 Trying to do too much-- in too short of time -- can oftentimes negatively impact your Isle Royale experience. It is almost as if the Island itself (or Mother Nature or "Murphy's Law") actively seek to penalize people who try to do too much in too little time on Isle Royale. The more that you try to pursue a busy (or "tight") schedule while on Isle Royale --the more that the Island, Mother Nature, and Murphy's Law seem to push back at your busy plans and "tight" schedule. My mom had a sign in her kitchen that read: "The hurrier I go -- the behinder I get". One of my co-workers had a sign in her office which read, "Man plans and God laughs (Swedish Proverb)". Those two statements also seem to apply to Isle Royale trips. Murphy's Law & O'Toole's Corollary When I was in a college, a friend had a poster on his dormitory wall that read: MURPHY'S LAW: "Anything that can go wrong--will go wrong." O'TOOLE'S COROLLARY TO MURPHY'S LAW: "Murphy was an F *%# ing optimist." Always keep Murphy and O'Toole at the very front of your mind when planning an Isle Royale trip. O'Toole and Murphy both seem to have special and enhanced "super powers" when it comes to Isle Royale and Lake Superior. Somewhat Unique Transportation IssuesI have traveled quite a bit and I have visited quite a few places. Rarely are me (and my plans) as much at the mercy of "Mother Nature" as when I visit Isle Royale. Ultimately, Mother Nature is going to do whatever Mother Nature is going to do and there isn't very much that we can do about it. Isle Royale National Park is an island (technically, a group of islands) in Lake Superior. There are limited ways to get to and from Isle Royale. Those limited methods of transportation are highly dependent upon the weather. Furthermore, if there are mechanical issues with a seaplane or a ferry (or your private boat), it isn't as if there are spare ones sitting around (not being used) that can be put into service in a matter of minutes or hours. If weather conditions (or the very rare mechanical issue) keeps your mode of transportation from operating --you have few choices but to wait. Such delays can significantly interfere with your Isle Royale plans. Thus, be ready for the delays --and be ready to change your plans. Mother Nature Doesn't Care About Your Plans I once saw a father (and his two young adult sons) who were "stranded" on Isle Royale due to a weather delay with their return transportation. The father's daughter (and the boys' sister) was getting married in one or two days and the longer that the transportation delay dragged on--the less likely it looked like they would get to the wedding in time. I have seen similar things happen with Isle Royale visitors who needed to get back home for planned funerals or who desperately needed to get back home due to strict attendance policies at work, school, or the military. Frankly, Mother Nature does not care how important your event is back home--nor does Mother Nature care if you miss the event. (Neither do Murphy or O'Toole). Therefore, try to not have any important things planned for immediately after your anticipated return from Isle Royale -- because you may regret it. Mother Nature also does not care about your plans (or your itinerary) while you are actually on Isle Royale. And, Murphy and O'Toole will actively work to destroy your plans and your timeline. The shorter your visit -- and the more mileage and activities that you try to squeeze into a very short time frame --the more it is likely that Murphy, O'Toole, and Mother Nature will actively seek you out, find you, and disrupt your plans. REMEMBER: Your transportation TO Isle Royale might be delayed by a few hours--or by one or two DAYS. BAD CASE SCENARIO # 1: You have determined that it will take you exactly four days to hike (or paddle) across the Island. Thus, you plan a very "tight" itinerary and you schedule your return transportation (at the other end of the Island) for exactly four days after your planned arrival on the Island. QUESTION: What is your plan if your transportation TO the Island is delayed by one or two days? Will you be able to hike or paddle across the island in just 2-3 days? (Ferries and seaplanes often tend to be full. Thus, it is not very easy to simply push back your departure time by one or two days and catch another seaplane or another ferry off the Island at that later date). Remember, Mother Nature does not care about your plans. BAD CASE SCENARIO # 2: