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Updated 02/11/23 7:04 PM

Isle Royale National Park

Isle Royale National Park is located in the northern reaches of Lake Superior is the least visited national park in the lower 48 states.

Michigan

2016

About The Park

Isle Royale National Park, located on an island in Lake Superior, is one of the most remote of the United States national parks and definitely the most remote in the lower 48. It is only open from April 16 to October 31. It is the largest island in the world's largest freshwater lake and it is the only national park that is closed entirely in the winter due to safety considerations because of the extreme weather conditions. The winter weather can be very dangerous and many a ship has sunk in Lake Superior.

The remoteness and the six-month season probably accounts for Isle Royale’s meager 28,196 visitors (2017) and its ranking of 56 out of 59 (at that time) national parks in 2017. Only three of Alaska’s remote national parks ranked lower in terms of visitors.

It is located, at its closest, only about 10 miles from the Canadian border with
Ontario. From the United States the closest point is about 50 miles from Copper Harbor in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to Rock Harbor on Isle Royale. Houghton, Michigan, where you can also embark for a trip to Isle Royale is about 60 miles away.

Isle Royale is really an archipelago comprising over 400 islands. In fact most of the park, 685 mi.², is water. The land area covers 209 mi.². Isle Royale is the largest island and is 46 miles long and 9 miles wide. The area is popular with divers since there are many shipwrecks to explore.

For the purposes of the majority of visitors the place where most visitors go to stay and see the park is Rock Harbor at the eastern end of the island.

There are basically three ways for the average visitor to get to Isle Royale.

The National Park Service operates the 165 foot long, 128 passenger, Ranger III, out of Houghton, Michigan. This is the largest piece of equipment in the National Park Service. Passenger service is available twice weekly, in each direction, from May through September. The trip takes about six hours.

A private concessionaire operates a daily boat out of Copper Harbor, Michigan which is at the very tip of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. This is a 100 passenger, 85 foot vessel that takes about three hours to get to Rock Harbor. It’s a good option for a day trip as well as for people planning to stay on the island who don’t mind the extra distance getting to the tip of the Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

The third option is to take Isle Royale Seaplanes out of Houghton, Michigan which makes the trip in about 35 minutes and is significantly more expensive ($320 per person round trip versus $125 - $140 via boat).

The shortest route to the island is from Grand Portage, Wisconsin to Windigo on the westernmost tip of Isle Royale. Only rustic cabins are there so this is basically a place for campers, boaters, canoeists and kayakers. From Windigo to Rock Harbor is about a 4.5 hour boat ride.

When my wife and I went we had to be at a wedding in Detroit. We had never traveled to this part of the country and decided to fly out 10 days before the wedding and visit Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota and Michigan’s Isle Royale National Park. As it turned out the difficulty with lodging reservations, the boat schedules and our schedule made the seaplane the best option for us. A small plane flight wasn’t our first choice but the extra days lodging we would have needed to take the boats would have exceeded the difference between the cost of the seaplane and the boat. Fortunately the weather was clear, the air and sea calm, and we had a nice flight.

We took a nice hike the first day and as it turned out the weather forecast for the next two days of our 3-night stay was rain. We had to be in Detroit for a wedding and if I didn’t try to get on the Ranger III boat the next day, and my seaplane flight could not take off due to the rain the following day, I would have been stranded on Isle Royale and miss the wedding. I couldn’t see much choice so I ‘ate’ the cost of the return trip on the seaplane and paid to take the Ranger III back to Houghton, Michigan where my rental car was parked. As it turned out the six-hour trip was very pleasant, we met a bunch of really nice people to exchange stories and pictures with, and it went by fast. As it turned out the only seaplane flight to get out the next day was the flight we would’ve been on first thing in the morning!

Life is full of write offs and this was just one of those. We were on vacation, added two more national parks to our list, and there’s no reason for any regrets.

Isle Royale is a park that I wouldn’t mind going back to. Unfortunately it’s not a drive-to park. It requires more planning given the remoteness and the boat schedules than many of the more popular national parks. That being said I still have to recommend it.

