TRIP IDEAS: Think Outside of the Box

A large number of Isle Royale visitors will come to the Island and follow the same 3-4 variations of the same 2-3 basic itineraries and see the same 4-6 locations.

Some people will come as hikers and see Rock Harbor, Three Mile, Daisy Farm, Lane Cove, and/or Moskey Basin. A few might add McCargoe Cove into the mix.  Other people will stay at the Rock Harbor Lodge (or the Rock Harbor housekeeping cottages) and do day hikes and short boat rides in the greater Rock Harbor area. 

There is nothing "wrong" with these itineraries. However, there is a whole lot more of Isle Royale to see!  I would invite you to "think outside the box" and experience more of what Isle Royale has to offer!

SOME INITIAL IDEAS
For starters, I would invite "hikers" and "paddlers"  to view Rock Harbor as being MORE  than just a place to arrive and/or depart--and more than just a place to grab a cooked meal and a beverage. At Rock Harbor, you can hike the Stoll Trail out to Scoville Point and back.  You can rent a canoe, a kayak, or a small motorized boat and explore the greater Rock Harbor area via water. (Learn more about the canoe, kayak, and boat rentals here.) There are also actual boat tours (on "The Sandy") to places like Lookout Louise, the Edisen Fishery, Rock Harbor Lighthouse, the summer headquarters of the Wolf and Moose Project, Raspberry Island, and/or Passage Island.  Learn more about the sightseeing tours here.  Here is a link to a pdf file "The Rock Harbor Area Guide".  Heck, you can maybe even start or end your hiking trip (or paddling trip) with a night or two at the Rock Harbor Lodge or the housekeeping cottages --if there is space available. Think outside of the box!

Far too often, people arrive at Rock Harbor and they immediately hit the trail (or the waterways).  What if, at the beginning of your trip, you intentionally planned on spending the first night (and maybe even part of the next day) at Rock Harbor--and explored all that Rock Harbor has to offer? At the end of your trip, what if you spent the next-to-last night at Three Mile Campground--got up early in the morning--and arrived at Rock Harbor very early in the day--and spent the full day (and your last night) enjoying the Rock Harbor area?  Think outside of the box!

For the guests of the Rock Harbor Lodge and/or the housekeeping cottages (who are physically able and have the equipment and skills), imagine if you planned your trip in such a way that you could spend a night or two (at the beginning or end of your trip) hiking and camping at some of the campgrounds --or paddling to a destination-- and camping overnight at a campground?  What if, instead of (or in addition to) staying at Rock Harbor, you spent a night or two at the more rustic Windigo camper cabins?  Change can sometimes be good! Think outside of the box!

One more point: Hikers should consider a paddling trip and paddlers should consider a hiking trip. Think outside of the box!

CREATIVE USE OF WATER TRANSPORTATION
Many hikers and paddlers will arrive at (and possibly also depart from) Rock Harbor and visit the same 4-6 campgrounds during their trips. Other people will choose to start at Windigo and follow some fairly predictable routes. Nothing says that a hike (or a paddling trip) HAS  to start (or end) at Rock Harbor or Windigo. There are other options.

WATER TAXIS:  Weather and space permitting, there are water taxis out of Rock Harbor that can take you to various other places to start your hiking or paddling trip.  YOU NEED TO RESERVE WATER TAXIS IN ADVANCE!  Visit the water taxi page  by clicking this link: (Water Taxi Link)

THE VOYAGER II is a boat from Grand Portage, MN. You need advance reservations and some dates fill up fast! The Voyager II travels from Grand Portage to Windigo. Then, it departs from Windigo and travels to Rock Harbor. Between Windigo and Rock Harbor it will also stop at McCargoe Cove and/or Belle Isle--if someone has advance reservations to be dropped off or picked up at one of those two places. The Voyager spends the night in Rock Harbor. The next morning, it leaves Rock Harbor for Windigo (and back to Grand Portage).  Again, if there are advance reservations for drop off or pick up, the Voyager II will stop at Daisy Farm, Chippewa Harbor, and/or Malone Bay.  Why not use the Voyager to start/end your hiking or paddling at someplace OTHER THAN Windigo or Rock Harbor?

The Voyager II will also drop off resupply packages at each of the stops that I have mentioned. 

The Voyager II website is here.  (Grand Portage Isle Royale Transportation Line)

BOTTOM LINE:  Your hiking or paddling trip doesn't have to start/end at just Rock Harbor or Windigo! Think outside of the box and explore using the water taxis or the Voyager II to start/end your trip at places OTHER THAN Windigo  and Rock Harbor.  (Note: It is always wise to have a "Plan B" --in case the weather keeps the water taxis and/or Voyager from traveling).

