ISLE ROYALE NATIONAL PARK
For those arriving at Snug Harbor, the obvious place to camp the first and last nights is the Rock Harbor campground, the island's busiest. If you're eager to get away from what passes for "crowds" on Isle Royale, Three Mile campground (unsurprisingly about 3 miles away) is easy to get to. Daisy Farm (another 4 miles) is also within a partial-day's hike. But keep in mind that you'll be disembarking from a ferry at the same time as dozens of people wit
h exactly the same idea, filling that first day's hike with passing and being passed by fellow travelers, so an afternoon exploring the Snug Harbor area and a night at Rock Harbor with a more individual hit-the-trail time the next morning (and your choice of sites when you arrive) may be more to your liking. Lane Cove is a reasonable distance for a first night, but it requires hiking over the Greenstone Ridge, and it's a dead-end, so you'll have to backtrack the next day (with a really steep climb back onto the ridge) to go anywhere else. First-day paddlers can reach the Tooker's Island or Caribou Island campgrounds on the barrier islands protecting Rock Harbor.
Isle Royale National Park [1] is a United States National Park comprised of Isle Royale and the surrounding waters and small islands, a wilderness preserve in northw
est Lake Superior. It's easily identified on maps of the Great Lakes: Lake Superior resembles the profile of a snarling wolf; Isle Royale is the eye. Although it's closer to Ontario, Canada, or even Minnesota, USA, it's part of the state of Michigan. Its French name might lead you to pronounce it "eel roy-AL", but the common pronunciation i
est Lake Superior. It's easily identified on maps of the Great Lakes: Lake Superior resembles the profile of a snarling wolf; Isle Royale is the eye. Although it's closer to Ontario, Canada, or even Minnesota, USA, it's part of the state of Michigan. Its French name might lead you to pronounce it "eel roy-AL", but the common pronunciation iUNDERSTAND
Isle Royale is currently a wilderness preserve first, a sanctuary for those seeking to experience it second, and a travel destination third. Although it accommodates all of these uses, that's the order of priority they take. So wildlife gets the run of the island, and human visitors are generally restricted to established trails and accessible lakes, with leave-no-trace camping protocols in effect. Modern conveniences and comforts are very limited; away from the small ports on either end of the island, "running water" means "a creek", and only "o
uthouse" pit toilets are available. (Many of the more accessible ones are stocked with toilet paper, but bring your own or be prepared to improvise.)
uthouse" pit toilets are available. (Many of the more accessible ones are stocked with toilet paper, but bring your own or be prepared to improvise.)Lake Superior winters close the park from November through mid-April, with limited access before Memorial Day and after Labor Day; Isle Royale is the only U.S. National Park Service park to shut down altogether for the winter. Because of this, along with its geographic isolation and challenging ruggedness, it receives fewer visitors in a year (17,500 in 2005) than many national parks endure in a day. Those visitors stay a remarkable average of 4-5 days each (even counting day-trippers), but it still has one of the lowest visitors-per-square-mile figures outside of the huge Alaskan parks. Which is, of course, a large part of its appeal. And it leaves these visitors wanting more; with the NPS's highest return-visit rate. s the very midwestern "ile ROY-ul".
For those arriving at Snug Harbor, the obvious place to camp the first and last nights is the Rock Harbor campground, the island's busiest. If you're eager to get away from what passes for "crowds" on Isle Royale, Three Mile campground (unsurprisingly about 3 miles away) is easy to get to. Daisy Farm (another 4 miles) is also within a partial-day's hike. But keep in mind that you'll be disembarking from a ferry at the same time as dozens of people wit
h exactly the same idea, filling that first day's hike with passing and being passed by fellow travelers, so an afternoon exploring the Snug Harbor area and a night at Rock Harbor with a more individual hit-the-trail time the next morning (and your choice of sites when you arrive) may be more to your liking. Lane Cove is a reasonable distance for a first night, but it requires hiking over the Greenstone Ridge, and it's a dead-end, so you'll have to backtrack the next day (with a really steep climb back onto the ridge) to go anywhere else. First-day paddlers can reach the Tooker's Island or Caribou Island campgrounds on the barrier islands protecting Rock Harbor.Arrivals at Windigo typically spend the first and last nights at the Washington Creek campground. An alternative is to hike north to Huginnin Cove (3 miles), but this detour loop will add about 3 miles of up-and-down hiking to the beginning of the next day's hike, regardless of which direction you're going next. Or set out right away on the Greenstone and make your way to Island Mine campground (7 miles, mostly up hill). Beaver Island and Grace Island campgrounds can be reached by canoe or kayak.
From there, it's up to you.
From there, it's up to you.