You spend over $1,400 on transportation to bring your entire family to Isle Royale by seaplane for A DAY TRIP. You have plans to spend eight hours on Isle Royale. Then, your flight TO the Island is delayed by fog for 3-5 hours. You have just paid a whole lot of money for a very short visit to the Island. Here's an even worse case scenario: What if fog or weather issues delay your RETURN flight until the next day --and you came to the Island prepared for only a day trip? (Similar things can happen with ferries--but they happen far less frequently). Mother Nature does not care about your plans. BAD CASE SCENARIO # 3: Your small family plans a 1-2 night stay at the Lodge or the housekeeping cabins. You spend $600-$1,500 on transportation. You spend another $300-$600 on lodging. You have great plans for boating, canoeing, hiking the ridges, traveling by tour boats, etc. Then, lightening storms keep you from hiking the ridges, and wind and waves cancel all of your boating activities and boat tours. Your entire plans for those two days are "ruined". Mother Nature does not care about your plans. BAD CASE SCENARIO # 4: Your hiking or paddling trip encounters some significant delays (or significant re-routing) because of severe (lightening?) storms or wild fires--or someone in your party becomes injured or ill. If you have not intentionally built in a couple of extra days into your trip plan--you could be facing some significant challenges in reaching your departure point on time. Mother Nature does not care about your plans. (A side note: A moose may block your path for 20 to 90 minutes and cause you to get to camp much later than planned). THE SHORTER YOUR ISLE ROYALE VISIT -- AND THE MORE MILEAGE AND THE MORE "STUFF" THAT YOU TRY TO SQUEEZE INTO A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME -- THE MORE LIKELY THAT "MOTHER NATURE" WILL BE ABLE TO INTERFERE WITH YOUR PLANS. Always remember: Mother Nature does not care about your plans! (And, Murphy and O'Toole are actively working to disrupt your plans). What Can You Do About It? Overall, there is little (or nothing) that we can do to change Mother Nature. All that we can do is alter our plans and alter our attitude regarding Mother Nature (and any delays). Here are some suggestions: 1. Less is more. You do not have to try to "experience everything" --nor do you have to try to "see everything" -- in one Isle Royale trip. The bottom line: You can't see and do everything in just one or two trips to Isle Royale ... so don't even try. This summer will be my 20th trip to Isle Royale--and there is still new stuff to see and do. Thus, I would invite you to intentionally scale down your plans. Plan on doing fewer things. Plan on covering MANY fewer miles. Plan on seeing fewer sights (and sites). It will make for a less stressful and more relaxing trip. And, the less that you have planned, the less that Mother Nature (and Murphy and O'Toole) can disrupt. Keep it all very minimal and very simple. 2. DO NOT plan a hike across the Island unless you have AT LEAST a 6-7 day (or longer) visit to the Island planned. If you will be on the Island for less than a week -- please do yourself a favor and confine your trip to one end of the Island and be dropped off and pickup at the exact same spot (either Rock Harbor or Windigo). If you confine your visit to one end of the Island (and have the exact same drop off and pick up site) transportation delays may somewhat alter your plans--but transportation delays won't destroy your plans. Even if you have a four day trip planned -- and your ferry to the Island is delayed by two+ days--you can still travel to the Island on Day # 3--spend an overnight at a campground located within several miles of the dock-- and catch your boat back home on Day # 4. You can't have that sort of flexibility when your return boat (or your return plane) is now supposed to meet you on the other end of the Island--TOMORROW. Therefore, do not try to hike across the Island unless you plan to be on the island for least 6-7 days. (Otherwise, transportation delays, lightening delays, illnesses, and injuries might make your life very miserable or force the entire cancellation of your trip). 