Isle Royale National Park Trip

Isle Royale National Park is the largest island in Lake Superior, located in the northern part of the United States, within the state of Michigan. It is known for its remote and rugged wilderness, with no roads and limited access, making it a designated national park. The island features diverse flora and fauna, including moose and wolves, and offers hiking, camping, and scenic beauty in a pristine natural setting. Isle Royale is famous for its predator-prey research involving moose and wolves and is a unique destination for those seeking a wilderness experience in the great lakes region.

Gear We used

Start of Our Trip

During July 2023 the Wild Wanders hopped out of a seaplane on the west end of Isle Royale in hopes of finding what we had been seeking for months true freedom in a place that is untouched by humans and is a deemed 99.9% wilderness. What would we find in the wilds of isle Royale National Park?

There are many ways to traverse the archipelago of Isle Royale and its wilderness. Planning a backpacking trip to isle royale can be an exciting and scary idea at first glance. There are many things to consider. Thoughts start to float through your brain like where to camp, what to eat, what do I pack etc.

Full Park Details

Backpacks we Used

Water Purification

We started planning our trip for isle royale four months in advance. First things first we needed to figure out how to get there. The four of us drove up from Chicago and stay at a hotel in Houghton Michigan the night before we would embark. After making it to Houghton we looked into how to get onto the island.

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Sea Plane or Ferry

You can get there by seaplane or ferry; we opted for the shorter option, a seaplane ride, and booked our travel to the island with Isle Royale Seaplanes. Everyone at this company was amazing and helpful with our booking. On the day of our flight immense fog rolled in from the west and we were unable to take off till the following day. Unfortunately, this ended up setting us back a day and forced us to rush through our days on isle royale. If you do book a flight instead of the boat just know that your pack may only weigh 45lbs. Once FINALLY situated on the plane we began our trek in the air towards the island excitement filled in.

Isle Royale Seaplanes

Favorite Gear

Hiking Gear

Camping Tents

Cooking Gear

The flight over Lake Superior was a quiet and tranquil one filled with self-reflection. This is largely due to the headphones we were required to wear which makes it hard for you to hear much else besides your own thoughts and the captains’ words of wisdom. It gave us space and time to look and think about the island as it comes into sight on the horizon… and to worry you misjudged what you can complete in a few short days.

When we all looked through the small plane windows and saw the island for first time we grinned from ear to ear. Finally, months of planning had paid off. Would we encounter the famed wolves, moose, adventure, and solitude we were after.

“For most this expedition is a long-sought after adventure to fill the spirit with adventure and solitude and by God we were here to see it for ourselves.” – Wild Wanders

65L Internal Frame Backpack

Windigo visitors center info

Water Filtration Products

WINDIGO

After the plane landed in Windigo we made our way to the ranger station, filled out our permits for the park, and made our final food and water updates before hitting the 43-mile greenstone ridge trail. The four of us entered the forest from Windigo on the greenstone ridge trail and would ride it all the way to rock harbor.

On our first day we had planned to hike from Windigo to lake Desor, but we quickly found out the trail was much harder than anticipated. With no prior backpacking experience this would be trial by fire. We rapidly changed our plans as the day went on and we made it to island mine campground deep in the middle of the woods. There was only a small stream to refill our water with. Water filtration is a MUST, and we would highly recommend water purification tablets and gravity filtration

The next morning, we left island mine and set out for Lake Desor, our halfway point, with the goal of making it to hatchet lake. Weaving through the western forests of the island truly showed how wild wandering the island can be. At times it proved hard to see the trail due to how overgrown the forests are, it was helpful to have downloaded maps and a Garmin device. I highly recommend having a Garmin Rescue assistance device in case of emergency. Different devices we used are available on our shop, our gear section.

Minds can start to wander as you hike a long backpacking journey. The miles started to blend as we put one foot in front of the other and stared at the ground trying to make sure we did’t trip. It became almost a meditative trance or a flow state. As we hiked in this state, we started to zone out things around you; the strange sounds we heard in the woods brought us back to the focused state and allowed us to remember where we currently were. Were the sounds of moose, wolf, or a loon- we didn’t know, any were possible. We eventually came to find nine out of ten times it was a squirrel trying to steal food from you or a bird watching you from a far.

