Isle Royale National Park
Isle Royale National Park is a
U.S. National Park in the state of
Michigan. Isle Royale, the largest island in
Lake Superior, is over 45 miles in length and 9 miles wide at its widest point. The park is made of Isle Royale itself and multiple smaller islands, along with any submerged lands within 4.5 miles of the surrounding islands. Isle Royale National Park was established on April 3, 1940, was designated as a Wilderness Area in 1976, and was made an
International Biosphere Reserve in 1981. It is a relatively small national park at 894 square miles , with only 209 square miles above water.
Encyclopedia
Isle Royale National Park is a
U.S. National Park in the state of
Michigan. Isle Royale, the largest island in
Lake Superior, is over 45 miles in length and 9 miles wide at its widest point. The park is made of Isle Royale itself and multiple smaller islands, along with any submerged lands within 4.5 miles of the surrounding islands. Isle Royale National Park was established on April 3, 1940, was designated as a Wilderness Area in 1976, and was made an
International Biosphere Reserve in 1981. It is a relatively small national park at 894 square miles , with only 209 square miles above water.
Human history
The island was once the site of a fishing industry, native copper mining and a resort community. Because numerous small islands surround Isle Royale, ships were once guided through the area by
lighthouses at Passage Island, Rock Harbor, Rock of Ages, and Isle Royale Lighthouse on Menagerie Island.
Natural history
Ecology
Isle Royale National Park is known for its
wolf and
moose populations which are studied by scientists investigating
predator-prey relationships in a closed environment. There are usually around 25 wolves and 1000 moose on the island, but the numbers change greatly year to year. In rare years with very hard winters, animals can travel over the frozen lake from the
Canadian mainland. To protect the wolves from canine diseases, dogs are not allowed in any part of the park, including the adjacent waters.
Geology
Isle Royale greenstone is found here, as well as on the
Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is the official Michigan state gemstone.
Recreation
The Greenstone Ridge is a high ridge in the center of the island and carries the longest trail in the park, the Greenstone Ridge trail, which runs 40 miles from one end of the island to the other. This is generally done as a 4 or 5 day hike. A boat shuttle can carry hikers back to their starting port. In total there are 165 miles of hiking trails. There are also canoe/kayak routes, many involving portages, along coastal bays and inland lakes.
Services
The park has two developed areas: Windigo, at the southwest end of the island , with a campstore, showers, campsites, and a boat dock; and Rock Harbor on the south side of the northeast end , with a campstore, showers, restaurant, lodge, campsites, and a boat dock.
Sleeping accommodations at the park are limited to the lodge at Rock Harbor and 36 designated wilderness campsites. Some campgrounds are accessible only by private boat; other campgrounds away from the lakeshore are accessible only by trail or by
canoe/
kayak on the interior lakes. The campsites vary in capacity but typically include a few three-sided wood shelters with floors and roofs, and several individual sites suitable for pitching a small tent. Some tent sites with space for groups of up to 10 are available and require a special permit. The only amenities at the campsites are pit toilets. Campfires are not permitted at most sites; gas camp stoves are recommended. Drinking and cooking water must be drawn from local water sources and filtered to avoid parasites. Hunting is not permitted, but fishing is, and edible berries may be picked from the trail.
Access
The park is accessible by floatplane and by ferry during the summer months from Grand Portage, Minnesota, and from
Houghton and
Copper Harbor in Michigan. Private boats travel to the island mainly from
Thunder Bay, Ontario, the closest city to the park.
Isle Royale is not popular with day-trippers because of the scheduling constraints of transportation to and from the park; with a round-trip travel time of 6-7 hours, the ferries that make this voyage on a daily basis have only a 3-hour layover at the island. These ferries may delay—and in some situations cancel—trips during heavy weather.
The
Ranger III is a 165-foot boat operated by the National Park Service, said to be the largest piece of equipment in the National Park system. It carries 125 passengers, and canoes and kayaks, and operates out of Houghton, Michigan. This is a six-hour trip from the park, so it overnights at the island before returning the next day, making two round trips each week, June to mid-September. The
Isle Royale Queen out of Copper Harbor, Michigan, and the
Wenonah, out of Grand Portage, Minnesota, operate round-trips daily in peak season, less frequently in early summer and autumn. The
Voyageur, also out of Grand Portage, crosses up to three times a week, overnighting at Rock Harbor and providing transportation between selected lakeside campgrounds.
Because of the difficulty of travel and the hazards of wilderness survival during the winter months, it is the only major
National Park Service park to close entirely for the season. Because of the relative difficulty of reaching the park and its seasonal closing, less than 20,000 people a year visit Isle Royale, fewer than visit the most popular national parks in a single day.
List of islands
- Amygdaloid Island - has a ranger station
- Beaver Island - has a campground
- Belle Isle - has a campground
- Caribou Island - has a campground
- Grace Island- has a campground
- Johns Island
- Long Island
- Menagerie Island - has a lighthouse
- Mott Island - summer park headquarters
- Passage Island - has a lighthouse and short trail
- Raspberry Island - has a nature trail
- Rock of Ages - has a lighthouse
- Ryan Island - the largest island in the largest lake on the largest island in the largest freshwater lake in the world
- Tookers Island - has a campground
- Washington Island
- Wright Island
References
External links
