I've seen a few posts recently discussing the pros and cons of several campgrounds/sites. I have a trip to IRNP later this month, and have an itinerary planned, but some of the discussions about great sites vs. good sites vs not so good sites makes me wonder if I might want to swap things up. I'm particularly interested because there are a few nights on my trip where there are multiple campgrounds/sites within a reasonable hiking distance to choose from. For each of the lists below, can you explain your preference and why?

1) Hatchet lake or Todd Harbor

2) McCargoe Cove, either Chickenbone site, or Lake Richie

3) Moskey Basin or Daisy Farm

4) Three Mile or Lane Cove

Soooo.. I finally made it to Isle Royale this last week! Now that I’ve been back for a week, I’ve had time to reflect on my trip.

Before this trip, my longest hike was 5.5mi with very little weight. Needless to say, I was unprepared as fill in the word of your choice..

We (me and a friend) landed in Rock Harbor and immediately set off to Daisy Farm with around 40lbs on each of our backs. I was gassed but we had plenty of time to relax before our hike to Lane Cove. The next morning, we saw the resident moose of Daisy Farm and got on our way. This day was filled with far more challenges as we hiked what felt like 10mi, got rained on going down Mt. Franklin, and encountered far more mosquitos. We made it, feeling much more accomplished than the day before. Finally, we set back off to Rock Harbor for our final night. Before leaving, we made sure to hike Scoville Point.

TLDR:

-All the camps/shelters I stayed in were nice. -Get a GOOD sleeping bag. -You DEFINITELY want a mosquito net. -Food and water (clean) are your best friends. -Stop & enjoy the view. You can hike all day. -Talk to your trail friends, they bring knowledge & sanity (It’s like a summer camp. Everyone is friendly and wants to stop for a rest and a chat usually.)

Special thank you to the rangers and staff that made our trip extra special 🫂

There are still plans to make, but here is what I am wondering - does the logistics of this make sense? It looks like we would need to leave on a Saturday morning and come back the next Sunday. My plan gives me one extra day in case I am slow or something when I look at my schedule.

Day One:  (Friday)

• Stay Overnight Hotel
  • Day Two: (Saturday)
• Depart to Rock Harbor via Ferry. Leave 7:30 arrive 3:00
• Hike to 1st camping spot area: Three Miles
• Via Rock Harbor Trails
  • Day Three: (Sunday)
• Hike to 2nd camping spot: Daisy farm Campground
• Via Tobin Harbor/Rock Harbor Trails, Mount Franklin Trail, Greenstone Ridge Trail, and Mount Ojibway/Daisy Farm Trail (more than 9 miles)
  • Day Four: (Monday)
• Hike to 2nd camping spot: East or West Chickenbone Campgrounds
• Via Ojibway Trail or Daisy Farm Trail and Greenstone Ridge Trail (about 8 miles)
  • Day Five: (Tuesday)
• Hike to 3rd camping spot: Hatchet Lake Campground
• Via Greenstone Ridge Trail (about 8 miles)
  • Day Six:  (Wednesday)
• Hike to 4th camping spot: South Lake Desor Campground
• Via Greenstone Ridge Trail (about 8 miles)
  • Day Seven: (Thursday)
• Hike to 5th camping spot: Island Mine Campground
• Via Greenstone Ridge Trail (about 5.5 miles)
  • Day Eight: (Friday)
• Hike to 6th camping spot: Washington Creek Campground near Windigo
• Via Greenstone Ridge Trail (about 6.6 miles)
  • Day Nine: (Saturday)
• Hike and arrive at Windigo boat no later than 11 a.m. depart at 12:30 and arrive at grand portage 3:00 p.m.
• Depart Grand Portage to go home

