Isle Royale: the most peaceful island in the national parks

Isle Royale is an island 72 km long, in the north-west of Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world. There are no roads and no cars. You come by boat, for a few days of walking or canoeing, among spruce forests, lakes and moose.

History and origins

People have been coming here for at least 6,500 years, to mine copper, which is found in its pure state in the rock. Their old pits can still be seen. In the 19th century the mining companies took over, followed by fishermen and a few hotels for city dwellers. The park was created in 1940.

The island is famous among biologists. The moose arrived by swimming around 1900. The wolves followed, crossing the frozen lake at the end of the 1940s. Since 1958, researchers have been tracking both. It’s the longest study in the world of a predator and its prey.

What to do there

• Rock Harbor: the main harbour, in the east, with the island’s only hotel. Easy trails set off from here along the coast, to Scoville Point or Suzy’s Cave.
• Windigo: the other harbour, in the west, smaller and quieter. It’s the one you reach fastest from Minnesota.
• The Greenstone Ridge: the trail that runs the length of the island, for 64 km. It’s walked in four to six days.
• Canoeing and kayaking: the island has dozens of lakes and sheltered bays, linked by short portages.
• The moose: you often see them at the water’s edge, morning and evening. The wolves, on the other hand, almost always stay out of sight.
• The shipwrecks: the cold waters of the lake have preserved around ten wrecked ships, which experienced divers come to explore.

Stories and good to know

• In 2018, only two wolves were left, too inbred to reproduce. The park brought in others from the mainland. The pack has rebuilt itself.
• The island gets fewer visitors in a year than Yellowstone does in one August day.
• Lake Superior is so cold that people hardly ever swim in it.

Practical information for your trip

• Getting there: the ferries leave from Houghton and Copper Harbor, in Michigan, for crossings of 3 hrs 30 to 6 hrs, and from Grand Portage, in Minnesota, for 1 hr 30 to 2 hrs. Seaplanes reach the island in 30 to 45 minutes.
• On site: a small grocery in each harbour. Everything else, you have to bring.
• Where to stay: at Rock Harbor Lodge, in the Windigo cabins, or at one of the 36 campgrounds, free and with no reservation.
• Combine it with: the shore of Lake Superior and Voyageurs, in Minnesota.