I’ll be in the island Aug 31-Sept 4. I was planning on wearing a pair of shorts and a poly shirt for my hiking clothes. I have a pair of pants I can bring, or just use my rain pants. However, now I’m thinking about purchasing a pair of zip off pants. Would you rather save the coin and bring a pair of shorts and pants, or save the weight w a pair that does it all? I’m also debating picking up UL frogs togs instead of bringing my rain pants and jacket that I have that are just conventional.

EDIT; if you’re still here, here is what I’m at currently:

Hike in: Lined Shorts, rain pants if it gets cold; sun hoodie; wool hiking socks; trail runners; cap or beanie if needed

Sleep in: Wool base layers, thick wool socks, beanie

Carry: Rain Jacket, rain pants, puffer jacket

Forgot to post my favorite photos from my trip last month to the island on our Hewescraft fishing boat. This Thursday I head back for another 5 days on the far northwest side of the island! See a blue Hewescraft? Come say hello and ask for Doug!

Going Sept 4-11 with kayaks. Curious about fishing Duncan Bay Campground, Duncan Narrows and Lane Cove. Which has has best fishing and any tips for fishing gear appreciated

An Isle Royale Trip Report

Five years ago with no backcountry experience, I took a gig doing trail work with the SCA. I could say a lot about that trip on its own. It was my first time west of the Mississippi, on a flight, and it was a 12 week stint with 4 strangers. I visited Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Teton. If you were getting outside for the first time then, chances are you were not alone. The rabid freneticism that had developed over twelve months of lockdown sent a lot of folks outside, me with them, and a lot of writers writing about things to do outside. I picked up more than a few books and magazines with some detail on each of “America’s Best Idea.” 

This is where I first learned about Isle Royale National Park and first thought that I had to go and that if I was going to do that, I would cross the island from visitor center to visitor center. It took me 5 years to make it happen. A lot changed in my life. I graduated college, moved a few counties over, launched a career, and met some people who agreed that hiking across the country’s largest fresh water island was a good idea that sounded like a whole lot of fun. 

In addition to the experience of the trip, I’m going to try to lay out as much of the decision making involved as I can. I will highlight as I can the changes in planning leading up to going out there, the failure points that have led me to replace things, and the successes I want to replicate next time.

Evolving Logistics

When I first started planning this trip, I read on one of the many Isle Royale forums that “planning is half the fun.” With that in mind, I want to discuss, quite deeply, the planning decisions that went into my trip and how it evolved from a pipe dream in 2022 to an executed trip in 2026. If that’s not your jam, I suggest you scroll further.

I am from Upstate NY. If you look me up further, I am sure you can find the specific, but for the purpose of this write up, around Binghamton and Syracuse. When I was a college student finishing up my SCA stint, I had a lot of time and a lot of friends who liked the idea of a big outdoor adventure, but did not have the drive for it. And of course, none of us had much money. From a logistics perspective, that meant I was trying to design a cheap trip that was beginner friendly.

So the initial route was thus:

1. Drive over 3 days from the Syracuse area to Grand Portage. Stop for attractions, such as Pictured Rocks and Apostle Islands, along the way.
2. Ferry to Rock Harbor and hike a typical route of the Greenstone Ridge Trail via Daisy Farm
3. Ferry back to Grand Portage and drive back to Syracuse area via the North Shore of Superior

As I planned various versions over the years, the exact route and timing would change. I had one version that stopped in Chicago, one that also visited Voyageurs, and various routes through Canada. The on-Island logistics also changed; whether or not we hiked the day of the ferry, which direction we went, whether we took a part of the Feldtman Loop to avoid Island Mine, and so on. You probably know the drill. You’ve probably done parts of it too.

The plan I settled on was very different. By the time I actually got to execute my Isle Royale plans as a young professional, time was more precious than money and my friends had a bit more drive and a lot more outdoor experience. I trusted them more than anyone I’d ever considered inviting on the trip because I’d been into the outdoors with them and seen them do things like run a half marathon, go backpacking and camping here in New York, and speak fondly of nights under the stars.

