accommodations range from rustic log cabins to luxurious log resorts (Burntside Lodge - (218) 365-3894)."

"Burntside Lodge is hardly hidden, it has been featured in magazines ranging from Midwest Living to Sports Afield to Gourmet. Burntside Lodge is, however, a treasure. With twenty different cabins, each with its own character, Burntside is an amazing juxtaposition of old and new, historical and current, rustic and luxurious."

"Summer bursts across northeast Minnesota's old mining region, as dazzling as Fourth of July fireworks - and almost as fleeting. Outdoor enthusiasts seize the chance to explore the region's vast north woods and countless lakes. Vacationers flock to dozens of resorts. Grab your gear and make the most of every second!"

"With 1,200 lakes scattered across 1 million acres in northernmost Minnesota, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area is the largest wilderness region east of the Rockies. . . Tuck into a full service lodge for a comfortable night's sleep. The oldest lodge near Ely, the Burntside Lodge (218-365-3894), is on the shores of 12-mile-long Burntside Lake."

Ely is featured as a lead-in for the cover store. Burntside Lodge is listed as the place to stay in Ely, MN

"Traditions run deep at Burntside Lodge. This 86-year-old low-key resort clings to a rocky, pine-covered peninsula that juts into northern Minnesota's 12-mile-long Burntside Lake at the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area."

"Sip the house cocktail - sparkling wine with a splash of cointreau and a Cognac soaked apricot - and watch the sun set over Burntside Lake at this historic lodge (est. 1913). The innovative American cuisine with a northwoods flair surely rivals the view."

"Cozy, updated 1920s log cabins with kitchens, plus flower beds out front, make you feel as if you're at your own lake cottage.

The large main lodge, a picture-book north-woods retreat, combines original furnishings with logging memorabilia. Amenities include a top-notch restaurant and lounge, even a cappuccino bar."

"The excellent fishing has lured many guests, including Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale, complete with secret service entourage, to the resort. And the scenic beauty and the resort's comfort, hospitality, and fine dining have kept many of them coming back."

"For shelter with walls, try the Burntside Lodge, a historic, family owned lakeside complex just six miles from Ely."