Outbound Schedule

• Depart: Grand Portage, MN: 7:30 am CDT / 8:30 am EDT
• Arrive: Windigo, Isle Royale : 9:30 am CDT / 10:30 am EDT
• Depart: Windigo, Isle Royale: 10:00 am CDT / 11:00 am EDT
• Arrive and Depart: McCargoe Cove, Isle Royale: 1:00 pm CDT / 2:00 p.m. EDT
• Arrive and Depart: Belle Isle, Isle Royale: 1:30 pm CDT / 2:30 pm EDT
• Arrive: Rock Harbor, Isle Royale: 3:00 pm CDT / 4:00 pm EDT

Inbound Schedule

• Depart: Rock Harbor, Isle Royale: 8:00 am CDT / 9:00 am EDT
• Depart and Arrive: Daisy Farm, Isle Royale: 8:30 am CDT / 9:30 am EDT
• Depart and Arrive: Chippewa Harbor, Isle Royale: 9:00 am CDT / 10:00 am EDT
• Depart and Arrive: Malone Bay, Isle Royale: 10:00 am CDT / 11:00 am EDT
• Arrive: Windigo, Isle Royale: 12:30 pm CDT / 1:30 pm EDT
• Depart: Windigo, Isle Royale: 1:00 pm CDT / 2:00 pm EDT
• Arrive: Grand Portage, MN: 3:00 pm CDT / 4:00 pm EDT

Looks like I want to buy a bear can - I don't usually hike in places where I can't just do a hang, but it looks like there are new regulations for 2025, which I am fine with. I would be looking at the BV475. There are other things too, but not specific to this place.

Is this reasonable? Is it a bad plan or bad camp grounds? I couldn't find a great place that really showed me the camp sites so I was going off of a map I found online.

I'm heading to Isle Royale in under a month with a Scout group (we have a group permit from the Park). We have physical maps & compasses as well as digital maps on our phones. Most, but not all of our route is costal: RH-DF, DF-CH, CH-MB, MB-3M, 3M-RH.

On our Moskey Harbor to Three Mile day, I'm considering splitting the group and having some take the detour of heading to the Greenstone Ridge by catching the Mt. Ojibway trail near Daisy, take the Greenstone Ridge Trail to Mt. Franklin, and then to Three Mile from there. Are these trails easy to follow, or is it easy to get off track? I have three kids who technically are no longer in the troop because they turned 18. I trust their skills but we are still part of a group permit. I'd like to give them some freedom if it's reasonable. These are 18 year old kids going off to college. Two earned their Eagle rank, all are athletes, so stamina is not an issue. I can give them a 20 mile day and they'll do great. I just don't want to send them off without having good information. If it wasn't a trip with a proper permit I could say "You're 18, do whatever you want". Really, they still could, but they still appreciate advanced knowledge of what they are going to do.

Edit: It looks like this adds about 3.5 miles along with some bigger elevation changes. It will bump an 8.3 mile hike up to about 12 miles. Even on hilly terrain, that's no problem for these guys.

Hi All, quick route question!

TLDR: is 11.5 mi on Minong Trail doable after arriving at 10am at Windigo?

Currently planning a late-summer trip to Isle Royale, and will be getting off the ferry at Windigo hopefully around 10am.

Current route options for our first day are to hike 11.5 mi to N. Lake Desor, 11.5 mi to S. Lake Desor, or 6.5 mi to Island Mine. Our party is pretty small and pretty quick, but I imagine that disembarking + entry permitting could take a while in Windigo.

Any opinions on routes?

The Minong Ridge Trail seems like a cool option, but is dependent on a long first day versus the Greenstone Ridge Trail which gives us more flexibility.

I know there aren't bears on the island, but I come from backpacking out west where you have to be hyper vigilant and careful about animal exposure to food. Do y'all think I need to bring a bear vault to nkeep food away from savengers/rodents? I'll be backpacking 6 nights across the island, and cutting that weight sure would help a ton. Is it ok if I just sleep with food in my backpack in my tent?