3. The fewer "moving parts" that you have in your itinerary the less you will expose yourself to stress and transportation delay issues. Conversely, the more food drops that you have scheduled (by ferry) and the more water taxi (or ferry) drop-offs and pickups that you have scheduled as part of your itinerary the more that you will expose yourself to being negatively impacted by weather and transportation delays. It is fine to have a food drop-off scheduled. However, you better not allow your food supplies be so low--nor have your itinerary so "tight"--that your trip is negatively impacted by a few hour (or couple day) ferry delay. EXPECT that there will be delays and plan accordingly. HYPOTHETICAL SCENARIO: Let's say that you plan on hiking across the Island from Rock Harbor to Windigo in four days and have reservations for the Voyager II ferry back to Rock Harbor on Day # 4 and have reservations to depart from Rock Harbor on Day # 5. What happens if you are delayed in getting to the Island by a day or two? That delay will likely impact you getting to Windigo by the fourth day. Which will impact you catching the Voyager II at Windigo on Day # 4--which will then impact you being at Rock Harbor in time to catch your transportation off of the Island on Day # 5. And, what if the ferry from Windigo to Rock Harbor is delayed by weather for an entire day? Again, you would miss your transportation off of the Island at Rock Harbor. Always remember, Mother Nature does not care about your plans --and neither do Murphy nor O'Toole. 4. Try to have 1-2 extra days built into your trip plan for every major leg of your trip. Imagine if (in the above scenario) your kept the same plan to hike across the island in 4 days --but your plan was modified so that you caught a ferry from Windigo to Rock Harbor on Day # 6 (instead of Day # 4) and you planned to depart the Island on Day # 8 (instead of Day # 5). With this more relaxed and reasonable plan, if your transportation to the Island was delayed by a day or two--you would still have plenty of time to hike across the Island and catch your ferry from Windigo to Rock Harbor. And, if the ferry from Windigo to Rock Harbor was delayed by a day or two--you would still have plenty of time to catch your transportation off of the island. Give yourself more time to complete each leg of your trip. 5. Bring extra food and fuel-- in order to be better prepared if you are delayed getting off of the Island. 6. DO NOT have important things planned for the first couple of days after your anticipated return home. If you REALLY need to be at work, school, a wedding, or a funeral immediately after you get back home--you probably need to schedule a trip that is 1-2 days shorter than you had originally hoped. Sorry, but that is simply the harsh reality (if you really need be someplace just a day or two after your scheduled return home). 7. If you are coming to Isle Royale for just a day trip, there is very little reason to believe that you will be stranded on the Island overnight due to bad weather. There is certainly no need to bring a backpack full of camping gear and supplies (for a day trip). HOWEVER, if you really need certain medications, I would bring enough medications for an extra day or two. I might also bring a warm enough jacket, a wool cap (or "beanie"), a cheap emergency rain poncho, a water bottle, and maybe one of those reflective emergency blankets that is about the size of a deck of cards. I would also bring money and/or especially a credit card--in order to buy food (and pay for a Lodge room --in the rare event that a Lodge room is available). CONCLUSION Mother Nature has a tendency to frequently interfere with people's Isle Royale plans. Thus, you should plan and prepare accordingly. ("Hope for the best--but plan for the worst".) The shorter in duration that your trip is (and/or the more mileage and more "stuff" that you try to squeeze into a very small time frame) -- the greater the chances are that you will attract some unwanted attention from Mother Nature, Murphy's Law, and O'Toole's Corollary. They will seek you out, find you, and "mess with you".
Therefore, keep your plans simple. Don't try to squeeze lots of mileage and lots of stuff into a short period of time. Give yourself some extra --and totally uncommitted--days in your Isle Royale schedule (in order to compensate for any potential delays). Expect that there might be transportation delays. Anticipate that there might be severe weather, illnesses, or injuries that will slow you down and delay you. There is nothing that Mother Nature, Murphy and O'Toole hate more--than a person who is fully prepared for all types of delays. Happy hiking and peaceful paddling!
