I Am Boulder Junction: Keeping the tradition of hospitality alive

February 28, 2024

Meet the people who make Boulder Junction a great place to live, play, and stay. “I Am Boulder Junction” highlights the stories and personalities of our local business owners and community members and the welcoming spirit and boundless enthusiasm for the Northwoods you’ll find on your next visit here.

Boulder Junction has been welcoming visitors to the Northwoods of Wisconsin for more than a century, and travelers still return here year after year. So, what makes it so special? We asked a few of our local business owners to weigh in on keeping Boulder Junction’s welcoming spirit alive for returning visitors and new guests alike.

• Lois Smith, owner, Violets & Lace: “I definitely feel like we are part of the community and keeping it going forward and helping out a small business and somebody else if they need help, too.”
• Ron Reinowski, owner, The Ice Shanty: “In a way it’s probably the closest thing we have to Route 66 in Wisconsin. I mean you drive by, you see all the colors, you see all the signs, you see the mini golf, it’s an attraction. … To me it’s like carrying the Olympic torch—it’s yours for a moment of time, you don’t want to drop it, you don’t want it to burn out, and the whole world’s watching.”
• Sara Muender, owner, Moondeer & Friends Gallery: “I don’t think of it as a business, it’s my child. … Everything here I have put where it goes, so it’s very personal.”
• Haley Hiller, owner, Boulder Junction Coffee Company: “It’s kind of been a little bit of a shift, and there’s some new culture coming in but we’re doing a good job of hanging onto what made Boulder Junction special and small and such a cool feel—the nostalgic part—and we’re kind of melding it with what’s coming, the new and improved little bit more modern side of things and fresh faces from other places.”
• Sara Smith, owner, Acorn Lodge: “[With] all the other business owners that have been here for so many years trying to make Boulder Junction be the wonderful place it is, I feel really lucky to be able to be a part of this community.”
• Jeff Long, Century 21 Real Estate: “The emotional impact of Boulder Junction on people’s lives cannot be overstated. It’s just tremendous.”

See more “I Am Boulder Junction” articles and videos here.