CREATIVE HIKING  AND PADDLING ITINERARIES
Many people stick to fairly common and pretty predictable routes. Think outside the box! Whether you are on the trails or on the water--consider mixing and matching the standard routes and creating a route of your own. (I will use some hiking examples).

GREENSTONE RIDGE ALTERNATIVES:
Many people will get on the Greenstone Ridge Trail (at either Rock Harbor or Windigo) and hike fairly directly to the other end of the island using primarily just the Greenstone Ridge Trail.  What if you took a longer and more INDIRECT route across the Island?

What if (between Windigo and the Island Mine Junction) --you you added a couple days and hiked the majority of the Feldtmann Loop instead of hiking directly between the Island Mine Junction and Windigo via the Greenstone Ridge Trail?

What if (instead of hiking a direct route on the Greenstone Ridge Trail (between Chickenbone Lake and Hatchet Lake) --you took a couple day "detour" that passed through McCargoe Cove and Todd Harbor (using the Minong Ridge Trail for part of that detour)? Both at Hatchet Lake and at Chickebone Lake there are trails that connect the Greenstone Ridge Trail and the Minong Ridge Trail.  Why not use them?

What if, you left the Greenstone Ridge Trail for a day or two and dropped down to stay at places like Malone Bay, Chippewa Harbor, Moskey Basin and/or Lake Richie?

NOTE: Between Lake Richie and Rock Harbor, you can hike that entire section relatively close to Lake Superior and entirely avoid the Greenstone Ridge Trail between Lake Chickenbone and Rock Harbor.

My absolute favorite route across the Island is a long one. Where I choose to stay each night varies--but the actual route goes like this: Windigo to Feldtmann Lake (with a sunset side hike to Rainbow Cove)--Feldtmann Lake to Siskiwit Bay to Island Mine--to South Lake Desor to Hatchet Lake to Todd Harbor to McCargoe Cove. Then, from McCargoe Cove to Rock Harbor, I hike either via Lane Cove or Moskey Basin or Daisy Farm and/or Three Mile. There are many possible route choices between Rock Harbor and McCargoe Cove.

The Bottom Line: If you choose to hike across the Island, there are many creative routes--which do not require you to confine yourself exclusively to the Greenstone Ridge Trail (or solely on the Minong Ridge Trail). Think outside of the box!

STAY ON ONE SIDE OF THE ISLAND:
You can also design creative "loops" that will keep your entire hike on either the Windigo half (or on the Rock Harbor half) of the Island. Some of the best Isle Royale hikes DO NOT involve crossing the Island.

On the Windigo end of the Island, I like hiking the Feldtmann Loop Trail. An added bonus to hiking the Fedltmann Loop is to also hike the Huginnin Loop as an overnight hike or as a day hike. 

On the Rock Harbor end of the Island, there are many great loops (especially if you want to hike one or two big mileage days). My biggest loop on that side of the Island takes me from Rock Harbor to Lane Cove to McCargoe Cove (passing through Mt. Franklin and Mt. Ojibway). Then McCargoe Cove to Todd Harbor to Hatchet Lake to West Chickenbone to Lake Richie to Chippewa Harbor to Moskey Basin to Daisy Farm to  Three Mile and back to Rock Harbor. A shorter variation of this route is to skip Todd Harbor, Hatchet Lake and Chippewa Harbor and go from McCargoe Cove (through West Chickenbone) to Moskey Basin and back to Rock Harbor via Moskey Basin, Daisy Farm, and Three Mile).

CONCLUSION:
Four big things to remember:
1.  There is much more to Isle Royale than is to be found in a 10 mile circle near Rock Harbor.

2. The Rock Harbor area DOES offer much to see and do. Hikers and paddlers should spend more time exploring all that the greater Rock Harbor area has to offer. Rock Harbor is more than just a place to spend a few hours at the beginning and end of your trip.

3. You don't have to begin (and end) your hiking or paddling ONLY at Rock Harbor or Windigo.  You can use water taxis and the Voyager II in very creative ways to increase your potential beginning and ending points.

3.  Whether on the trail --or on the waterways-- you have COUNTLESS OPTIONS beyond the 3-4 options that most people choose to use.

4. You can always reach out to me via Facebook private messaging or via email ([email protected]) to ask me for some FREE route advice. Remember, I am not an expert. I am just a guy who has been to Isle Royale quite a few times.

Think outside of the box!