Isle Royale National Park
Isle Royale National Park
This rugged fin of volcanic rock is the largest island in the largest freshwater lake on Earth. Accessible only by boat or seaplane, it is the least-visited national park in the Lower 48 states.
The isolation—15 miles from the shore of Ontario, 20 miles from Minnesota, and 53 miles from Michigan, of which it is officially a part—makes for a largely untouched Northwoods wilderness that's off the grid in more ways than one. Isle Royale's remoteness and lack of roads also make it an ideal backpacking destination, as many visitors start at one end and take three or four days to traverse the entire island. The park encompasses the main island, more than 450 smaller islands, and 850 square miles of surrounding waters. It's a premier boating destination that attracts a surprising number...
Read MoreThis rugged fin of volcanic rock is the largest island in the largest freshwater lake on Earth. Accessible only by boat or seaplane, it is the least-visited national park in the Lower 48 states.
The isolation—15 miles from the shore of Ontario, 20 miles from Minnesota, and 53 miles from Michigan, of which it is officially a part—makes for a largely untouched Northwoods wilderness that's off the grid in more ways than one. Isle Royale's remoteness and lack of roads also make it an ideal backpacking destination, as many visitors start at one end and take three or four days to traverse the entire island. The park encompasses the main island, more than 450 smaller islands, and 850 square miles of surrounding waters. It's a premier boating destination that attracts a surprising number of divers to explore the shipwrecks below, 10 of which are on the National Register of Historic Places (SS Algoma, SS America, SS Henry Chisholm, SS Chester A. Congdon, SS George M. Cox, SS Cumberland, SS Emperor, SS Glenlyon, SS Kamloops, and SS Monarch).
Composed nearly entirely of volcanic basalt, the island is the result of what may have been the largest lava flow in the history of the planet a billion years ago, give or take, shaped by receding glaciers in more recent times. (The island was topped with 2 miles of ice 11,000 years ago.) Copper and other minerals are in smaller supply on the island's surface. A rugged shoreline gives way to undulating and verdant hills and ridges, nestling numerous fjords, lakes, and wetlands.
The park was officially established in 1940 by an act of Congress. After a short-lived copper-mining boom in the mid-1800s, Isle Royale became a hub for the commercial fishing industry and then emerged as a tourist destination in the early 20th century with the construction of numerous lakeside resorts. However, the Great Depression all but ended this era, paving the way for its conservation as a national park.
While there are notably fewer animal species living on the island than on nearby shores, Isle Royale's varied landscapes make prime habitats for wolves and moose. These twin populations have ebbed and flowed for a century with a singular predator-prey dynamic. There was a high of about 50 wolves living in the park in the early 1980s, but the lupine population dwindled to two by 2018. The populations continue to be in flux as the National Park Service moves wolves onto the island from other locations. A 2024 Michigan Technological survey found 30 wolves (including new litters born on the island) and 840 moose, a decrease that may be due to the increased wolf presence.
