Isle Royale - Getting There

Isle Royale National Park is big, and remote, but if you look at a map of Lake Superior, the island looks pretty small.  If Lake Superior resembles the head of a wolf, mouth to the left, Isle Royale is sometimes called the "eye of the wolf."  As I said in my introduction, the National Park actually is an archipelago, consisting of the big island, over 400 smaller islands, and lots of underwater areas of the the big lake.  The island itself is over 200 square miles, and rises to about 800 feet over Lake Superior, which is about 600 feet in elevation.  There are many large lakes on the island.  In fact, if you don't mind portaging, you could do a pretty cool canoe trip.  Several of the lakes have islands, and at least one of these islands has a lake with its own tiny island.  This island is sometimes referred to as "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!"

The reason that IRNP is the least visited national park in the "Lower 48" is simple - it's hard to get to.  Here was how my group of six got there, starting Thursday morning, September 13.  We got to the airport in Richmond about 6:00 AM, and flew to Chicago.  From there, we flew to the Houghton, Michigan airport (Hancock, actually), arriving about 1:00 PM.  A shuttle from Keweenaw Adventure Company met us there, and drove us about an hour up the Keweenaw Peninsula to Copper Harbor.  We spent the night there, and in the morning, about 7:15, we arrived at the dock where the Isle Royale Queen IV awaited for the 8:00 trip to Rock Harbor.

We were treated to a lovely sunrise by getting there so early.  Most of us took something for potential seasickness, although the crossing over was very smooth.

The crew loaded everyone's backpacks, canoes, and kayaks, and off we went.  I was surprised how many people were making the crossing.  The ship was fairly full, and we had heard that, after Labor Day, hardly anyone goes up here.  A few people were doing a one day trip (spending just 3 hours on the island), but everyone else was going to be there until Monday, the following Friday, or even longer.  One young man I talked to was going to hike there for 11 days!  The Queen left, and quickly, Copper Harbor was in the rear view mirror.

We passed by the last of land,

admired the Copper Harbor Lighthouse,

and headed out into Lake Superior.  It's like an inland sea, with large ships plying its waters.  Remember the Edmund Fitzgerald?  She sank a couple of hundred miles from here.

Next stop: Rock Harbor Marina on Isle Royale!  Lake Superior is the biggest lake in the world - 31,800 square miles, about the size of Maine or Scotland.  It's about 350 miles from west to east, and 160 miles from north to south.  Our route would take us only 55 miles, but it took 3.5 hours.  The lake reaches a depth of 1,276 feet, so you could stand the Empire State Building in there and have no idea it was under the water.  There are about 3 quadrillion gallons of water in the lake, and Lake Superior has more water than the other four Great Lakes combined.  At an average temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.4 degrees Centigrade), you do not want to fall in the lake, with or without a life preserver.

Inside the ship, there were comfortable chairs and tables, heads, and a snack bar.  The ship was very well run, and I recommend this service highly.

After a couple of hours, Isle Royale loomed ahead on the horizon.

Soon enough, we could clearly see the land forms, rocky and topped with spruce and fir, almost like the Coast of Maine.

As the ship turned into the harbor, we saw the lodge and restaurant buildings on the far shore.  These would be closing the next morning.

There was also a little dock that one could walk to along a coastal path.

At the main docking area, there is a large store (also closing Saturday morning), a rest room, showers, and laundry building (also closing the next morning), and a National Park visitor center (also mostly closed after the following morning but open periodically).

In the forest beyond the dock area, there is a camp ground, cabins for guests (closing after Friday night), and a seaplane dock.  There is also a nice marina here, as people with large boats can make the crossing from Ontario, Minnesota, or even Michigan if they are daring enough.  For now, though, it was time to step off the ship, collect our heavy packs, talk to and register with a ranger, and start our true adventure after about 36 hours of traveling to get here.

Prior story - Isle Royale trip overview
Next Story - Rock Harbor