Isle Royale National Park is one of the least visited National Parks, with the highest re-visit rate. It takes quite some effort to get to Isle Royale National Park, but once you’ve been, you’ll want to come back!

Set 18 miles from the Lake Superior shoreline of Minnesota, it’s not an easy park to access and not one you can just drive through on your way elsewhere. Isle Royale National Park is known for wolf and moose populations, and many studies are done here on how those two populations cohabit the island without other predators like cougars or bears. Each winter, Facebook fans follow closely the migration of wolves on and off the island. With so few visitors and no vehicles on the island, hiking Isle Royale is a really special national park experience. If you aren’t interested in backpacking Isle Royale, you can also kayak around the island, or take day hikes from the lodge. I can’t recommend this National Park highly enough!

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If you are hoping to visit Isle Royale in winter, the island is closed from November 1 through April 15 each year.

Isle Royale Ferry

Getting to Isle Royale National Park is the hardest part of planning your Isle Royale backpacking trip. There are three mainland departure points for Isle Royale, which offer four passenger ferries and one seaplane route. There are two main arrival points and ports on Isle Royale: Windigo on the Northwest Side, and Rock Harbor near the Eastern tip of the island. Here are the Isle Royale ferry options: (Note: there are no car ferries to Isle Royale!)

• Houghton, Michigan: The Ranger III is a 6-hour ferry ride to Rock Harbor. This Isle Royale ferry travels from Houghton to Rock Harbor on Tuesdays and Fridays, and from Rock Harbor to Houghton on Wednesdays and Saturdays. For 2023, the Ranger III has added a few trips to Windigo as well. An adult ticket is $80 each way. Reservations open just after January 1, so don’t miss your booking window!
• Copper Harbor, Michigan: The Isle Royale Queen IV takes just three hours and 45 minutes from Copper Harbor to Rock Harbor. With daily departures, there is more flexibility on this route. If you want to make a day trip to Isle Royale, this is the best option as you’ll have about three hours to explore Rock Harbor before the return ferry leaves. A high-season adult ticket is $160 round-trip.
• Grand Portage, Minnesota: those wanting to take the ferry to Isle Royale from Minnesota will have several ferry options. The Voyageur II takes passengers to several points on Isle Royale (Windigo, McCargoe Cove, Belle Isle, and Rock Harbor) while the Seahunter III takes passengers to Windigo. Leaving from Grand Portage is the fastest ferry to Isle Royale, but also probably the longest drive unless you are coming from Duluth.
• Isle Royale Seaplanes: want to splurge and skip the ferry to Isle Royale? Isle Royale Seaplanes can take you to Windigo or Rock Harbor from Houghton or Grand Marais. Fares range from $230 to $300 per person, each way.

Isle Royale Backpacking Tips

As soon as you decide you will be backpacking Isle Royale, get a good map of both the island and the mainland surrounding Lake Superior. Chances are, you will road trip to your departure point for Isle Royale, and you’ll need to weigh all of your options for a suitable backpacking route. With your maps in hand, alongside the Isle Royale ferry schedule, you are ready to sketch out an Isle Royale backpacking itinerary!

How many people will be backpacking Isle Royale with you? For groups of six or fewer, you’ll have the freedom and flexibility to choose your campsites as you travel. You can obtain your National Park Service back-country camping permit upon arrival at Windigo or Isle Royale.

For groups of six or more, advance group camping reservations and permits are required. This is where planning gets critical, as you must align your Isle Royale camping reservations with the Isle Royale ferry. Permits open up on January 2, so it’s critical to plan ahead. We had ten people in our group; any more than ten we would need to split up into two groups.

There are lockers you can rent at Rock Harbor Lodge, which is perfect for stashing electronics and clean clothes. You can purchase shower tokens at the General store, so bring cash if you want to freshen up before your ferry back to the mainland. I bought two shower tokens..totally worth the splurge!

Isle Royale Camping

There are 36 campsites in Isle Royale National Park. They are all only accessible by foot or boat and are generally spaced six to eight miles apart. Each campsite has assigned tent spaces, a water source, and an outhouse. Some of the campgrounds offer camping shelters, although those are not available for groups of six or more. Group sites have room for several tents and even hammocks, while several campsites also have a fire ring and picnic tables. McCargoe Cove was one of the best sites for relaxing! Fortunately, water is plentiful at most Isle Royale campsites, so you only have to carry 1/2 day’s worth, and you can filter along the way. Check out my backpacking packing list!

