FIVE THINGS: About Isle Royale

By Detroit Free Press

Apr. 3–Michigan’s Isle Royale was established as a national park on this day in 1940.

Stats

Isle Royale National Park totals 850 square miles, with more than half of the park being underwater. It is the largest Michigan wilderness area and was designated a Biosphere Reserve in 1981.

The park is one big island surrounded by about 400 smaller ones. Ryan Island is the largest island in the largest lake (Siskiwit Lake) on the largest island (Isle Royale) in the world’s largest freshwater lake (Lake Superior).

The northernmost point of Michigan is in the Gull Islands in Isle Royale park.

The Isle Royale greenstone is Michigan’s state gem.

Stuff to do

People go to Isle Royale to fish, camp, hike, canoe, kayak and sightsee. Scuba divers can explore some major shipwrecks. On land, there’s a historic commercial fishery, the Rock Harbor Lighthouse and an old copper mine.

Wildlife

Isle Royale is home to a whole lot of critters, including moose, wolves, loons, ducks, owls, frogs, toads, bats, red squirrels and red foxes. It has more than 50 species of fish. It has no raccoons, porcupines or bears.

If you go in late June or early July, pack lots of bug spray. That’s when the black flies and mosquitoes are out for blood.

You aren’t allowed to bring pets. Or cars or bikes.

Getting there

You have to get to Houghton or Copper Harbor, or Grand Portage, Minn., and take a ferry or a seaplane to the national park.

For more information, go to www.nps.gov/isro. Click on Plan Your Visit, then on Directions.

If you leave from Copper Harbor and aren’t prone to seasickness — the ferry crossing can be rough — indulge in a cinnamon roll from the Pines Restaurant at 174 Gratiot St. before departure.

Staying there

You have two options: camp or stay at the 60-room Rock Harbor Lodge. There also are 20 cottages. Go to www.isleroyaleresort.com for reservations. The lodge offers kayak and canoe rentals, fishing charters and boat rides.

For the more than 30 campgrounds in the park, permits are needed. The park takes reservations for groups of seven or more. Everyone else is first-come, first-served. You have to pack out whatever you pack in.

The busiest time at Isle Royale is late July and early August.

All visitors pay a $4-a-day fee.

—–

Copyright (c) 2007, Detroit Free Press

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.