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 You Have More Than Three Choices on Isle Royale--You Really Do! The vast majority of people who come to Isle Royale seem to want to do the same three things (and many people advise them to do those same three things). 1) Hike across the Island --using primarily the Greenstone Ridge Trail. 2) Plan their hike around the "dream" of staying at least one night at Moskey Basin. 3) Visit the same 3-5 (overcrowded?) campgrounds on the Eastern (Rock Harbor) end of the Island. (Lane Cove, Three Mile, Daisy Farm, Rock Harbor, Moskey Basin) ---or stay at the Rock Harbor Lodge and housekeeping cabins. There is SO much more to see and do on Isle Royale than just those three things! For your sake --and for other people's sake ---and for the Island's sake--please try something a little different. Let's try to spread out a little bit and add a bit of variety to our Isle Royale trips. My Biases and Preferences I am going to state four of my biases right up front. (I know there are people who will strongly disagree with these comments-- and that is their right). 1. I find hiking across the Island (using primarily the Greenstone Ridge Trail) to be one of the more "underwhelming" and boring hikes on the Island. Except for a few mile section near Mt. Franklin and Mt. Ojibway --there are not a lot of great panoramic views to be seen from along the Greenstone Ridge Trail. (I am not saying there are absolutely no great panoramic views on the Greenstone Ridge Trail outside of that small area--but the other great views on the Greenstone are few and far between). REGARDING THE CAMPGROUNDS ALONG THE GREENSTONE: Personally, I believe that even the "worst" campground on Isle Royale is a far better place to be than most other places on the planet. That being said, if I have the opportunity to skip staying at Island Mine, South Lake Desor, Hatchet Lake--or either of the two Chickenbones -- I try to do so. That is because there are quite a few Isle Royale campgrounds that I like so much better than those that I just mentioned. Let me be clear, I am BY NO MEANS saying to totally avoid these campgrounds and/or avoid the Greenstone Ridge Trail. I am simply saying that there are many other (and, arguably, even better) trails, routes, and campgrounds on Isle Royale. So, don't be in such a rush to automatically want to backpack across the island using primarily the Greenstone Ridge Trail. (A shorter hike--confined to just one side of the Island --can often be a much more satisfying experience than hiking across the Island. So, carefully consider your other options). Here are a couple photos showing some pretty typical views of what you will see for much of your 2-5 days on the Greenstone Ridge Trail.
2. I find Moskey Basin Campground to be PERHAPS "overrated". If you get one of the lakeshore wooden shelters at Moskey Basin--and if the weather is nice-- Moskey Basin is perhaps one of the best campgrounds and best experiences on Isle Royale. However, if you don't get one of those six shelters (or if the weather is hazy, foggy, or rainy), Moskey Basin is (in my never humble opinion) just another (slightly better than average) Isle Royale campground. The views from the tent sites and group sites (which double as an overflow camping area) oftentimes don't permit you to even see the lake from your campsite. And, sometimes, Moskey Basin can be one of the most overcrowded campgrounds on the Island. I am not saying to completely avoid Moskey Basin. However, I certainly would not build my trip around a dream of staying at Moskey Basin. I would also be prepared to perhaps be somewhat disappointed with the "Moskey Basin Experience" if I couldn't get one of the lakeside shelters and had to stay at a crowded "overflow" tent site with no view of the lake. Here are two pictures from Moskey Basin. One was taken standing outside of a shelter on the lakeshore and the other is from a crowded overflow campground--with lots of tents and lots of people and no view of the lake. Which would you prefer? You can see the big difference getting one of the six shelters can make.
3. There Is More to Isle Royale Than Just Five Campgrounds. Many (most?) people (who visit Isle Royale) will stay at just five locations for most (or all) of their trip. Those five places are Rock Harbor (campground, Lodge, or cabins); Three Mile Campground; Daisy Farm Campground; Moskey Basin Campground; and Lane Cove Campground. While there is nothing "wrong" with that--it sure tends to make things overcrowded at those five locations. It also gives someone a fairly limited Isle Royale experience. In the image (below) you will see a map of Isle Royale. Many (or most) people who visit Isle Royale never leave the area in red--or rarely leave the red area. There is so much more to see and do--and it helps everyone--and the Island--if we spread out a bit.  4. Many people lack the physical conditioning (and experience) to hike the entire length of the Minong Ridge Trail. Thus, hiking