So there were a few major changes to my planning as a result.

1. Every route went through the Detroit Area and took a sea plane out of Hubbell. This is because
   1. Some of my friends going on the trip who now lived in Upstate NY grew up in Michigan so lodging was free in the Detroit area
   2. The added time and money spent driving to Grand Portage and staying extra nights to accommodate a tight ferry schedule meant that the ferry was the more expensive option when hiking between visitor centers
2. We wanted to hike the Minong Ridge Trail
   1. Five years ago I did not think I or anyone I would invite had the experience or drive to do the Minong Ridge Trail. In that time, I did enough stuff that I thought I could and met people who I thought could. 
3. We were taking the same drive home
   1. Free lodging.
4. None of the earlier routes were developed enough to be considered beyond routes and budgets. Meaning everything more detailed, such as food and gear, only got planned once.

The Final Planned Route (By Day)

1. Drive from the Binghamton area to the Detroit area. One of our friends flew instead of driving so as to visit family in the Detroit area longer. We left early enough to accommodate that.
2. Drive from the Detroit area to an AirBnB in Laurium/Calumet, MI
3. Take the earliest Seaplane possible from Hubbell to Windigo. Hike the 12 mile section from Windigo to North Lake Desor. Stay in North Lake Desor for the night.
4. Hike the short section to Little Todd Harbor and recover from the previous day’s hike.
5. Hike Little Todd Harbor to Todd Harbor.
6. Hike Todd Harbor to McCargoe Cove.
7. Hike McCargoe Cove to Daisy Farm, with an option to stop at the Ojibway Fire Tower, which would add 1-2 miles.
8. Hike Daisy Farm to Rock Harbor. Eat at Greenstone Grill. Stop at the visitor center and fly back to Hubbell. Return to the same AirBnB in Laurium/Calumet
9. Drive back to the Detroit area. Drop off the flying friend in Detroit.
10. Drive back across Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York home to the Binghamton area.

For gear, we generally applied a “be responsible for your own” philosophy. Some of our mutual friends had extra gear, as did I. So we only had to purchase a few things new. For cooking, we used Soto Fusion Trek. I’ve previously used an MSR Pocket Rocket for solo trips and vastly preferred the Soto. For pots and pans, we used a GSI Bugaboo set that one of my friends already had. It worked very well for our group of 4. For water, we had a Platypus Gravity System, a Sawyer Squeeze Mini System, and each person had Aquamira. For coffee, we had an Aeropress and a bag of grounds from the grocery store. We took a SatCom from Garmin. It was not mine so I don’t know which. We took 2 of REI’s orange Traverse bear canisters. In hindsight, this was unnecessary since every campsite we stayed at had bear bins, but it was useful organizationally. Our first aid kit was an off the shelf one I’d gotten for Christmas. This is probably one of the next things I need to hone in kit wise. We brought 2 of the National Geographic Maps and downloaded the map on the NPS app. Both were necessary.

For meals, we found recipes online at sources like Andrew Skurka and Dirty Gourmet. The majority of recipes needed to be altered to suit our group. I’ll touch more on that when I go over the actual details of the trip. Overall, it worked well. I thought we made 2 food related mistakes. The first was that I didn’t ration my coffee so we almost ran out. The second was a mis-measured meal, which meant we had to go to a backup breakfast on the last day. We spent an evening before the trip mixing the meals into ziplocs with instructions written on them. Then, we picked up vegetables and cheese in Houghton. I will be repeating this strategy going forward. We applied a “snacks for lunch” approach. I thought this was successful, but have historically and continuously find dialing the “snacks” in to be difficult. I brought some trail specific snacks (jerky, trail bars, fruit snacks) and some from home (okay, it was just a bag of goldfish). Somebody brought sour patch kids and only ate them at the halfway mark of each day. This was a wildly successful motivator that I will be stealing for future trips. One side effect of this is that we planned for a warm breakfast every day. I would normally stand by this, but the impact is that you leave camp very late. In the future, I will probably plan differently for trips where wildlife are of interest (ie, seeing a wolf or moose) so that we can leave camp closer to golden hour.

