Isle Royale
 

So we are going an a vacation with my extended family to South Haven, MI. It is the typical beach trip, and my husband and I are thinking about adding on a side(ish) trip to Isle Royale with our 2 kids (3 and 6 years old). We love hiking and backpacking and the remoteness of the island really excited us along with the possibility of seeing the Northern Lights (my son has been begging to see them for 2 years, but I know this isn't a guarantee there). My question is is Isle Royale worth the additional 9ish hour drive? I want to take my kids to as many national parks as possible before they are 18, but an extra 9 hours is quite the added distance. Is it as amazing as it looks?

When I was a kid (8-10 YO), I saw the Northern Lights from aunt's cabin on Torch Lake (Lower Peninsula)
I suspect anywhere above a line from Ludington to Bay City would see any Northern Lights to be seen, as long as it was distant from electric lights by more than 5 miles.
I was impressed by the huge trees at Hartwick Pines.
IMO, a 6 year old could be placed in a 10 acre woods, and he couldn't differentiate that from a state forest, or Isle Royale, or even Africa, or Brazil

It's not just the nine(ish) hour drive. Once you get to Houghton on the Keweenaw peninsula there's a 3.5 hour ferry ride to Isle Royale. And I think they only make one trip per day, in season. So Isle Royale is at least an overnight trip. There are a lot of campgrounds there but only one hotel, a Park Service Lodge, so book ahead.
Is it worth it? You decide. It's remote, beautiful, and has great hiking.
But if you just want a taste of the north country and a chance to see the northern lights, you could go anywhere between Frankfort and Mackinaw City and have a wonderful time. The Sleeping Bear Dunes area is outstanding.

There are currently 14 wolves on the island and plenty of moose but no black bears. There's been no documented case of wolves killing a human being in the Lower 48.