8-Day Isle Royale Backpacking Itinerary

Our Isle Royale itinerary was as follows:

• Day 1 – Copper Harbor to Rock Harbor, hike 7.1 miles to Daisy Farm Campground
  • Three Mile Campground could be a shorter option for your first day!
• Day 2 – Daisy Farm to McCargoe Cove, 8.2 miles
• Day 3 – McCargoe Cove to Hatchet Lake, 10.7 miles
• Day 4 – Hatchett Lake to Todd Harbor 3.7 miles*
• Day 5 – Zero Day at Todd Harbor*
• Day 6 – Todd Harbor to Chickenbone Lake West, 9.3 miles
• Day 7 – Chickenbone West to Daisy Farm, 9.5 miles
• Day 8 – Daisy Farm to Rock Harbor, 7.1 miles; ferry to Copper Harbor

*The rest of the group hiked to Lake Desor, while I opted for a “zero-day” at Todd Harbor.

Isle Royale Hiking

On most days we hiked along high ridges, including the Greenstone Ridge Trail and the Minong Ridge Trail. Both trails afforded views of Mount Ojibway and in all directions to Michigan, Minnesota, and Canada!

While many of the trails had boardwalks through the swampy areas, there was also plenty of mud to go through!

The trails on Isle Royale are very well marked and I think it would be nearly impossible to get lost. In addition, a lack of bears and cougars makes this a great place to try solo backpacking!

I spent an extra day at Todd Harbor, which gave me a chance to rest my legs, do some laundry in the lake, and enjoy the magnificent Todd Harbor sunsets. 

The final day of Isle Royale hiking was a sunrise hike along the Rock Harbor trail from Daisy Farm Campground to Rock Harbor, where I purchased two shower tokens ($6 each) and changed into clean clothes that we had stashed in a gear locker at the beginning of our trip. Afterward, we all enjoyed a greasy burger in the cafe before the ferry ride back to Copper Harbor.

Isle Royale Lodging

Backpacking or canoe camping not your style? You still have options for visiting Isle Royale National Park. For non-campers, here are your Isle Royale lodging options:

• Campsite Shelters – 19 of the Isle Royale campgrounds offer camping shelters. Staying in a shelter is still very rustic, so you’ll need most of the same gear that you would bring for camping. Since they are first-come, first-served, I would still bring a tent just in case you don’t get a shelter!
• Rock Harbor Lodge – the only full-service lodge on the island. Lodge rooms range from $163 to $382 for four people, while the cottages range from $224 to $464 for six people.
• Windigo Camper Cabins – rustic cabin camping at Windigo Harbor will only run you $51.95/night. A great way to close out an Isle Royale backpacking trip before jumping a ferry back to the mainland!

Day Trips to Isle Royale

While it’s a pretty long distance to travel for a day trip, it is possible to just visit Isle Royale for one day. Here are your options for a day trip to Isle Royale. (Be sure to check the most up-to-date timetables as not all ferries run every day!)

• The Isle Royale Queen IV ferry departs from Copper Harbor Michigan at 8 am and arrives at Rock Harbor around 11:45 am. The same ferry leaves Rock Harbor at 2:45 to return to Copper Harbor, so you will have 3 hours to explore the Rock Harbor area. This will give you enough time to enjoy a short hike.
• The Voyageur II departs from Grand Portage at 8:30 am, arriving at Windigo two hours later. The return ferry departs Windigo at 2:00, leaving you 3 1/2 hours to explore the Windigo area.
• The Sea Hunter III is another option for a day trip from Grand Portage to Windigo. The ferry leaves Grand Portage at 9:30 and arrives at 11:00 am. The return ferry leaves Windigo at 3:00, leaving you four hours to explore Windigo.
• Of course, the seaplanes are the fastest (and most expensive) option for getting to Isle Royale, but if you want to maximize your day trip, this is the way to go!

I can only hope I have the opportunity to return to Isle Royale more times in the future. I would love to take a slower pace, explore the harbors, and enjoy the lodge for a few days.