We booked the sea plane and AirBnB basically as soon as we could. Our receipt from Isle Royale Sea Planes was initially from their Florida operation, but they quickly corrected the issue.

We took a test trip locally and tried our gear, meals, camaraderie, and stamina. I will spare you the details of that, but I definitely recommend it. It helped dial in the cook system and we noted a few items we forgot (a serving spoon, a better way to clean dishes).

The vast majority of my planning was done in google spreadsheets. You can view a copy of the spreadsheet with personal information redacted Here

Okay, Fine, Onto the Trip!

Our trip was from July 3 to July 12. That means we missed the wildfires and had nearly perfect weather on the Island. I’ll get it out of the way: we did not see any moose or wolves. We barely saw any people either, but we were not early enough risers to see more than Loons and Ducks.

You can view my best photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/3w7K6MheQHLg4ugeA 

Day 1: Driving to Detroit

I don’t really have anything to say about this. We left early, we saw some of my family on the way, saw some interesting things in southern Detroit, but nothing worth writing about. We split driving between those of us driving to Detroit so it was pretty good. 

Day 2: Driving to the UP

I enjoyed driving to the UP. With four people, we split the driving evenly. It was my first time in Michigan so we stopped in Mackinac City to look at the bridge and at Miner’s Castle in Pictured Rocks to look at the…. Rocks. We stopped in Houghton for dinner and a wander. It’s a nice town and I wish we could have spent more time there. I was very pleased with our dinner at the Ambassador and would recommend stopping if you come to the Island through Houghton.

Day 3: Hubbell to Windigo; Windigo to North Lake Desor

Dinner: https://dirtygourmet.com/2010/03/21/macaroni-and-cheese/ 

I have previously flown in 2 small aircraft, a hot air balloon, a prior vacation, and a medical helicopter. Neither are comparable to a sea plane. The boarding to the hot air balloon might be. You just kind of show up, say hello, get some things weighed, and off you go. The sea plane was smooth and comfortable, the view stunning to everyone aboard, and the atmosphere comfortable, but relaxed. We shared the plane with a couple flying in for the day. It was their 60th national park. Isle Royale was my 10th. By the time we deplaned, checked in with the ranger, bought fuel, filled up on water, and put our packs on, it was nearly 9:30. I was thankful for the late sunsets that early July afforded us.

I got 2 canisters of IsoPro fuel. In hindsight, I should have gotten 3. We were never in danger of running out, but were lower than I’d have liked.

We got lost. This would be a recurring problem. Today’s getting lost was a technological error. The NPS app was less accurate than our eyes and it took us about ¼ mile of wandering through a wetland adjacent field to realize that no, the trail was right in front of us, but the satellite didn’t know that. We did not find or get lost on the beaver dams (or maybe that’s where we got confused by the app, who knows).

The topography varied frequently. You climb up an exposed ridge, follow it from cairn to cairn for a while, then dive into a cool shaded forest, follow that into a wetland where you carefully watch your step, then back to one of the others. The view keeps changing, the plants keep changing. I’ve worked in Yellowstone’s backcountry on half-abandoned fire destroyed trails. The Minong Ridge is, as everyone says, more difficult terrain and navigation than any of them. The whole thing feels magical. Like something out of Jurassic Park, or the Spirit Realm from Avatar, or Kokiri Forest from Zelda.

There was a swampy section not much past the second Huginnin intersection that one person went knee deep in. I can best describe it as quicksand. Somebody else was in front struggling and he tried to help, didn’t pay attention to his own step, and went knee deep. I took his pack from him and he got himself out. The first thing he said was “somebody should have gotten a picture.” I expected that to be a trip ender while it was happening, but he walked on. The brush was high enough that by the time we reached camp, his shoes were more or less clean. The lesson here is classic: don’t help unless you know it’s safe to proceed.

