Michigan’s national park, Isle Royale, is set to reopen April 16 after closing in November for the winter season.
Isle Royale is a small island in the northwest part of Lake Superior. The park contains more than 200 square miles of land, with 450 smaller islands surrounding it, according to the National Park Service’s website.
Liz Valencia is the supervisory park ranger at Isle Royale. She said getting to the island is not easy. It’s accessible only by ferry or seaplane, according to Pure Michigan, which makes it one of the least visited national parks in the U.S.
Ferries typically run from mid-May through September, though the park is open from mid-April through October. Valencia said ferries are between $160 and $220 roundtrip, while the plane is around $400 roundtrip.
“Reopening every year is like setting up the facilities for 3 small cities,” Valencia continued. “We generate all our own power, pump and treat water, and manage wastewater. Facilities are slowly brought into service over the first month working toward full services available by the time the Lodge opens in early June.”
Valencia said visitors to the island will likely be able to see wildlife they don’t often get to, like beavers, foxes, loons, and moose. The relationship between moose and the wolves on the island is part of the longest predator-prey large mammal study on earth, according to the National Park Service.
Isle Royale is also home to spruce, fir, oak and maple trees, as well as rare orchids and bog plants.
Valencia said visitors can backpack 165 miles of hiking trails. They can hike the Greenstone Ridge Trail, a 43-mile trail that runs through woods and across swamps and lakes.
Visitors are also able to tour Rock Harbor Light and visit the grounds of Menagerie Island Light and Passage Island Light, three active lighthouses on the island built in the 1800s. Kayaks and canoes are available to explore the waters around the island.
Daily entrance fees to the park cost $7, and seasonal passes are $60. Visitors can stay in one of the 36 campgrounds available across the island, which offer tent sites, an outhouse, and a water source.
Valencia said what makes the island unique is its remoteness. “The journey itself is part of the adventure,” she continued. “Once you leave the mainland, either by boat or plane, and travel across the expanse of Lake Superior, you are transitioning to a different world.”
“It’s a place with no cars or traffic, a place to relax, take in some beautiful scenery, unplug and just enjoy being in the outdoors surrounded by nature,” Valencia said.