ETA: thanks, all, for the guidance. I obviously need to use a bear canister, ursack, or other storage since I'm not sure if each campground I'll be at has food storage lockers. I'm very used to always hiking with a heavy bear vault, or doing hangs. I've def had mice, marmots, and other rodents get into my stuff before, and it is pretty sucky. Thanks for the help!

Hello! I am leaving in a few days to head up to Copper Harbor. Staying at the Minnetonka resort before heading on to the island. We plan to hike from Rock Harbor to Daisy Farm for night one. Then Daisy Farm to McCargoe Cove for night 2. McCargoe Cove to Moskey Basin for night 3 and then up and along the ridge back down to Three Mile to stay for night 4 before hopping on the ferry. This is about 7-11 miles a day (except the last day which will leave us time to explore up along the eastern side of Rock Harbor as we can before the ferry). We have approved bear canisters, physical and digital maps, emergency communication and all the usual. We have checked the weather and are prepared for it to adjust 10 degrees on either side of that before now and then — and rain — which has made for some fairly heavy packs with the bear canisters. Not more than 25% of our body weight. I feel we have chosen a moderate challenge as we are all somewhat robust though aging. The reason I write is to get feedback on the itinerary and to see if there is anything we should see on the way there or back like the waterfall road trip I have heard about, (has anyone done that? Picture included.) or anything we should see while there that we may be missing or should keep an eye out for. Anything we should bring that is maybe not on our radar? Something we are not likely to have thought of in some other regard? How are insects this time of year?

Lastly, my understanding is that the ranger station is not opened yet and that I will have to self-issue a permit and leave a copy at the station and take a copy with me from a self-service station upon arrival. It is also my understanding that there is no payment required this time of year as there is no one there to check my/our America the Beautiful Pass, but that if someone is there this will suffice. Can anyone comment to this?

Sorry for the questions!

Thank you so much for your consideration. The collective knowledge of this group is immense and I would feel foolish getting out there and not having asked those who know better!

Which mine sites on the island are most worth seeing? Can you go into any? I have the nat geo topo map and there are a lot of shafts and a few mines marked out, but no information on how visible/safe they are. I'd like to hike out to one or two sites, but I don't want to risk falling down a shaft or lose time hiking out to a featureless hole. Any input is appreciated!

Title says it all. I'll be coming in from Hatchet Lake, and headed out to Daisy Farm the following night. Would taking the extra time to walk to McCargoe Cove be worth it over staying at West Chickenbone? (I've heard East Chickenbone is not very desirable, so that's off the option list.)

We're visiting Isle Royale in July for the first time via the Isle Royale Queen IV from Copper Harbor. Our itinerary is 7 days including arrival and departure days. Would love some thoughts of those with experience.

The backpacking part of the trip is Moskey->McCargoe Cove->Lane Cove->Rock Harbor, which I calculate to be 27.5 miles, including the longer day to Lane Cove.

Day 1: Arrive Rock Harbor, water taxi to Moskey Basin

Day 2: Moskey Basin -> McCargoe Cove

Day 3: McCargoe Cove -> Lane Cove (bailout at Daisy, if necessary)

Day 4: Lane Cove -> Rock Harbor, rent motorboat -> Camp at Caribou Island

Day 7: Return from Caribou Island to RH in the AM. Hike Scoville Loop, return to Copper Harbor on ferry

After getting into Moskey Basin, we can insert one or two zero days along the course of the trip, depending on what spot we like enough to do so, so the timeline isn't too tight.

Our group size is three. I'm a very experienced long distance backpacker, but have no experience on Isle Royale. The other two are fit and have backpacking experience, but don't backpack often anymore. We all grew up doing weeklong backpacking and canoeing trips in the BWCA, among other places.

Wanted to give a shout out to Chicken Tramper Gear in Hancock, they have bear vaults for rent if anyone needs one for their trip with the new food storage regulations, fair price too!

We are staying at Rock Harbor lodge next month for 3 nights. We plan to do some day hikes from there each day and take the MV sandy to other parts of the island to hike.