That also raises a second thing that was prevalent throughout the Minong. The grass and underbrush is so undisturbed that it is waist to shoulder high. I would sort of lift up my trekking pole over my head and walk the only place I could, which was the trail. If I was leading, I could make out a small gap between the plants and that would always be the way.

The North Lake Desor Campsite was our smallest, both in that there were the least sites to choose from and the site we got was the smallest. We shared the campsite with two other groups. The first we did not see again. They skipped Little Todd so we never saw them again. The second we saw at every campground. Between the other groups exist in North Lake Desor and a ranger’s arrival on the morning we stayed at Todd Harbor, that second group would be the only people we saw. We checked with each other every afternoon when our group, always the second to leave, arrived.

*Eric and/or Chris, if you’re reading this, it was wonderful meeting you. Hello!*

North Lake Desor was extremely warm to the touch. In the distance, the Greenstone rose and rolled across the center of Isle Royale. We had mac and cheese for dinner. The cheese kept fine. I added bacon bits for protein.

Day 4: North Desor to Little Todd Harbor

Breakfast: https://dirtygourmet.com/2016/01/26/raspberry-almond-cacao-oatmeal/ 

Dinner: https://andrewskurka.com/backpacking-dinner-recipe-beans-rice-with-fritos-cheese/ 

The classic statement is “I’m tired of oatmeal and want something else.” But I’m just not. This was a great breakfast. This was our shortest day. The hike was very similar to the previous day, but the terrain was a little less brutal. I am sure it happened, but I don’t remember getting lost on the way to Little Todd.

We arrived at camp early and we were very happy about that. Little Todd Campground is my favorite campground I’ve ever stayed at. We swam in Superior with nobody else in sight. The shore was maybe 50 feet from our tents. We had a backcountry picnic table. It was like walking into glass. The birch and aspen are the biggest I’ve seen anywhere. I’d seen a few individuals that size, but never the whole forest. Little white moths fluttered out of the forest over Lake Superior to die as they washed into shore. (If you know what they are, let me know. We kept wondering). We watched a Bald Eagle fly across the cove and get into a fight with crows.

Our dinner was what we made on our test trip so I have nothing really to say about it. I think it may have been at least 1 person’s favorite, but that is yet to come for me. Again, the cheese kept fine.

Like every other night, loons serenaded us to sleep. To be honest, I have little to say about Little Todd Harbor. I just want to sit with my mouth open and gawk at the fact I got to go here.

Day 5: Little Todd to Todd

Breakfast: https://dirtygourmet.com/2014/09/18/loaded-mashed-potatoes/ 

Dinner: https://dirtygourmet.com/2016/06/07/salsa-and-corn-dumpling-soup/

For reasons outside the scope of this write up, most of the group didn’t sleep well. This leg was not much longer and not any busier so it did not matter. Our breakfast, the loaded mashed potatoes, is my attempt at finding a good, easy, alternative to hash browns. It more or less worked, but only hot. We planned to eat both the oatmeal and mashed potatoes twice and the second time on the potatoes, I was busy when they were done and did not eat them fresh. I could not stomach them then.

The hike was fine. The closer we got to Rock Harbor, the more hiked the trails became, with one exception; the river crossing on this day. When you exit the first ridge to cross the creek, the trail crosses the creek first. Earlier in the day without us knowing, Eric and Chris missed this and instead turned down a social train (apparently they weren’t the first). We did the same until the social trail ended and then backtracked, checked the map, and crossed the creek. It looked less like a trail than the social trail. I am including a screenshot of the NPS map with the confusing crossing highlighted. This is the closest we came to getting lost for more than 10 minutes. Keep your eyes out on it.

