Isle Royale National Park

“Who would have thought the least visited National Park would have an overcrowding problem?



ISLE ROYALE FACES OVERCROWDING: Isle Royale National Park
officials are considering ways to reduce overcrowding at
the remote Lake Superior island. Rangers report that
campsites are filling up, particularly in July and early
August. Park officials are beginning to analyze the
environmental impact of several proposals designed to
address overcrowding. Some administrative suggestions are
to reduce park visitors or stretch out campgrounds across
the seasonal island.”

“There are 16,000 visitors to the island. I'll bet 3 or 4 thousand of those are daytrippers from Minnesota. That makes 12,000 or so people on the island overnight. If 75% of them are there in the three summer months, that makes about 800 or 900 on the island on a given summer weekend. That is a lot, but not really that much.

BTW, have they banned boats near the island? Just curious.

Isle Royale - holy grail of Michigan hiking.”

“RL,

No boats aren't banned. What they have done is limited the speed/wake in certain areas. Fisherpersons don't like it because it takes so long to get to certain fishing spots.

I've read several Isle Royale trip reports where camp grounds have filled up early. There is a concern during peak times.”

“I have been in June 3x and August 1x. There werent tons of people but there were tons of bugs! In August however there were people EVERYWHERE! At one site (moskey basin) every shelter,individual and group site was packed. We ended up with some 10 or so tents in a site made for 4. We adjusted our routine by gettin goin by 8am and arriving at the destination by 1-2pm. This helped us to choose a better site, though we still shared when necessary. 800 people doesnt sound like much on a island with 170+ miles of trail but when 60 or so people arrive at Rock Harbor on the IR Queen and maybe that many more on the Ranger within a few hours, the trail to 3 mile and Daisy farm can get busy. Its a shame too cause they need the entry fee $$$ but NOT all the crowds over such short lengths of time.”

“If the island is getting too much use, way don't they cut back on permits? I'd hate to see that, but I'd hate to loose it all together. I'm planning a trip there for sometime next year. On the Jordan trip, talking with you and Sas got me thinking about next years trips and where I'd like to go. I'd like to get up to 'Royal and I'd like to hit Grand Island as well.”

“The funny thing is that even on that really crowded trip we would only see a few people on the trail.

I think that the boaters can no longer camp on the island, docking at each site on Superior. That takes care of much of the congestion at the lake side camps.

I doubt they'll allow camping anywhere, like on N Manitou, ever. The soil's too shallow in most spots to dig a proper cathole!”

“Very cool info thank you.

8)”

“I read it. So how does the tick kill the moose? All it said was they fall off. Is this a Lyme issue? Lack of Blood to produce calves issue? They need to explain that better.”

“man, those are some low moose numbers, compared to the 3500 there were less than ten years ago. Probably a much healthier herd though”

“How many here have been to Isle Royale? I am planning a trip and wonder when the bugs start to get bad. Also--west end or east?”

“dcumba99p, it depends on the temperature. But usually early June come the black flies. Then by late June come the mosquito's.”

“But the bright side is, you're less likely to be trampled by a moose now.”

“We were thinking of the latter part of May. We want to get up there before the moose are extinct...”

“Late may will be buggy,hopefully not to bad. Them black flies are h@ll.”

“Those moose aren't gonna go extinct.

East end of the island is more heavily traveled, however, there really won't be too many people there that early in the year.

I'd check out Jim DuFresne's book, it's got everything you need to know about the island and trails. If you have specific questions post them. Lot's of us have been, and we'll answer as best as we can.”

“If you have the time hike the length of the Island. Assuming the plane is flying this year you could fly to one end of the island and hike the length and fly out from the other end. You can do that by boat, too. (Well, you can't "fly" on the boat.) There's a boat that circumnavigates the island a couple times during the week.”

“Unfortunatey seaplane opperations have been halted.

But, you can take the Voyaguer II ferry from one end of the island to the other.”

“I know they were halted last year, but thought that they found a contractor for 2003. Has that changed?”

“Hm, maybe, I haven't heard that though and the website doesn't say so, I don't think.

I think I'll double check...”

“Let's see...here's the link to the website: Isle Royale”

“Stumprider, the website says services will resume summer of 2003, but no information about reservations or weight restrictions at all. It's all under the "In Depth" section.

I know with the last provider you couldn't take more than 35 #s of gear.”

“It was about 2, maybe 3 years ago when I flew to the Island, they were not very restrictive with the 35# weight limit. People could take more, but were charged for additional weight.”

“Thanks all. Off to the REI garage sale to gear up for the trip...”

“I think the park opens in early May. I'd recommend going in May(BBF), before the black flies, or Sep/Oct.(AM), kind of after the mosquitos. Aug. wouldn't be bad, either.