Wildlife

Wolves and moose are the wildlife that the park is principally known for. Snowshoe hares, ermine, mink, beavers, red foxes and muskrats can be found on the island along with snakes and turtles. The population of wolves was down to one but they now have re-introduced some to the island to balance the moose population.

Lodging

Rock Harbor Lodge

The only hotel lodging on Isle Royale is the Rock Harbor Lodge. The accommodations are fairly typical national parks-type lodging. The rooms are a bit rustic but more than adequate. You don’t expect big city luxury-type hotel lodging in any National Park. The lodge has all the amenities that a visitor to a National Park wants. What you won’t have are televisions and cell phone service. As with any national parks lodge within the boundaries of the park early reservations are a necessity. We had a lakeside room and the views of sunrise and sunset over Lake Superior were beautiful.

Hiking

Scoville Point Loop Hike

For our first hike, and only hike as it turned out, we decided to do the 4.2 mile loop hike to Scoville Point. The hike travels along the rugged Great Lakes coastline and was fairly flat, remote, and with very little traffic. Scoville Point is a finger of granite that juts out into Lake Superior sculpted by its waves. Unfortunately the weather was kind of dreary and not very good for pictures. But it didn’t rain and the trail was mostly dry and we enjoyed the scenery. On the way back practically within earshot of the trailhead we encountered two moose. The first one was in the trees right next to the trails and was a female who was spooked by us and trotted away.

The other one was a huge bull moose that was feeding right next to the trail. Knowing what kind of dangerous creatures these are there was no way I was going to try to walk past it. We slowly backed up out of sight and found a place to sit and explore our options. I knew that we could hike back some and go across the island and reach the trail that we took on the way out but that was going to add miles to the trip and we were already tired. Trying to bushwhack it around the moose also wasn’t an option – the woods were too dense. So I decided to go back down the trail and see if the moose was still there which, regrettably, he was. I took out my camera to take a picture but, seeing the moose stop feeding and stare in my direction, I was afraid to do anything that might upset him. A moose charging is more dangerous than a bear. The bear might bluff charge and stop. A moose will run you down and trample you with his large hooves. You can’t out run either one. So I just backed up and told my wife we had no choice but to backtrack.

By the time we rerouted the hike and arrived back at the trail head my GPS said that we had hiked over 8 miles. Our legs felt it and I didn’t even have a picture of that big bull moose as a consolation prize.

I read that the Scoville Point hike can be done in sneakers and a water bottle - and it can - but from my point of view, if you’re going to hike in Isle Royale, make sure you have rain gear and sturdy shoes.

If you’re not into hiking, boats, canoes and kayaks are available to rent and there are boat tours out of Rock Harbor.

Susy’s Cave

There’s another nice loop hike, Susy’s Cave, that takes you to an inland sea arch and a wave-washed Cliff. At 3.8 miles this is a nice way to spend a couple of hours. I would have liked to do this hike but I didn’t have the time.

A Fun Fact

An interesting fun fact is that Siskiwit Lake, on Isle Royale, is the largest lake on the island. Siskiwit Lake contains several islands, including Ryan Island, the largest, which contains Moose Flats, a seasonal pond, which contains Moose Boulder. When Moose Flats is a pond, Moose Boulder becomes the largest island in the largest lake on the largest island in the largest lake on the largest island in the largest lake in the world!

Isle Royale National Park Photo Gallery

Other Resources

Isle Royale National Park on the National Parks Service website - NPS.gov

Isle Royale National Park - Wikipedia

Isle Royale - Wikipedia

Picture of the 165 foot long boat, the Ranger III.

Picture of sunrise on Lake Superior seen from Isle Royale National Park

Other National Parks Within a Day’s Drive

The driving time is from Houghton, Michigan which is where the boat to Isle Royale returns to after the 6 hour boat ride. Driving times do not count the 6 hours.

Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota is 320 miles west and about a 7 hour drive.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan is 166 miles to the east and about a 3 hour drive.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan is 400 miles southeast and about a 7 hour drive.
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