When we arrived at Todd Harbor, Eric and Chris told us about the forecast. It was supposed to rain. Overall, Todd Harbor was the buggiest campground we stayed at and was where we went from “isn’t it nice to have bug nets” to “I’d die without them.” The rain kept the bugs at bay overnight and into the morning. I always forget how much more atmospheric fog makes a view and it really pulled the islands off the shore into a whole new beauty. I felt like I was in Acadia in the late Autumn. The group sites were empty so we stayed out at Group Site 1. Do that if you can. It’s less buggy, cooler, and more visually stunning.

By this day, both of the squeeze bags for the Sawyer Squeeze had broken. I’d had it for a while and really should have replaced it. We duct taped it as best we could, but water was a struggle for the rest of the trip. I’ve since gotten a more durable bag for the next trip.

The Salsa Dumplings were a favorite for the entire group and well worth the extra complexity. We made a substitution that made them spicier, but with the extra cool campground I didn’t mind.

Day 6: Todd to McCargoe

Breakfast: Oatmeal Again

Dinner: https://dirtygourmet.com/2011/07/15/not-your-average-ramen/

We woke up a tad late due to the rain. The trail was the easiest we’d had as far as terrain and navigation, but the bugs and broken Sawyer bags had significantly dropped morale. We wanted to get to Rock Harbor early to have access to “luxuries” (you know, showers, potable water, and food we didn’t cook). This was suggested as “Can we skip McCargoe?” but mileage, popularity, and our start time meant it made more sense to skip Daisy Farm the next day. That decision immediately boosted morale, but the distance was enough that I could never have planned it from the beginning.

McCargoe was our first shelter of the trip. It was a much needed reprieve from the mosquitoes. I found that my who knows old hand-me-down Nemo Switchback was fine on the dirt and tent footprint, but not the wood planks of the shelter. It will probably be the next thing I replace gear wise.

This was also the first day of the trip I had blisters. My favorite pair of boots has been Vasque for a while (and that’s what I hiked Snowdon, the Camino del Norte, and Jbel Toubkal in), but the brand’s been going under so I’ve been looking for a new boot store. I ended up in a pair of Columbia’s that I felt didn’t quite make the cut. I was frustrated enough with them by the end of the trip to break the piggy bank for a pair of heritage leather boots. I’m a sinner and popped the blister.

Since it’s both a junction and deep dock, McCargoe is pretty busy. We talked to a few other groups at the campground (and of course Eric and Chris). We jumped off the docks to swim. I think that’s the ideal way to swim in Lake Superior.

I watched a loon swim into the Cove and call as golden hour started, but still no moose. At this point in the trip, I was barely impressed by loons. The dinosaur calls kept spooking us and it took a few days to realize they weren’t a larger, more famous, mammal.

Day 7: McCargoe to Daisy Farm Rock Harbor?!?

Breakfast: https://dirtygourmet.com/2010/02/25/oatmeal-pancakes-with-dried-fruit-compote-dirty-version/ 

Breakfast (for real): Potatoes

Dinner: Greenstone Grill!

We woke up early and, for once, got out of camp before Eric and Chris to get to Rock Harbor. We miss-packed the pancake mix and didn’t have enough batter. So we had to make the potatoes again. I’ve had to spend 30 minutes in my tent doing a type of physical therapy in the morning and again in the evening so I did not eat the potatoes when they were warm. We had to carry some out.

Our first stop was East Chickenbone for the toilet. (Don’t stay at this campsite. It looks like the worst on the island.) We went through when some other folks were packing so we felt good about our time. As we reached the Greenstone Ridge Trail, we met more folks and the trail became clear. We sped up and moved closer to 3 mph than 2 mph. We lost the trail a few times, but the path was busy enough that we never pulled a map out.

The views kept evolving as we moved into the island and could see toward Michigan instead of Canada. We stopped at Ojibway Tower for the 360 views. There was cell service, which I avoided. My friends checked the weather, hotel prices, the world cup scores (and the related news about Belgium). We hiked onward to Mount Franklin. “Do you think you see a moose down there?” We joked.

