Houghton Township

While it is only accessible by boat or plane, Isle Royale National Park is well worth the added travel arrangements. We took the Ranger III Ferry out of Houghton, MI, but there are a few other options depending on where you depart from (www.nps.gov). Upon arrival at Rock Harbor, the first day is a fairly flat 7 miles following the Rock Harbor Trail, which heads West along the southern coast of ...

Starting at the Tobin Harbor day use dock kayak/canoe northeast or out of the inlet towards Lake Superior. Stay on the left side of the inlet for roughly a mile. You will pass several small chains of islands so stay to the left. You will come upon another day use dock and you will want to get out of your boat there. The trail to Lookout Louise starts at the dock and passes nearby Hidden Lake. Y...

The trip starts with a ferry trip to Rock Harbor. Depending on where you are coming from there are a few options. The ferries generally run from May through September and they are weather dependent. Other options include chartering a plane or private scow.Ferries come from Copper Harbor, MI, Houghton, MI, and Grand Portage, MN. Once to Isle Royale (Rock Harbor), you will receive a short orienta...

If coming from Michigan, take the ferry to Isle Royale from Copper Harbor. After a three-hour journey you will arrive at the park via the dock in Rock Harbor around lunchtime. After registering at the park office you can set off on a great 7-mile hike to Lane Cove, which is well marked. This hike is a great exposure to the island, taking backpackers along the shoreline of Tobin Harbor, through ...

Take the Kneutson Trail next to the lodge for 700 feet and you will come upon the America Dock. This century old dock provides a great view of the bay area and other smaller islands at sunset.

At a pretty even elevation, this four mile trail ranks as one of the top trails in the National Park system. Begin your hike on the Stoll Memorial Trail and continue until you hit the Scoville Trail. Follow the Scoville Trail for another roughly 600 meters and you will hit a spectacular lookout of the island and of Lake Superior. Take the same trail back to the lodge or take the Tobin Trail alo...

Prior to the 1900s, this landmark a lion sitting on its haunches looking out to Perry Bay. The former shape of this natural arch inspired its name the Sea Lion. The lions head has fallen of but the name still continues. The softer sedimentary rock will continue to erode. The "arch" of the sea lion will eventually collapse possibly leaving a stack in Lake Superior. Over time the entire section f...

We drove into Marie Louise Lake Campground in the afternoon of the off season and found the campground office closed. Luckily for us, there is a pay kiosk that takes credit cards (bonus) so after we drove around to find a walk-up site we came back to pay for one night and then planned to talk to the ranger in the morning.There are a variety of campsites in this particular campground. All campsi...

My boyfriend and I did this loop in August of 2018. This was our first trip to Isle Royale, and we planned out this specific loop based on our previous hiking experiences, as well as to try and see a lot of different areas of the island in the limited time frame we had. The weather was fantastic except for 1-2 nights of a little rain, and not much trouble from bugs (I honestly don't remember an...