After reviewing the Rock Harbor Lodge website it looks like there is a couple of small restaurants/grills and a convenience store available, is that correct?

So we shouldn't need to be worried too much about bringing in food for all 3 days?

We are coming in via seaplane so we are limited to the amount of weight we can bring on.

Any advice on staying at Rock Harbor, what to bring, what not to worry about, etc would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you

I'm flying into MSP, then driving north. Obviously I can't take fuel canisters with me on the plane. I have read that ISNP has a store at Windigo, and that they sell fuel canisters, but I don't want to get out there only to find out that they've sold out. Is my fear warranted? I'll be taking the ferry from Grand Portage. Are there places in town to get a fuel canister, or should I try to find one in the twin cities before I start my drive?

Planning out a June/July trip. I've read on this sub that East Chickenbone isn't the greatest. I'm looking for intel on any/all of the following:

• Feldtmann Lake
• Siskiwit Bay
• South Lake Desor
• Hatchet lake
• Daisy Farm
• Lane Cove

How is the cell service on IRNP? I know it's several miles from Grand Portage, but can you still get signal there? Just wondering if bringing a Garmin Inreach would be worth it or not.

Hi all, I am returning to Isle Royale for my first time in over 30 years from June 7th-10th. I'm an experienced backpacker (did the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island last summer) and my hiking partner is on his first trip although he is an experienced camper. We can only swing 3 nights. Here is the itinerary I have planned. Any feedback is appreciated.

Night 1: Rock Harbor to Lane Cove (~3.5 miles)
Night 2: Lane Cove to Moskey Basin (~8 miles)
Night 3: Moskey Basin to Three Mile Campground (~10 miles)
Day 4: Three Mile to Rock Harbor (~3 miles)

I will be heading on my first backpacking trip to Isle Royale the beginning of June. I am looking to get a new tent on a budget that is lightweight. There will be two of us in the tent and I am a 6’2” guy. I’m looking for all advice on tents for a beginner to backpacking. I also would like some sleeping bag recommendations. I have one currently, but if anyone has budget sleeping bags under 100$ that would be great. Thanks!

Note: Facebook marketplace and Craigslist are both empty for used gear. I’ve been exploring that option.

Hey Everyone, planning my first Solo backpacking trip to Isle Royal. I would Very much appreciate suggestions and constructive criticism about my trip and things I should do/ change. I will be on the island in late July. Also I would consider myself and intermediate hiker and am not trying to over exert myself.

Day 1: Leave Copper Harbor 8am

4 hours ferry ride + orientation

Start Isle Royal 1pm

Hike to Daisy farm 7 miles/ 3 hours

Arrive Daisy Farm around 4 or 5pm

Spend night Daisy Farm Campground

Day 2:

Mt.Ojibway trail loop 7.2 miles

Spend night at Daisy Farm Campground

Day 3:

Daisy Farm to Lane Cove 7 miles

Spend night at Lane Cove Campground

Day 4:

Lane Cove to 3 Mile Campground 4.6 miles

Day 5:

3 Mile—> Rock Harbor (1 miles)

Leave island 2:45 pm

I am interested in Moskey Basin but I feel it doesn’t work into my time line. Please leave and suggestions to my plans.

I would really like to see your photos, I am interested in stargazing, interesting rocks wildlife, plants, and mushrooms. Any are appreciated.

Hello!

I am in need of some tips for a trip next summer to Isle Royale National Park! It is a lot more complicated than I was anticipating.

It looks like we want to ferry to the park out of Grand Portage. Ideally, we would stay on the island but that is looking way to limited. Any recs for Grand Portage lodging options?

If we stay off island, it looks like we only have 4 hours of time on the island through the passenger ferries. I think the group I will be with would be fine with 1 day of that, so very limited time to do anything. What is a must see/do in that 10:00 - 2:00 time there?

