Isolated Island Wilderness: Backpacking Isle Royale National Park, Michigan

The Trip

Isle Royale National Park, remote and hauntingly beautiful, offers outstanding opportunities for backpacking, especially on the Greenstone Ridge, which stretches for 43 miles along the spine of what some call the largest lava flow on earth. After being scoured by glaciers two miles thick, the result is an archipelago with rocky outcroppings, glacier-carved lakes and bays, and dense forests. This nationally designated wilderness provides an unforgettable setting for a weeklong adventure.

Unforgettable? In the Midwest? Previous participants have reacted to their week on Isle Royale saying things like “this trip exceeded all expectations," “the park scenery was beautiful," and "this trip was perfectly run."

Relatively few people visit the island (this is the only national park closed in winter), primarily due to logistics that require at least a 20-mile boat ride across the largest freshwater lake in the world. More people visit Yellowstone in a day than visit Isle Royale annually. And in September when our backpack begins, rangers estimate only 100 hikers -- and 1,000 moose -- are scattered throughout the island’s 210 square miles.

Although the park belongs to Michigan, this trip departs from Grand Portage, Minnesota, near the Canadian border. After a two-hour cruise on the 40-passenger Voyager II, we begin the hike at Windigo on the west side of the island, hiking 43 miles east to Rock Harbor, where we will reboard the Voyager II seven days later to return to Minnesota. Our small group -– limited by permit to eight participants plus two leaders -- will camp at six reserved backcountry campsites along the trail. Except for the first camp at Island Mine, all are on the shores of inland lakes or Lake Superior. We likely will be lulled to sleep by one of the island’s 100 nesting pairs of common loon, and, with luck, we may hear wolves calling to each other. Isle Royale is home to the 55-year-old study of the symbiotic relationship between moose and wolf. (See “Conservation.") Although elusive, we always hope to see a moose on the trail or browsing in the lakes that border our campsites.

Isle Royale is a special place for backpackers. Join us Labor Day week for a hiking vacation in one of the country’s most unforgettable national parks.

Pre-Trip: On Sunday, we'll meet at 6 p.m. at Grand Portage Lodge for our trip orientation and get-acquainted dinner. Double-occupancy rooms and dinner are included in the price of the trip.

Day 1: On Monday, we pick up a bag breakfast from the lodge, including coffee, and head to the docks in Grand Portage, Minnesota for the two-hour voyage to Isle Royale. Our introduction to the Greenstone Ridge Trail is a 6.9-mile hike in a tunnel of trees over Sugar Mountain to our first campground at Island Mine. Sugar Mountain is one of several island peaks that rise 800 feet above Lake Superior.

Day 2: Today’s short 5.5-mile hike includes 50-mile views of Canada and Minnesota as we climb past Mount Desor, the highest point on Isle Royale, to the Lake Desor Campground, where lunch will be served on the beach. Enjoy several hours of free time in the afternoon to explore, swim, and relax.

Day 3: From Lake Desor, we climb over the second-highest elevation on the island, Ishpeming Point, on an 8.1-mile hike to the secluded campground at Hatchet Lake.

Day 4: When we climb to the top of Mount Siskiwit, a great lunch spot, we’ll have long views to Canada and Minnesota. Today’s hike to Chickenbone Lake is 7.9 miles.

Day 5: After lunch on another island promontory, we’ll climb down from the Greenstone Ridge to Daisy Farm Campground on Lake Superior. Just offshore is the Rock Harbor Lighthouse, built in 1855. If their schedule permits, we’ll be joined by Rolf and Carolyn Peterson to discuss their lifelong studies of the moose-wolf relationship on Isle Royale. Today’s hike is 7.9 miles.

Day 6: Our final 7.7-mile hike to Rock Harbor is on the picturesque Tobin Harbor Trail. Rock Harbor includes the last remaining resort on the island, although it likely will be closed for the season when we arrive. Our lakeshore campground is a cozy place to celebrate our week and enjoy our last night on the island. 