the entire Minong Ridge Trail is not a safe and wise alternative for many people. LET ME BE CLEAR --- I am not a person who believes that the Minong Ridge Trail is a big scary trail that is (by its nature) an extremely tough and super dangerous trail. HOWEVER, I do firmly believe that a great many visitors to Isle Royale lack the conditioning and outdoor experience necessary to hike the entire Minong Ridge Trail safely and successfully. (NOTE: The section of the Minong Ridge Trail between McCargoe Cove and the junction to Hatchet Lake is o.k. for most --but not all--people. It is easier than the rest of the Minong). In general, the Minong Ridge Trail is very poorly marked. The trail is intentionally poorly maintained. Many people get temporarily "lost" (multiple times) while on the Minong Ridge Trail. Water sources are few and far between. The trail is rocky and has countless ups and downs. It goes through swamps and bogs and over the top of a few wet and muddy beaver dams. Sometimes you have to walk through creeks or over a very twisted and shaky single log. It can sometimes be pretty isolated and lonely on the Minong. (I once went 28 hours on the Minong Ridge Trail without seeing another person). If you become sick or injured, it may be 12-30 hours before help can be contacted and you can be evacuated and arrive at a medical facility. In short, this isn't the place for a person who is out-of-shape or who lacks outdoor skills and experience, or who is not able to be completely self-sufficient in the wilderness (even when injured or ill). Thus, if you want to do something "different" while on Isle Royale--for many people hiking the entire Minong Ridge Trail is NOT a good alternative --given their conditioning, experience level, and navigational abilities. I will include some Minong Ridge Trail photos below (Click to enlarge). These are all pictures of the actual trail and not scenery. TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT! Instead of doing the same things that many other people are doing---maybe try something different (different than what the crowds are doing and/or different than what you may have done on different trips). For more information regarding each of these ideas, you can contact me directly (either via private Facebook message or email: [email protected]); or you visit my personal Isle Royale website theisleroyalguy.com and look at all of the information pages and the helpful links page on my site; or (as always) you can visit the Official National Park Service Isle Royale website. (Click here) HERE ARE JUST SOME POSSIBLE IDEAS: 1. If you tend to stay at the Lodge and/or cabins--consider getting into the backcountry and doing some backpacking, paddling, and/or camping. 2. If you tend to stay in the backcountry (camping, hiking, and paddling)--consider staying at the Lodge or a cabin --for at least one night. (Note: They Lodge rooms and cabins are already mostly booked for 2024--you would have to check frequently for a cancellation and hope to be the lucky one who times things right and gets the vacated room or cabin. You can start booking a year in advance). 3. If you are a usually a backpacker--consider doing a canoe or kayak trip. If you are typically a paddler, consider a backpacking trip. 4. If you tend to stay on the East (Rock Harbor) end of the Island--consider a trip to the West (Windigo) end (and vice-versa). 5. There are several ways to get to/from the Island. Try using one that you haven't tried before. A) The Ranger III ferry (Houghton Michigan). B) The Isle Royale Seaplanes (Hancock, Michigan and Grand Marais, Minnesota). C) The Voyager II and Sea Hunter III ferries (Grand Portage, Minnesota). D) The Isle Royale Queen IV ferry (Copper Harbor, Michigan). E) Charter trips with private companies (there are backpacking outfitters and guides, private transport and tour companies, sailing charters, fishing charters, scuba diving charters, youth camps that make trips to the Island, etc. (Click here for the currently published official list. New ones might not have been added yet to the website list). F) A person can use their own private boat--and they may even be able to transport it to the Island on the Ranger III---or pilot it to the Island across Lake Superior. Again, try something different than what you have done in the past--but always do so legally and safely 6. Instead of starting your actual backpacking or paddling at either Rock Harbor or Windigo --consider using a water taxi or the Voyager II (or maybe even a private charter boat) to either drop you off and/or pick you up at some other location on the Island than at Rock Harbor or Windigo. Some examples: Be dropped off at a place like Chippewa Harbor or Malone Bay and backpack to Rock Harbor (or maybe backpack from the drop off point to Windigo). A friend and I (and a canoe) were dropped off by the Voyager II at McCargoe Cove--and we paddled and portaged our way back to Rock Harbor. Be dropped off at McCargoe Cove and hike to Chippewa Harbor or Malone Bay and be picked up there. There are many ways to mix and match the available drop off and pick up locations. You don't have to only start at Rock Harbor or Windigo. Be creative! 