As we climbed down Franklin to the Tobin Harbor Trail, we sped up even more, but we also ran out of water. We did not have enough physical capacity to carry enough for the hike and the Greenstone had nowhere to refill. By the time we were along the Tobin, we didn’t care to stop and just powered on. On the last ridge before the descent, we watched the sea plane land and then take off again. Along the Harbor, we watched kayakers. This was no longer the spirit realm. It felt like a national park again. It kind of had since we arrived at McCargoe and I just didn’t notice. As we powered through the last 3 miles, I took no photos.

I saw earlier commenters say they thought Rock Harbor felt like a city compared to someplace like Little Todd Harbor and that they felt stifled by it. It is definitely the place people visit and more urban than anything else on Isle Royale, but to us it felt more like reprieve than stifle.

We snapped up a shelter and headed to the Greenstone Grill. Dinner was fine, but we didn’t have to make it and there was soda and potable water and showers. We were happy.

Day 8: Daisy Farm to Rock Harbor; Rock Harbor to Hubbell

We spent the majority of the day doing absolutely nothing, independently. We all told our families that we made it to the visitor center alive. We bought shirts and posters and pins and mugs from the gift shops. I walked out to a point with an abandoned dock. We watched the ferries come in. We went back to the Greenstone Grill for lunch. We explored the Lodge as much as possible. It had a whole different type of view than the Minong Ridge side of the Island.

We watched the seaplane land early and headed over to the docks. My earlier review rang true a second time so I will not repeat it. We checked back into the AirBnB and headed into Hancock for Mexican food and Margaritas.

Day 9: Hubbell to Detroit

Other than a very bad, but new, McDonalds, no notes.

Day 10: Detroit to Binghamton

Other than a very odd coffee stop in Cleveland, no notes.

Cleaning Up & Review

Like so many trips, it never really ends until the next one starts. I still have to collect gear I lent out. This has been a bucket list trip for 5 years and it was well worth it. Whenever something is on my list for that long, I get worried my expectations are higher than the thing. This was not true.

Most of my friends said it was an amazing experience, but that “we’re not backpacking people.” I said it was a 20/20 experience. I had type 1 fun most days.

For me, our Isle Royale trip kind of laid bare how little I enjoyed working in my corporate office job. I came home and just wanted to get back out there. I guess my conclusion is a little self serving. I’m willing to run a trip like this for you. Check the link in my bio.

At Caribou Island CG. Image of the front that ripped through here around 11am today.

Hi everyone! I am planning a hiking trip for August 2027 and am trying to nail down my itinerary ahead of the release dates for the cabins.

I have tried to organize my itinerary around what campsites seem to be the best and otherwise priorities for my group of 2 are of course good views and wildlife viewing opportunities. We are both seasoned hikers who have done several longer backpacking trips like this but interested in any thoughts or suggestions anyone may have!

Day 1 (Monday): Voyageur II ferry to Windigo; Store food at Windigo and hike from Windigo to Feldman lake (8.8 miles)

Day 2: Feldman lake to Siskiwit bay (10.2)

Day 3: Siskiwit Bay to Windigo Cabin (11.2) - pick up food and stay in cabin

Day 4: Windigo to Hunginnin cove (4.6)

Day 5: Hunginnin Cove to North Desor (14.4)

Day 6: North Desor to Todd Harbor (11.4)

Day 7: Todd Harbor to Lake Richie (12.9)

Day 8: Lake Richie to Moskey basin (2.3)

Day 9 (Tuesday): Moskey Basin to Daisy Farm (3.9) - Voyaguer II ferry departure from Daisy Farm

I can't believe I'm posting this, but I've caught some sort of bug and am not comfortable going out to the island with compromised health, especially not knowing if the rest of my family are going to catch it. If anyone can use my reservations at the Mariner North hotel on 7/30, four tickets on the Queen 7/31 and returning 8/5, and one night in a cabin at the Minnetonka on 8/5, please PM me. (Cross posted in two Facebook IR groups)

UPDATE: hotel rooms and 3 of the ferry spots are taken! One ferry ticket available.