Day 7: We’ll spend the day ferrying across Lake Superior back to Minnesota, a 6-hour boat ride, as we set sail from the east end of the island. Estimated arrival time back to Grand Portage dock is 3 p.m. 

Getting There

Although getting to Isle Royale is an adventure, the drive on Highway 61 to our lodge north of Grand Marais, Minnesota is sublime with its many state parks and scenic overlooks. If you have time, this coast should be explored, including any stretch of the 300-mile-long Superior Hiking Trail.

We meet at 4 p.m. (CDT) on Sunday at our lodge for orientation, a reception, and dinner. A block of rooms, each including two beds and private bath, will be held for our group, and the cost of rooms and dinner is included in the trip price. The lodge is about 145 miles north of the Duluth International Airport and 275 miles north of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The airport in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, is 45 miles from the lodge. The trip roster will be shared with registered participants to encourage car-sharing.

The trip officially begins at 6 a.m. on Monday when we carpool about 5 miles from our lodge to the boat dock in Grand Portage. Parking at the docks costs $30 per car for the week.

Please do not make travel arrangements until the leader has confirmed you as a trip member. 

Accommodations and Food

All meals -- from dinner on Sunday to lunch on the last day -- are included. Fish and chicken are on the menu and vegetarians can easily be accommodated; however, if you avoid dairy products, nuts, or wheat, this trip is not for you. We bring kitchen equipment, including stoves, pots, and fuel. All water must be boiled for cooking or filtered for drinking, and we bring the filters. Everyone helps with cooking, cleanup, and other camp chores.

All campsites have pit toilets.

Trip Difficulty

The trip -- rated 3, formerly moderate -– is for experienced backpackers in good physical condition. The pace, 43 miles in 7 days, is modest, but the hikes are sometimes strenuous with sections that are steep, rocky, and rooty. Good hikers will appreciate the challenge, but if you’re new to Midwest hiking, don’t underestimate the effort required.

Equipment and Clothing

The leader will provide a list of required and suggested gear to each of the participants well in advance of the outing, including a large backpack to carry 12 pounds of group food and kitchen equipment; tent; sleeping pad; sleeping bag; sturdy, broken-in, waterproof hiking boots; rain suit; and layers of clothing to keep warm. The maximum weight for packs is 40 pounds at the beginning of the week.

The weather in September on Isle Royale ranges from perfect to challenging, with high temperatures ranging from the 60s to the 80s, and lows in the 40s and 50s. Bring what you need to stay dry and camp comfortably.

References

Books:

• Peterson, Rolf, The Wolves of Isle Royale, a Broken Balance.
• Peterson, Candy, A View from the Wolf’s Eye.
• DuFresne, Jim, Isle Royale National Park, Foot Trails and Water Routes.

Websites:

• The park website is loaded with information, including maps and the park newspaper: http://www.nps.gov/isro
• Isle Royale and Keweenaw Parks Association: http://irkpa.org
• Research about the long-running wolf-moose study: http://www.isleroyalewolf.org

Maps:

• If you want to carry a map or become more familiar with the island, the only map you need is The National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map of Isle Royale, available from many sources.

Conservation

Isle Royale is the site for the longest predator-prey (wolf-moose) research study, which began in 1959. There are only two remaining wolves on the island. The highest number of wolves recorded was about 50 in the early 1980s. Carolyn Peterson, who has been involved in the study with her husband, Rolf, for 40 years, has spoken to our group several times, and we hope to meet both of them again to help us better understand the debate around introducing wolves to the island. Some argue that since Isle Royale is a federal wilderness, interference in the ecosystem is inappropriate. Others say without wolves, the number of moose -– now more than 1,000 -– would explode, depleting island vegetation and causing other problems. We also hope to hear from a ranger who again suggested that moose on the island may be as transitory as wolf, possibly due to climate change and change in vegetation, etc. We will discuss the study and what it suggests about this classic predator-prey relationship.

Leave No Trace principles will guide our stay in Isle Royale. For more information, see LNT.

Sierra Club National Outings is an equal-opportunity provider and when applicable will operate under permits obtained from U.S. federal land agencies.