7. IF YOU ARE IN GOOD PHYSICAL SHAPE AND HAVE GOOD BACKCOUNTRY CAMPING, NAVIGATION, AND WILDERNESS SELF-SUFFICIENCY EXPERIENCE -- maybe consider backpacking the length of the Minong Ridge Trail. 8. Backpack the Feldtmann Loop and/or Huginnin Loop trails. 9. I want to list this particular option once again--as its own separate item. Consider using one of the many commercial guide, tour, and/or adventure services who have permits from the National Park Service to do business with park visitors The official published list is here. (Click here.) (Sometimes it takes a few months for newly approved entities to make it to the list on the website) 10, Create itineraries that take you away from the usual 4-6 typical campgrounds used by so many people. I --and other people --can perhaps help you plan an itinerary that fits your situation. 11. Plan longer trips--so that you have more time to get to places other than just the typical ones located close to the main transportation docks (in Windigo and Rock Harbor). Short trips (4-6 days or less) limit how far you can venture from the major transportation docks. 12. Consider renting a boat, canoe, or kayak for the day in Windigo or Rock Harbor. 13. Take a tour on the MV Sandy--a tour boat operating out of Rock Harbor. Visit places (via the Sandy) that you can't hike to (unless you can walk on water). Just remember--backpackers and paddlers can also rent watercraft for the day at the marinas and/or take a tour on the Sandy. These amenities are NOT just for Lodge and cottage guests. 14. Instead of hiking across the Island using JUST the Greenstone Ridge Trail--find ways to "spice up" that cross Island hike--by getting off of the Greenstone Ridge Trail periodically and detour through other (more interesting?) places for a day or two. Maybe see a part (or all) of the Feldtmann Loop as part of your hike across the Island. Maybe drop down to Malone Bay, or Chippewa Harbor, or Moskey Basin --instead of staying solely on the Greenstone Ridge Trail. Perhaps, leave the Greenstone Ridge Trail and (in either direction) hike on the easier section of the Minong Ridge Trail that lies between the Hatchet Lake Junction and McCargoe Cove. (And, stay at Todd Harbor and McCargoe Cove instead of Hatchet Lake and the Chickenbones). Maybe visit Lane Cove. BOTTOM LINE: Do more than just hike on the Greenstone Ridge Trail as you cross the Island. See some other places and other trails. Take a couple more days for your journey and stay at a couple of campgrounds other than just those located on (or near) the Greenstone Ridge Trail. Spice it up! 15. If you are very skilled with remote wilderness camping and are good with traveling cross-country through thick ground cover using a map and compass (never bring and use JUST a GPS system)--you might perhaps consider doing some cross-country (i.e. off-trail) hiking and camping on Isle Royale. (I personally think you should have also been to Isle Royale at least 2-3 previous times before attempting cross country camping and hiking on the Island). The terrain is slow and difficult to navigate. There is much thick underbrush and numerous obstacles. You may encounter large swamps and bogs. There are many rules to follow and special permitting needed (See here). However, you will have great solitude and perhaps see places few other people will see. Again, I can't stress enough, this is "expert" level stuff--not beginner or "first-timer" (on Isle Royale) stuff. Heck, it is easy enough to sometimes get disoriented or "lost" just stepping off of the trail a couple hundred feet in order to go to the bathroom. Cross country hiking and camping takes that "risk" to a significantly higher level. CONCLUSIONThere are many ways to enjoy Isle Royale, Thus, please don't stick to the same 3-4 ideas. Find ways to spread out and see new things! Again, if you want some free help planning your trip--reach out to me via a Facebook private message or email me at [email protected]
 Planning Your Isle Royale Trip Is ImportantIsle Royale is probably different than many places that you will visit. Isle Royale is the type of place where a failure to PLAN your trip in advance (and a failure to properly PREPARE for your trip--in advance) can cause you to have a very frustrating and disappointing experience. A failure to plan and prepare may also lead to illness and injury. One of the biggest challenges of Isle Royale is its remoteness. You can't just jump in your car and drive to Isle Royale--nor (once you are at Isle Royale) can you just jump back in your car and leave whenever you want. For all practical purposes, you can only reach (and leave) Isle Royale in three ways: 1) Seaplane (for which you need advance reservations). 2) Ferries (for which you need advance reservations). 