Minnesota
Ely, Minn. ranked Minnesota's 'most charming town'
A lake within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is seen on Wednesday, September 4, 2019, in Ely, MN. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post / Getty Images)
ELY, Minn. (FOX 9) – Ely, Minnesota was named as Minnesota’s most charming town, according to a ranking.
AFAR magazine ranked Ely above other small cities in Minnesota.
The magazine said that Ely is perfect for people who enjoy the outdoors, especially canoeing and fishing.
Ely is located in far-north Minnesota nestled next to the Boundary Waters, about 20 miles from the Canadian border and about 80 miles north of Duluth.
The magazine also cites other attractions like the Ely Folk School, Chilly Dogs sled trips, and the International Wolf Center. However, the magazine doesn’t outline how it determined what makes Ely “charming” versus other Minnesota spots. The only parameters outlined in the list are that each city has a population of 25,000 people or fewer and “unique” attractions.
AFAR seems to get good traction from their “most charming” lists because they make many of them. Last September, the magazine ranked Grand Marais among their “most charming U.S. small towns to visit this fall.”
Last month, they also compiled a list of the “most charming beach towns” — but no Minnesota cities made the cut for that ranking.