For George Pond, Timber Trail Lodge feels like all the pieces of his life finally found their way to the same place.

Before coming to Ely, George spent 20 years at the Denver Zoo, helping create spaces where people could experience wildlife in meaningful ways. He later served eight years as an elected city councilman and spent nine years teaching landscape architecture. Different chapters, certainly, but each centered around people, places, and the belief that our surroundings can shape the experiences we carry with us.

That belief fits naturally at Timber Trail.

Here, at the end of the road on Farm Lake, George has traded city meetings and classrooms for cabins, docks, campfires, and the occasional problem that requires a toolbox. He’s also surrounded by a team that cares deeply about this place and the people who come to enjoy it.

Timber Trail isn’t meant to be the main event of your vacation. It’s your home base for whatever brings you north. Maybe that’s paddling into the Boundary Waters, hiking a new trail, fishing all day, exploring Ely, or doing absolutely nothing more than finding a chair by the lake.

George and the Timber Trail Team are here to make sure you have a comfortable place to come back to when the day is done, and to help when you need us along the way.

So settle in. Explore a little. Stay awhile.

And if you’re up early, there’s a pretty good chance the coffee will already be on.