Exhibits & Tours

The first building you encounter during your visit. Friendly staff are waiting to check-in reservations as well as offer a wide variety of merchandise related to Dorothy Molter (can you say KWITCHURBELIAKIN™?), the Northwoods and our very own Isle of Pines Root Beer served ice cold!  Local and regional artisans, authors and artists are featured through our selection of products including art, books, apparel, decor, gifts and souvenirs.

Reservations are required for tours and shopping in the Gift Shop due to a limit of 10 people at one time on-site. Restroom on-site.

We hope to be able to offer guided tours next season. In the meantime, download our virtual guided tour on Clio for a comprehensive story of Dorothy’s life. 

Step back in time as you enter Dorothy’s home during the winter. In the porch, the original root beer making equipment she used is displayed to help you envision the process of providing thousands of bottles of root beer to Isle of Pines visitors each summer.

As you continue into her kitchen and dining area, imagine stoking the wood stove, entertaining visitors with piping hot coffee, and crafting her famous Christmas ornaments by lamplight. This cabin features personal items, memorabilia and clothing of Dorothy’s as well as pictures of Dorothy with friends, family and visitors to Knife Lake. 

This permanent exhibit illustrates how Dorothy Molter lived at the pace of the seasons and embodied the spirit and inspiration of the Northwoods wilderness.  It features a combination of objects and photographs from the museum’s collection and a 15-minute video compilation from the 1987 documentary film Dorothy Molter: Living in the Boundary Waters.

Funding for the exhibit was provided through a grant from the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB), as well as through generous private donations.

To celebrate the museum’s 25th anniversary, this exhibit in the Cady Cabin opened on Sunday, June 24 at our annual Dorothy Day event. This educational exhibit highlights the decades-long and often controversial process of how the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness was established as a federal wilderness.  Visitors will learn how this process affected not only Dorothy, but residents and visitors to the area through a visual timeline featuring 25 collection items representing different eras.

Funding for the exhibit was provided through a grant from the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB), as well as through generous private donations.

Dorothy Molter was famous for much more than just making root beer; she was also known for her love of birds.  In her 1955 bird essay, Dorothy wrote

Bird-watching is a fascinating hobby. There is always something new to see and something new to learn, and never a dull moment. I don’t envy city dwellers who miss all this.

A remarkable assortment of birds visited the feeders around Dorothy’s home on Knife Lake, and she easily went through 1,000 pounds of seed each season. Dorothy particularly enjoyed sharing her passion for birds with the many people that visited her.

With its location between the tall red pines of the Jon Rozman Memorial Forest and the meadow-like environment of the Ely Cemetery, the Museum is ideally situated to attract a wide range of birds throughout the year.

The museum also offers a selection of field guides for on-site reference and a free, take-home brochure featuring bird food recipes.

This 1/4-mile nature trail is available to museum visitors with reservations. Although short, it meanders through a variety of eco-types common in the Northwoods starting in a red pine stand, meandering through a mixed conifer-deciduous patch and skirting a wetland. Interpretive signs highlight flora and fauna found in northern Minnesota such as the pileated woodpecker, sphagnum moss and the tamarack tree.

A nature guide is available free of charge, which provides information about the coniferous biome of the Northwoods by pointing out specific features of the landscape along the trail. Pick up the trail guide on the north side of the Interpretive Center, next to the door.

Dorothy’s Discovery Trail Backpack is also available for use by pre-arrangement during your tour and includes a variety of field guides, tools and suggested activities to help you learn more about the natural world.

The trail is on natural soil with some rocks and roots exposed. Pets are welcome if leashed, well-behaved and deposits are picked up.

Dorothy Molter – USFS Kawishiwi Ranger Station (Ely)*

Dorothy Molter’s life in what is now the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) is highlighted in this kiosk located inside the U.S. Forest Service Kawishiwi Ranger Station’s Northwoods history and ecology exhibit. This exhibit is free and offers a wide range of Superior National Forest/BWCAW information with staff available to answer questions about this unique area of the country.

Located just east of the Dorothy Molter Museum, across the street from the International Wolf Center, in a gorgeous LEED building.
*Please check with the USFS for public hours/availability.