Isle Royale National Park

Great place for backpacking. Just completed a 3 day/3 night backing trip. Stayed in Rock Harbor and 3 Mile rent sites. First week of September. No flies or mosquitoes this time of year. Trails and sites are well maintained by the NPS. Rocky terrain, not recommended for those with mobility issues, but Rock Harbor Lodge does operate some scenic boat cruises to be able to see some parts of the island from the water.

As far as national parks go, Isle Royale is a must visit. Sure the views are great, but I think the real standout of this park is the isolation and solitude you get while here. The fact that you are on an island in Lake Superior is clear right away when you make the trip over by either boat or plane. This just amplifies the feeling of being present and one with your surroundings as you journey through the park. Our trip was in August of 2023 6 nights 7 days flying in by sea plane to Windigo, hiking across via the Greenstone, ending in Rock Harbor, and taking the Ferry back to Houghton. Basic knowledge of backpacking is needed, but not overly difficult or complex. My recommendation from my friend who have been a handful of times: Avoid June or July due to black flies and more people on the island in general. If you can time it mid to late August or September you will be golden. Place that stuck with me: Moskey Basin campground is right next to a bay and our campsite was 30-50 feet away from Lake Superior. After a long trip making it to Rock Harbor and getting a burger at the grill was a great conclusion to a fantastic trip. No Moose sightings sadly on this trip, but just another reason to come back.

A great national park located in the middle of the largest great lake, Lake Superior! Only way to get to this island is by boat and by boat is the only way off this island! Plenty of unique animals only found on the island to observe, along with several hiking trails. A odd/unique feature on this island in the middle of a lake, is another lake (within the island) with an island in the middle of it with, you guessed it another little lake! Definitely a bucket list trip that you must see to believe!

We took the ferry over to Windigo for the day trip. If you aren't staying on the island, then the day trip out of Grand Portage is the way to go. When we arrived, we had to go for a speech by one of the park rangers. She read the entire thing from a script. Personally, I think it would've been better if she just directed people to the visitor center where you could talk to the rangers about what you can do in the short time you are there. We knew what trails we were going to be able to hike. I brought my map with me. We hiked the Feltman Trail and the Nature Trail. They were great trails. It was difficult for my husband, who wears a leg brace, but he did it. This area is not really handicap accessible. Rock Harbor may be better suited if you need extra assistance. The bathrooms were clean and the store was nice. We loved that we could grab some soda after our bikes while we waited for our departure time. The store has a deck where people were sitting and enjoying the view. This was on our bucket list and we ate so glad that we got the chance to go. It is definitely worth the time and boat ride to go see this park.

Remote national park with a plenty of trails. We stayed in Housekeeping cabin for two nights and hiked over 25 miles in one day. The trail is quite muddy near the coast.

A destination out of sight, inaccessible by car, loons, moose, and wolves, in the lowest visitation of any national park in the contiguous United States. Minong is the Ojibwe word that means “the Good Place”. The Ojibwe, know this wild as a place of tradition, sustenance, and abundance. I came to experience serenity, peace, and beauty, and it did not disappoint. This NP deserves at least 2 nights if not more. A solo long hike, rest, and solo climbing through rocks were a refreshing rest for my mind and soul.

I only recommend this NP if you live relatively close or like me, you want to visit them all. Being from the PNW, I felt like I’ve done this type of hike already so I wasn’t impressed. The solitude was very nice though and is hard to come by in terms of NP’s. I was a day tripper and did the East Huginnin Cove and Minong Ridge Loop Trail which took just shy of 4 hours and probably saw 8 people in those 9 miles. Oh and since this is a remote island, expect very overgrown trails!

Isle Royale National Park is a great place to visit, but you can only get to it by boat, the main one is from Grand Portage. Its worth booking this well in advance. I would also recommend not sitting on the front outside seats, as once the boat gets out of the bay, you will most likely get wet, I certainly did. The best place to sit is outside right behind the loos. If you go to Windigo, there are a few hikes. On the day trip you have time to do one. We walked down to Grace Harbor, where you can see Grace Island and back. Note you need good boots as its gets very wet at Grace Creek. The other option is to walk to Huginnin Cove, but you need to be fit to do the look in the time you have. The visitor center is good, with lots of information about the islands. The store and café are pretty basic but you can find food here, if you didn’t bring anything. I would certainly recommend visiting Isle Royale.