Michigan. Isle Royal: Lake Superior’s Remote National Park
Visualize a national park within the 48 U.S. contiguous state that has magnificent scenic vistas and uncrowded forest trails. Compared to Yellowstone National Park’s 3.2 million annual visitors, Michigan’s Isle Royal National Park has fewer than 30,000 visitors each year making it the 7th least visited national park in the U.S. Known for its population of wolves and moose, the park also has beavers, snowshoe hares, and populations of red fox and mink. So why don’t more people visit the park? The answer is tied to the park’s remote location. Isle Royal isn’t on a highway. The only way to reach the island is by boat or seaplane. Another factor is the park’s operating season. It is the only U.S. national park that closes in the winter (November 1 to April 15). Located in Lake Superior, and close to the U.S./Canada border, Isle Royal’s 2,313 km2 includes the main island, 400+ smaller islands, and surrounding waters. Measuring 72 kilometers long and 14 kilometers wide, main island is made up of ridges that run northeast to southwest including Mt. Desor, the park’s highest point at 365 meters.
The region that includes Isle Royal was once occupied by Chippewa Indians who hunted bear and beaver. Evidence suggests that copper was mined on the island as far back as 4,500 years ago. The French claimed the island in 1671 and during the 1700s, its waters became popular among commercial fishermen who used gill nets to catch whitefish and lake trout. During the 1840s, copper mining on the main island contributed to deforestation. According to biologists, wildlife on the island has changed over the last few centuries. Although there were historic populations of caribou and lynx, there were no moose or wolves on the island before 1900. Crossing temporary ice bridges, moose came sometime after 1900 and wolves during the 1940s. Isle Royal National Park was established in 1940.
A few months prior to our visit I booked seats on a ferry called Voyager II that travels between Grand Portage, Minnesota and Windingo, located on the main island’s southwestern end. Twenty meters in length, Voyager II is powered by twin diesel engines. We were among the last to board, so the only seats remaining were outside benches along the port side. After being exposed to spray and wind we moved to a place behind the main cabin.
The trip to Windingo took about two hours. Along the way we passed the Rock of Ages Light, constructed in 1908 by the U.S. Coast Guard near a dangerous reef, 5.6 kilometers west of Isle Royal. Indeed, the reef was responsible for ships running aground in 1872 and 1898. Regrettably, the lighthouse couldn’t prevent the SS George M. Cox from striking the reef in 1933 as it maneuvered through heavy fog. As we approached Windingo, Voyager II’s captain pointed out where another ship, the SS America, sank near the entrance to Washington Harbor in 1928. Today, the wreck is a popular diving site.
After disembarking at a pier, we listened to a brief presentation about the island by a Park Service ranger. The name “Windingo” was derived from the Wendigo Mining Company that quarried copper ore on the island during the 1890s. We also learned that many of the island’s 270 kilometers of trails are former mining roads. In the early 1900s, Windingo was the site of a members-only resort called the Washington Club that was operated by a group of Duluth businessmen.
Today, Windingo has campsites, showers, cabins, and a small store. With five hours on the island before our return, we decided to take the 5.8 kilometer (round-trip) Grace Creek Overlook Trail. The trail follows the shoreline for the first few kilometers before bending inland and upwards through a stand of hardwoods, eventually opening to a ridgetop view of boreal forest that is interrupted by meadows and a few small ponds. The park’s deciduous trees include red oak, paper birch, mountain ash, and quaking aspen. Conifers such as jack pine, white spruce, eastern red cedar, and balsam fir can also be found.