But like I said, it depends on how quickly it warms up up their this spring.”

“Isle Royale National Park is open from mid-April to 31 Oct. Full transportation services are available from mid-June through Labor Day. The park is closed 01 Nov to 15 Apr. Visitation is highest in late July through the third week of August and lowest in April to May and October.”

“FIRST STEP IN RANGER MOVE? The Houghton city council has
voted to apply for a $28,000 grant to develop land-use
plans for the Isle Royale National Park headquarters on the
Houghton waterfront and part of the Houghton County Road
Commission site on the Hancock side. The park service is
looking at moving operations across the lake to the old
Quincy Mining smelter to provide more space and, perhaps, a
joint welcome center with the Keweenaw National Historical
Park.”

“ICE COULD DELAY DOCK OPENINGS: Isle Royale National park
dock openings could be delayed by ice. February's prolonged
cold snap led to more ice than normal on Lake Superior and
the area has not seen much of a warming trend so far this
spring. For Isle Royale info: http://www.nps.gov/isro/”

“Have you heard anything about the plane? Will they be flying this year? I've searched, but only found last year info.”

“De plane! De plane!”

“no, stump, i haven't heard anything. try giving the HQ in Houghton a call.”

“I want to go back to the island it is such a great place to go backpacking.

8)”

“can you say mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmoose?”

“I was wondering what might happen with the Quincy site on the Hancock side of the canal. It would be nice to see that frontage cleaned up, but I can imagine Houghton doesn't want to give up anything to the competition across the way.

My wife was in Hancock Sunday to hear and meet the President of Finland at the Finlandia University commencement. She said the Portage Canal was still iced.”

“I check Pasty.com every day, and there have been lots of posts about how much ice is still on the water. It was a cold, cold winter.

Have you ever taken the tour of the mine, Pekka? Well worth it. I did the official tour with my parents at graduation time, but I was also on an unofficial tour from one of the mining students (boyfriend of a friend). He actually had a key to one of the mine shafts and walked us around some of the places you don't get to go on the official tour. Cool stuff!”

“pasty.com? is that for strippers?”

“go check it out! you will definitly see some interesting things!”

“Never had the opportunity for a Quincy Mine visit, smiley.

2scoops, it isn't the long "A" pasty.”

“Anyone use a hammock on Isle Royale? I'm goint next month and wonder if there are adequate sites for a hennessy.

That'd mean I would need to buy one, but I've had that itch for a while.”

“It's been a few years since I've been there but as I recall many of the sites have been cleared, so hanging a hammock would be a problem unless you have a couple of sky hooks, IMHO.”

“dcumba99p, I'm not a hammock person so I'm not sure what are "normal" circumstances. On the island, there is a large variety of trees. Some areas would accomodate a hammock while other areas are too overgrown with fir trees. If you take a hammock, it might be worth your time to hang out after registration to speak with a ranger for some "insider" scoop.

There are some folks here who have done a great deal of hiking on the island who could give you a better idea.

Enjoy your visit! I can't wait to go back again!”

“i did the island mine loop last year. sure the sites are cleard, but a hammock can be hung just inside the trees. thats the beauty of a hennessy, youve got shelter anywhere there are trees.”

“Thanks for the info. I just got a hennessy expedition.

And yes, I will enjoy the visit! I've been planning this one for a couple years and can't wait to get there.”

“Hey Sunshine, tell dcumba99p about the windstorm we had on the island, and all the trees falling over!!! Ths soil is so thin, the tree roots have nothing to get a hold of.
At 3-mile, I saw 4 or 5 trees with their roots interlaced that had all fallen over as one!”

“That's not what I want to hear...”

“Average soil depth of I.R. is about 7" as per a Park Ranger a ways back.”

“Oh YEAH! I forgot! I was wondering what direction that huge tree would fall because it was so close to the shelter. Man, those big trees GROAN in the wind. How quickly this old mind forgets. I do remember how windy it was up on top the tower of Mt. Ojibwa. I remember the moose, merganzers, horseshoe hair, eagle and other wild life. I remember the first Spring Flowers and the first mosquitos! There were only a few of the blood suckers and it was still cold enough that they didn't move very fast. Oh, and I would never forget the switchbacks coming out of Lane Cove! *huff, puff*
:o)”

“What time of year did you go? I will be on the boat from Copper Harbor on 5/26.

Have you guys seen the Copper Harbor web cam? It has been pretty cool to watch the ice and snow melt on the lake. A couple weeks ago, the ice started cracking--really cool.

http://www.copperharbor.org/copper_harbor_live_cam.htm”

“One of my co-workers is on her way to Michigan Tech....she's gonna pick up a Nalgene bottle from the local outfitter up there with the UP on it! That's gonna rock!”