I'm Not a Fan of Short Trips to Isle Royale

While I understand that some people firmly believe that they "can only" make a short visit to Isle Royale--I do not personally recommend it. (NOTE: I am not talking about private boaters--as they are an entirely different situation. The same is true of people with medical or physical limitations which might necessitate a shorter trip).

Some people will state that they will be doing other things (and visiting other parks) while in the Great Lakes region. Thus, they ONLY have part of a day (or an overnight) that they can devote to seeing Isle Royale. I would personally suggest that they consider reducing or eliminating the amount of time devoted to some of those OTHER things and devote more time on the Isle Royale part of their trip.

Unlike many other National Parks--Isle Royale is not a National Park that (in my opinion) easily lends itself to brief visits. Part of that is due to the remote nature of Isle Royale and the amount of time, money, and effort that it takes just to get to/from the island. Another reason why Isle Royale is not well suited to short visits--is the fact that so little of the park (and its main "attractions") are located at the locations where a visitor arrives and departs from the Island. It takes a couple hours of walking, paddling, or boating in order to get to much of "the good stuff". Thus, you can't see/do very much during just a short visit to Isle Royale.

Here are my reasons for discouraging short trips to Isle Royale:

1) Coming to Isle Royale for a day--or for one overnight-- is similar to traveling to Europe or the Caribbean --being there for 24 hours or less--and never leaving the airport (or the area within 5 miles of the airport). You haven't really experienced Europe or the Caribbean in such a scenario--and you don't really experience Isle Royale on these super short visits. Yes, you have been to the "airport", you've gotten your passport stamped, you perhaps ate a meal at the airport restaurant and/or stayed overnight at a hotel next to the airport--but that's about it. There is not very much that you can see or do on a short trip to Isle Royale.

2) One day of very bad weather (or one day of mechanical issues with your mode of transportation) can wipe out your your entire short trip ---if that one day happens to be the day of your scheduled trip. You will have done all of that planning and preparing --for nothing.

3) Even if your mode of transportation DOES operate on a day with somewhat bad weather-- heavy rain, waves, and cold breezes make for a pretty miserable few hour visit to the Island (or even a miserable 24 hour visit). Plus, some activities--like renting watercraft and maybe some tours--could be cancelled due to poor weather. Spending more days on the Island gives you a better chance to work around any potential periods of bad weather.

4) This one is totally based upon PERSONAL PREFERENCE and each person's individual perspective of what is "too costly": A short trip to Isle Royale is typically a fairly expensive and time consuming proposition. It takes a lot of planning and travel time to come to Isle Royale (unless you live fairly close to the dock or airport). Unless you take a day trip on the Sea Hunter out of Grand Portage MN --for $99 per person in 2023)--a day trip or overnight on all other modes of transportation will cost between $160 to $720 PER PERSON --just for the transportation. If you take a boat to/from Isle Royale--you will be traveling on the water anywhere from 3 to nearly 8 hours ROUND TRIP. That is a sizeaable portion of the day.

5) For a day trip, you will likely have less time on the Island than you initially think. FIRST--you have assume and hope that everything is going as scheduled --and not running behind schedule. SECOND: It's not as if the boat or plane lands at Isle Royale and 30 seconds later you are already exploring the Island. It is going to take some time for everyone to disembark. It will take at least a moment for everyone to be welcomed by the park staff and for you to get oriented as to where you are and where you want to go. This all cuts into your available time for actual exploring and enjoying. THIRD: You have to be back to the boat or plane departure area about 15-20 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time. Thus, on a day trip, (when all is said and done --and as you lose some time at the start and end of the visit) you probably have 30 to 45 minutes LESS time for exploring than the schedule might initially indicate. That is a sizeable chunk of time out of an already brief visit--and it can impact what things you can actually do.

According to the published schedules, the Isle Royale Queen arrives at Rock Harbor around 11:45 a.m (Eastern time) and departs Isle Royale at 2:45 p.m. (Eastern time). That is a maximum of three hours--but probably closer to 2.5 hours for actual exploring of the Rock Harbor area. The Sea Hunter arrives at Windigo at approximately 10:00 a.m. (CENTRAL TIME--yes they operate totally on central time) and departs at 2:00 p.m. (Central time). That is just four hours--but really closer to 3.5 hours to explore the Windigo area. What can you really do in 2.5 to 3.5 hours?

6) Just remember, on Lake Superior--"weather happens"--and quite often--weather happens in a fairly unpredictable fashion. What is your plan if you get to the Northwoods--and weather CANCELS (or delays) your brief visit to the island? Where will you stay? What will you do? There are occasions when hotels (and some campgrounds) on the mainland are full--for a few hour radius. Where will you stay? What if you get to Isle Royale--but bad weather delays your departure by hours--or by a day or more? Isle Royale lodging is often fully booked up months in advance. Thus, it is not always as simple as ... "I will just get myself a room at the Lodge". What if poor weather causees a several hour transportation delay--and you get back to the mainland at midnight--instead of around 4 p.m.? What is your plan for weather delays? Bad weather can cause problems for an Isle Royale trip of any length-- but weather can even more profoundly impact a short trip.

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All of this boils down to personal choices. ("Hike Your Own Hike"). People are certainly able to enjoy Isle Royale for as short of a period of time as they wish. They are also certainly free to spend as much money as they wish on a short visit. ("Day Trippers " account for an important percentage of the income of the transportation companies--and probably are a key to them staying in business).

HOWEVER, it is my personal recommendation that a person spend AT LEAST four days (3 nights) on Isle Royale--and PREFERABLY 6 days (five nights) OR LONGER -- if they plan on getting out of Rock Harbor or Windigo and going into the Isle Royale backcountry. Anything shorter than that will likely feel overly rushed, not permit you to see very much of the Island, and probably not be an very efficient or wise use of one's money and time.
Instead of doing a short visit to Isle Royale, I would personally recommend that you put off your Isle Royale trip until such time as you can spend a bit more time there. (Better yet, find ways to move heaven and earth in order to have a longer visit to Isle Royale during this upcoming season).