3) Private watercraft. Furthermore, you usually need to be pretty self-sufficient at isle Royale (especially if hiking, paddling, or boating in the "backcountry"). It you didn't bring something that you will need --there is a pretty good chance that you might NOT be able to acquire the item once you are on the Island. Plan well and pack appropriately. Advance planing, research, and preparation are essential for a successful Isle Royale trip. You May Need to Plan and Reserve Things Up to a Year in Advance As I write this (on January 1, 2024) many/most nights at the Rock Harbor Lodge, Rock Harbor housekeeping cabins, and Windigo camper cabins--are already booked to capacity--or are getting filled very fast--for the entire 2024 season. There are no waiting lists kept. In many instances, your only hope now (to book lodging for 2024) is that someone cancels their lodging reservations and you are fortunate enough to discover the cancellation and book your own lodging immediately. Reserve your lodging NOW--and if your dates are already not available, keep checking the reservation website regularly and frequently for cancellations. Transportation does not usually fill as fast as lodging. HOWEVER, in 2023, already in February I could not book all of the transportation for the dates that I wanted for my 2023 trip. I had to modify my preferred 2023 trip dates. Again, this was IN FEBRUARY! The same was true in early March 2022. I could not book the exact dates that I wanted. I needed to be flexible in my trip dates--IN EARLY MARCH! You will hear occasional stories of people who planned their Isle Royale trip on very short notice-- in the middle of summer--and were able to get transportation and lodging--with no problems. Such things can (and do) sometimes happen--but they are not the norm. Yes, you might be able to plan and book your Isle Royale trip on very short notice during the middle of the Summer--but I sure wouldn't count on it. Book your Isle Royale transportation and lodging reservations NOW! DO YOUR (OWN) RESEARCH! There is SO much for a person to learn prior to coming to Isle Royale (especially before coming to the backcountry areas). You need to do your research. Here are just a few of the many things you will need to know.
SOME PLANNING RESOURCES The BEST (and most authoritative) resource for your Isle Royale visit is the official National Park Service Isle Royale website. www.nps.gov/isro/index.htm There is a "First timers Guide" on the official Isle Royale NPS website: www.nps.gov/isro/planyourvisit/first-timer-s-guide.htm There is much helpful information in the Park's annual newspaper (THE GREENSTONE). Here is a link to the 2023 edition of the Greenstone. The 2024 edition will likely be published in late February or early March 2024. www.nps.gov/isro/upload/Web-Ready-2023-Greenstone.pdf There is a very active Facebook group called "ISLE ROYALE NATIONAL PARK COMMUNITY". It has over 18,300 members. (You have ask to join the group). www.facebook.com/groups/43490726251 A very helpful book is the (fifth edition of) ISLE ROYALE NATIONAL PARK: FOOT TRAILS AND WATER ROUTES (by Jim DuFresne) (LINK HERE) There is my own website: THE ISLE ROYAL GUY (theisleroyaleguy.com) My site is absolutely free and has all sorts of great information. There is a page with many helpful articles and topics. (Click Here: Helpful Information). There is a page with links to just about every possible Isle Royale webpage--arranged by major topic. (Click here for "Helpful Links). You simply won't believe what you will find when you browse through those dozens of helpful links. I have a page with many photos of Isle Royale--including moose pictures, trail pictures, sunrises and sunsets, other animals, and many other photos (Click here for "Photos"). There is a page with several trip reports from some of my 19 trips to Isle Royale. Those trip reports also have many photos. (Click Here for "Trip Reports"). There are my Isle Royale blog pages were I discuss countless Isle Royale topics and share my opinions. (Click Here for "Blog Posts"). I like to help people plan their trips, develop customized itineraries, and answer questions. I prefer to be contacted through Facebook private messages or via email. [email protected] Feel free to contact me. Another helpful site is ISLE ROYALE FORUMS. (Click here). I also like the WISE OLD MAN OF ISLE ROYALE website maintained by Duane L'Esperance and Beth Virtanen. CLICK HERE for "Wise Old Man of Isle Royale") CONCLUSION It is important to plan your Isle Royale trip far in advance. Use the links provided above (and the many pages of links on each of those websites) to help you plan your trip. Again, the best, first, and most authoritative source to consult is always the official National Park Service Isle Royale website. (Click here for the Official website)
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Jon Prain ("The Isle Royale Guy") has made 18 trips to Isle Royale. He shares his insights and opinions in this blog. Archives
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