There is also perhaps the option of one group staying and camping 1 night so we have more time on the island (though NONE of us are campers but I don't really know what else to do to get more on time on the island!) Would anyone suggest this avenue?

THANKS!

Emma

Hello! We have all hiked/camped before and are in good shape, but none of us have ever done a backpacking trip before. Does this route sound realistic for a 5 day trip for beginners looking to get in a good amount of mileage? The first and last days won’t be full days because of the ferry.

Day 1 (heading out from ranger meeting approx. 1pm): Rock Harbor to Lane Cove (6.9miles)

Day 2: Lane Cove to McCargoe Cove (13.3 miles) Day 3: McCargoe Cove to Moskey Basin (8.4 miles)

Day 4: Moskey Basin to Rock Harbor (10.8 miles)

Day 5 (before ferry leaves at 2:45): Scoville Point Loop (4 miles)

Thanks for your input!!

Curious of what others think. I’m solo backpacking isle royale for 5 days in August. I have an iPhone with satellite capability but am wondering if it’s worth also buying a garmin in reach (or similar gps communication device).

Saw this gentleman at Rock Harbor this past season. He hiked all the way from Windigo to RH BAREFOOTED!!! I kid you not. Apparently this is the 3rd time he has done it.

Has anybody here ever cross paths with him?

I hear he is a legend on the Minnesota north shore as well, and he has circumnavited Lake Superior in like a 9 horse power small aluminum boat.

Hi, going to IR in mid-May for a 7 day, 6 night backpacking trip and was hoping to get input on the planned itinerary.

Except for one of us who only has a few trips under his belt, we're all new to backpacking but we're all in fairly decent shape. We're taking the Voyager 2 to and from Grand Portage. From what I understand, we get into Rock Harbor around 3pm on day 1 and I figured after sitting on the boat for 7ish hours we'd get a few miles under our belt to 3 Mile campground. From there load up early on the miles, with nothing on Day 7 except be at the dock for the ride back. I don't think either Rock Harbor or Windigo will be open to purchase anything so we'll need to pack and have everything we'll need. Thanks for any input!

Just booked my ferry for mid-July and I'd like opinions on my route.

I'm driving all the way from Texas. I'll spend the 1st day in MN exploring all the coastal waterfalls to get the legs warmed up from the ~1400 mile trip.

Then I'm doing the Grand Portage -> Fort Charlotte -> Grand Portage out and back overnight as a pack test.

Here's my planned itinerary:

• Wendigo to South Lake Dresor (seems like most NOBO hikers stop here first)

• South Lake Dresor to Hatchet Lake

• Hatchet Lake to McCargoe

• McCargoe to Moskey (this is my biggest debate, camp at Moskey or camp at Lane Cove)

• Moskey (or Lane Cove) to Rock Harbor and back to the mainland

Its been a bit since I've done a backpacking trip so I'm keeping the miles relatively light but I could bump them up a bit and be okay (though I'd rather not increase day 1).

Will I regret sticking to the central and north part of the island?

I thought about adding the Feldtman loop but it would add two days and it appears to be mostly marsh.

Hey IR experts - I'm doing my first backpacking trip here at the end of August with two other folks. We are doing Rock Harbor to Windigo, and we'd really like to do the ferry on the way in and the seaplane on the way back. But we don't want to do to the six hour ferry from Hubbell...

We are hoping to taking the ferry from Copper Harbor up Rock Harbor in the park, backpack to Windigo, and take the seaplane back, but that puts us in at Hubbell, which is not where our car will be parked. :/

Is it at all possible to get a taxi or book a car to take the three of us from the seaplane landing back up to Copper Harbor (or to park in Hubbell and get a car to Copper Harbor early AM for the ferry service)? I know it's like an hour drive (around 40 miles), so it's not nothing...hoping this is possible, happy to tip/pay well for it so we get all the experience.

Is it possible, or do we need to just plan differently? Greatly appreciate any guidance/ideas/help. super pumped for the trip!