Isle Royale National Park is the one of the least visited AND most revisited National Parks in the United States.But why? This park is surround by the dangerous, cold and sea-sized Lake Superior. Once you’re on the island, you’ll feel the wilderness of this park. This sense of wonder and isolation is not only created by the remoteness of the location but by the undeveloped land around you.
The land in this park is untouched from November to April each year, when even the park staff leave the island. Once the spring thaw happens, humans come back to the island to find that nature has overrun signs of human habitation from the previous year. So if you are looking for a pristine and rugged wilderness, Isle Royale National Park is the park for you. You’ll love the beauty of nature, the chance for adventure, and the pure silence of this park.
However, as this is one of the least visited National Parks, there isn’t a lot of information out there to help you plan your trip. So we’ve put together this guide to Isle Royale National Park to help you decide if, when and how to visit Isle Royale.
Top Things To Do
How many days should you spend on the island?
The most popular hike on Isle Royale is hiking the Greenstone Ridge Trail. This trail goes from one end of the island to the other following a 42 mile trail. Most people get dropped off at Windigo Bay and picked up at Rock Harbor. This trail typically takes 5-7 days.
Another popular for the less physically fit or less mobile is staying at the Rock Harbor Lodge and doing short day hikes around the lodge. You can stay here as long as you would like. However, there are only a few day hike options from Rock Harbor. So unless you want to hike the same trail multiple times, we’d recommend staying for just two days if you plan on staying in the same area.
While you can visit Isle Royale as a day trip, we wouldn’t. The boat ride is pretty long and the cost of transportation is pricy. So in order to maximize your time and money, we’d recommend at least staying overnight.
When Should you visit Isle Royale?
Isle Royale is closed from November 1st through April 15th each year.
We visited in June and it was still quite cold. Which was actually a good thing as this meant we didn’t have many bugs. July and August are said to be the warmest months and have the driest trails but this comes with the tradeoff of more bugs. The end of summer may be the best time to visit as you’re likely to have dry trails and the bugs **hopefully** have died off. But it’s technically part of the UP so a bug-less warm-weather visit may not be an option.
How do you get there?
The trip to Isle Royale is almost as much of an adventure as the hiking itself.
You can boat there yourself, but after visiting enough shipwreck museums in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, I will not be boating on Lake Superior’s open water anytime soon.
You can take a ferry from either Michigan or Minnesota. There are four different ferries that operate out of Grand Portage, MN, Copper Harbor, MI, and Houghton, MI. See more information about the ferries here. These ferries take between 2-6 hours to cross lake Superior.
You can also take a seaplane from Grand Marais, MN or Hancock, MI. While the plane is more expensive than the ferry, the flights are less than an hour. See more information about the seaplanes here.
We took the Voyageur II from Grand Portage. It was fun to meet people on the boat and talk National Parks with them. However, after the very long boat ride, I think we would have preferred to take the sea plane instead. Prior to our trip, I didn’t even look at the pricing as I assumed it would be way more expensive. However, after meeting someone who flew and asking them how much they paid, it would have been about $100/person more to fly, which after a 6 hour boat ride we felt would have been worth it.
However, when you’re deciding how to get to Isle Royale, you’ll need to decide what dates you’ll want to be on the island because that will greatly impact which transportation options you can use. Not all ferry operators run each route daily. If you can be more flexible in the dates you’ll be on the island, you’ll have more options for transportation.
Where to stay on Isle Royale?
You can stay in lodges at either Rock Harbor or Windigo. However, a lovely lodge stay is not why you’re going to Isle Royale. The island is a rugged masterpiece that is one of the most remote National Parks in the US. We think camping is the best way to experience this island. Also, these resorts are very expensive for what you get. So we’re going to gloss over them, but if you want more information you can check out that info here.
Camping on Isle Royale is actually pretty nice. If you get to sites early enough, you’re are very likely to find these little screened in cabins. You can then pitch your tent in the cabin. This will keep you off of the ground, keep the bugs out and give you extra protection from any rain. As backcountry camping goes, if you can score one of these cool cabins, you’ll be living in the lap of camping luxury. That being said, all of the camping areas, except Windigo and Rock Harbor have pit toilets rather than flushing toilets. There are no showers in any campsites. So not quite glamping…
How much should you budget for your Isle Royale vacation?
Your transportation to and from the island will cost between $160-$400 USD/person, depending on the transportation type and port that you choose. Some of the ferry lines charge a per day fee for parking as well.
Your parks pass for Isle Royale National Park is $7/person/day. If you have an America the Beautiful National Parks Pass, your entrance is free. You should buy your passes online ahead of time. You’ll need to show your parks pass or your receipt for payment when you arrive on the island so make sure to bring that. You can also pay when you arrive, though rangers seem to prefer pre-payment.
You’ll also need a large amount of high quality (aka lightweight) camping gear. If you don’t have all of that, you’ll need to budget for those supplies listed below.
You may also want to budget for hotels before and after your stay on Isle Royale. You have to wake up pretty early to catch the ferry so staying nearby is really important. Hotel prices vary based on where you are departing from but will range from around $150-300.
We spent $742 for a 4-day Isle Royale trip, with two days in Northern Minnesota:
- Ferry: $396 for two people, $16 for parking
- Parks Pass: $80 for our American the Beautiful Pass
- Hotels before and after the island: $250
What to Pack for Isle Royale?
For any visitor to Isle Royale, you’ll need the following:
- Bug Spray
- Bug face net
- Hat/sunglasses
- Water purification system (water is only available at the lodges)
- Hydration bladder for your backpack or roll up water bottles
- Rain coat and rain pants
- Hiking Boots (waterproof)
- Isle Royale hiking map
- Toilet paper and plastic bag for removing your toilet paper
If you’re planning on backpacking or camping, you’ll also need those supplies as well.
Safety on the Island
Isle Royale is a rugged place. If you have visions of modern amenities, I’m here to dash those visions. So pack appropriately for this trip.
Getting lost while hiking is a real possibility. The trails aren’t well maintained and losing the trail can be easy. So make sure to pack a map and a compass or a GPS that doesn’t rely on cell signals.
Nature on the island is amazing and totally unafraid of you. And why should a giant towering moose be afraid of you – they’re bigger after all. When we got our backcountry permits, we learned a few things about moose safety that we’ll share with you. First, the general rule of thumb is that if you see a moose and hold your thumb between yourself and the moose, you shouldn’t be able to see the moose. If you can still see the moose around your thumb you are too close to the moose. Next, if a moose is walking towards you, you should hide behind something. Moose have bad vision so just getting out of the moose’s vision can help the moose to forget about you.
This actually happened to us. We were on a trail and the moose started walking towards us. We tried backing up and the moose kept coming. So we got off the trail, which is normally a no-no but we thought it necessary. The moose still kept coming, so we ducked behind some ferns and the moose went on his merry way. We then followed behind him at a more comfortable distance and watched him go swimming, which wasn’t nearly as graceful as you may imagine.
We hope that this guide to Isle Royale has helped you to plan your own trip to this amazing National Park. We are parks people and we’re happy to wax poetic or answer any questions you may have if you leave them in the comments section below.