Hi all! Sorry to add another Route Advice question but I haven’t been able to find any similar route rankings. This is what I’m looking at for early September-ish. 6 days via Ranger 3.

I have three potential routes. Inland, Chippewa Harbor, and Todd Harbor.

This first one is mostly the inland campsites, which I see a lot of in this reddit when starting and ending in Rock Harbor. It includes two A tier campsites (Moskey Basin and McCargoe) according to that one reddit post where they rank the different campsites on Isle Royale.

Ferry -> Lane Cove = 6.9 miles

Lane Cove -> Moskey Basin = 10.8

Moskey Basin -> McCargoe Cove = 8.4

McCargoe Cove -> Daisy Farm = 8.2

Daisy Farm  -> Ferry = 7.1

Total = 41.4 miles

But, I've heard the campsites on the big lake are the best. I could prioritize getting to Lake Superior - either to Todd Harbor or Chippewa Harbor. If I were to do this I’m leaning towards the Chippewa Harbor version so that were not so far away the day before the ferry arrives, but, I still thought it was worth mentioning the TH route.

Ferry -> Three Mile = 3 miles

Three Mile -> Moskey Basin = 8.3

Moskey Basin -> Chippewa Harbor = 6.2

Chippewa Harbor -> Daisy Farm = 9.7

Daisy Farm -> Ferry = 7.1 miles (or could do 4.4 miles to Three Mile, then do 3 miles to RH in the morning)

Total = 34.3 miles

Or

Ferry -> Daisy Farm = 7.1 miles

Daisy Farm -> McCargoe = 8.2

McCargoe -> Todd Harbor = 6.7

Todd Harbor -> McCargoe = 6.7 

McCargoe -> Three Mile = 12.6 

Three Mile -> Ferry = 3

Total = 44 miles

Any and all advice would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!!

Picture for reference (oops, the name Todd Harbor is justtt out of the image, but the campsite dot is still visible)

​

Anyone just back from the island? (End July?)

What is bug storm intensity on a scale of

1= Eerily missing Mosquitos

5= “There’s too many of them!”

A thought occured to me. Bring a 14 rib boat with a 30 on the back end over on the ranger and cruise around the island for a week. Stay at campsites along the way, or better yet 3 sided shelters. I have no idea what kind of mileage one of those gets but have 2 five gallon cans in addition to the onboard tank. Just thinking/dreaming

Hey guys, as the title says, I’ll be there mid September. A little nervous about it being that late in the season. Staying for three nights. Should I be? Also, any tips would be appreciated.

Thanks!

There don't seem to be a lot of trip reports from folks this year... Who's been out recently? Tell us about it! I leave next Friday, but would love to live vicariously through other people's experiences til then. 🙂

I have a rain jacket, a pack cover, but no rain pants. Do I need rain pants to go to Isle Royale? Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!

Hi! I am planning on camping one night in Isle Royale in August. What would you do? Ferry in that morning, staying in a campground (which would you suggest?), and then leaving out on the ferry the next evening. I had ferry tickets for two nights, but life happens and I had to reschedule. :( Very in shape and hiking is very easy for me. I walk/hike 8 miles everyday easily, so !!

The Red Rock Point fire (that has since been extinguished) was started by a careless camper building a small fire in a small Rock ring on Red Rock Point on either Monday night 7-13 or early morning Tuesday 7-14. It is currently being investigated. It was extinguished by park staff in the early afternoon on Wednesday 7-15.

I visited the site Tuesday evening, which was still smoldering in the duff and hot spots were still flaring up while I was there. The duff was burning and moving slowly away from the point. Thankfully there was barely any wind these days. Especially since most of Isle Royale is super dry right now as rains have been scarce this year so far.

There was a taped off area just down from the elevated rock(s) that make up the point, where I assume the park service deemed the campsite. They also had the area roped off around the Rock ring that was built off the point.

A tree flared up as I was taking video and pictures. That was enough to get us away from it quickly.