Lake Desor

We arrived at lake Desor and fill our waters and take a well needed break and watch tide shift across the lake. The four of us sat on a log and felt that we were the only ones on this island. We had seen one person in the last day and half and all of us fully realized we were on our own going forward.

Confidently we trusted each other and grabbed our gear and continued towards hatchet lake. We tried to keep the morale high. With our short time period and delayed start we were pushing ourselves to make it to the other side of the island quickly. We did not want to miss our plane off the island. Due to this we are starting our hikes at 7-8 in the morning and hiking till 8pm. I do not recommend this without sufficient food, water and proper training.

Travel Dry Camp Food

Hatchet Lake

We made it to the crossroads for hatchet lake and the greenstone ridge trail, turned left and headed straight downhill to hatchet lake campground. We underestimated the changes in elevation when looking at the maps online. It was hard to comprehend just how steep the elevation would be down to the lakes. The greenstone ridge trail rides the ridges of island for the most part, but all the campgrounds are at the bottom by the lakes.

Solo Air Mattress

We set up camp by hatchet lake and took in the sounds of loons singing their very loud calls across the lake. We refilled our waters and ate dinner and attempted to get some rest. At this point in the trip my air mattress popped in the middle of the night and required me to sleep in my hammock the duration of the trip. After a very restless night we all awoke and continued on towards chicken bone lake.

Bone Lake

This portion of the trek required us to ride the high ridges which became hot and unshaded from the sun. Because we were in the sun in the summer months, lots of water was required for this portion. Before reaching the ridges though we were treated to exquisite birch tree forests that are untamed and magical in their own sense. They swayed and danced in the wind and all we could feel is how lucky we were to witness such an untouched land that moves and grows freely. If there’s one thing, I miss about the island is standing in these forests there’s no place like it. By the time we reached west chicken bone lake we started to find more people appearing out of the woods. It would seem the east side of the island rock harbor receives more people landing ashore.

Full Park Details

Backpacks we Used

Water Purification

Campsites at this point filled up fast and were first come first serve; we were nervous we wouldn’t find somewhere to put down four tents. We reached east chicken bone; it had been a long afternoon; we were all exhausted and all of the sites were filled. Luckily an amazing woman who was out traveling by herself lent some of her space to us and allowed us to camp near her. Later, as the night approached a disoriented man approached out of the woods. He was in dire need of food and water and was over exerted. I won’t go into details, but his group abandoned him, and he was lost on the island dehydrated and confused. My words to anyone reading this is to never leave anyone behind ever even if it means you might not reach your end destination and your plans must change. In blatant terms this man chose bad people to do this sort of trip with and they did not have his safety in mind.

The next morning, we grabbed our gear and set out for daisy farm, which would be another long day for us. If we made it to daisy farm instead of staying on the greenstone ridge trail, we could ride the coast the rest of the way to rock harbor. We were running out of time before the plane would come get us and we needed to speed up our time. The beginning of this day was strenuous reaching on the taller ridges on the island. From the tops there were amazing views of sleeping giant provincial park in Canada and the surroundings lakes on the island. After reaching the top the downhill trek towards the coast began and let me tell you it was a relief. Reaching the coast and feeling the cold water after another 6 miles was a blessing. We arrived at daisy farm and hung out for a bit; at this point there were people everywhere
and we got to meet and greet some new friends before continuing on our way.

View Camping Gear

We now had the home stretch in our minds; the rushing and time frame has forced us to speed run this island. From daisy farm we had six more miles to go. Morale was high. We started our hike heading into the forest leaving daisy farm and we zigzagged along the coast for hours. The coast was beautiful; a much different type of hiking than we were doing days earlier. There were flooded areas due to beavers, forcing us to hike on 2×6 pieces of wood. After breaking out of the forests on the coast we were forced to walk on steep coastline. The coastline was hot and unprotected by shade. This part would have been strenuous even in our best form.

Four hours later we arrived at rock harbor and all of us were beat and exhausted. Before we could celebrate, we had to find a campsite which proved to be more difficult than we anticipated. Luckily a camper was leaving, and we threw down our stuff. We ran to store and restaurant to enjoy a cold one and celebrate surviving the wilderness. All in this expedition proved to be exhausting enthralling and exciting. I still dream about it to this day and ignore all the painful hiking days, the blisters, the cramps. There is something truly special about these places that must be experienced but don’t just read how our trip went plan one your own and experience what it means to be free in the wilderness!