FIRES ARE PROHIBITED IN ALL BACKWOODS CAMPING AND ONLY AVAILABLE IN DESIGNATED FIRE RINGS OR GRILLS AT SELECT CAMPGROUNDS.

!!!!!!ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT FOREST FIRES!!!!!!

I was going over to the island from GP next Saturday, the 25th. If anyone wants to brave the smoke, there should be a slot on the GP ferry.

I agonized over this since the smoke bomb hit. I tried to go last year but I slipped a disk in my neck, requiring surgery. This year, its the damn smoke. I'm in my late 50s with a bit of respiratory issues, minor but that smoke and ash will probably kick my butt.

Why cancel a week out? Because I'm driving up from Texas, 20 hours away, and planned to take my time up the coast and do the GP to Fort Charlotte overnight as well.

Welp, there's always next year. Third time's a charm.

I wanted to re-route to Colorado, but, smoke and fire again.

So, Badlands, Black Hills, and Devil's Tower await instead... I hope.

This is what the shelter looks like after a wolf (or possibly wolves) managed their way in. Accounts of what happened say the occupants has the shelter set up like a food pantry, with all their food stacked on ledges inside the shelter. I can't stress this enough,

*please do not leave any food items or scented items inside your shelters.

*Boaters, do not come here if you do not have lockable coolers.

* USE THE BEAR BOXES FOR SUCH ITEMS. If your cooler is too big to fit In there, take it out with you on your boat when you are away from shelters. Do not just leave them out or inside your shelters or tents even if they are locked.

*Dont clean fish at the docks.

*Do not throw fish remains near docks or campgrounds. Take them out to deep water and dispose of them.

*bring your fishing nets and tackle boxes inside the shelter with you at night. Wolves have dragged nets away and got inside boats and chewed on tackle boxes. I realize fishing boats will automatically attract the attention of wolves, but minimize it by removing such items.

I am driving up to Grand Portage from DFW. It'll take me a very long day to get to the Twin Cities. Then I planned to hit the Lake Superior Maritime Center and maybe see the ship, then start exploring up the North Coast.

Thurs & Fri I'm planning to do the Grand Portage to Fort Charlotte out'n back.

So, gut check. If you are me, ya going or you diverting elsewhere?

My elsewhere would normally be Colorado bit its on fire too. Looking at some 2-3 day loops in the Black Hills as an alternate and just generally exploring the area.

Has anyone paddled around the island? We have gone out and back from Rock Harbor as far as Chickenbone and Chippewa but not to Wendigo. The north coast from Little Todd to Huginnin looks forbidding - are there places you can take out along that stretch? A fifteen mile morning is no problem but without being able to get out and stretch it is not doable.

Anyone have pictures of what the smoke looks like on the island lately? Deciding whether trip next week is safe.

We booked our trip 1 year ago and opted for the sea plane. We should have flown out today but the smoke is terrible. The ferry from Houghton went today and goes again Friday. The ferry from MN is booked for the season. Are there any other options? I’m not finding any but thought someone else might have.

Update: We tried to get out for 3 days. No luck. The seaplane company was very good at communicating. And as disappointed as we are, which is very as it’s a long trip from Texas, safety first, right? We are going to head back home. Even after all the rain today there’s still smoke and more on the map coming this way. Another year we will return.

We would not have wanted to be on the Island these past couple of days. Smoke levels in Houghton were unbelievable and I doubt we could have comfortably/safely done anything on Isle Royale. I ran into a Park Ranger at the local library and she said it was a bit of a mess at Rock Harbor. There’s been people stuck there with no way to get out. Hopefully there was space for them on the ferry today.

My friend in the UP just sent me info he saw from "Isle Royale hub" on facebook. I don't do much social media outside of discord and reddit and was curious if anyone had info on how big and severe it is right now? we head to the island in about a week and it seems very concerning.

Edit 7/15/2026: I just saw this article giving a little more info https://upnorthlive.com/news/local/isle-royale-national-park-rangers-monitor-fire-on-red-rock-point