Why Isle Royale
Located in the northwestern waters of Lake Superior in Michigan, Isle Royale is the largest natural island in the lake and forms part of Keweenaw County. Stretching 45 miles long and 9 miles wide with an area of 206.73 square miles, this island is surrounded by 450 smaller islands and open waters that together form Isle Royale National Park. Shaped largely by southwest-to-northeast bedrock ridges—including the prominent Greenstone Ridge—the island reaches its highest elevation at Mount Desor, which rises to 1,394 feet. Thin topsoil supports evergreen trees such as balsam fir, black spruce, and white spruce, alongside several interior lakes, including Siskiwit Lake, the island's largest body of inland water.
Historically known to Ojibwe native groups as Minong, the island was traditionally utilized for seasonal summer hunting and fishing. Ancient copper mining sites with trenches up to 70 feet deep yield timber artifacts thousands of years old. Following nineteenth-century treaties and geological surveys, brief copper mining and logging operations altered the landscape, though remoteness and small mineral deposits led early commercial ventures to fail quickly. Established as a national park in 1940, logging ceased, allowing forests to regenerate. Today, Isle Royale has no permanent population, though a small number of families retain lifetime cabin leases established before the park was created.
Isle Royale is characterized primarily by boreal forest, exposed bedrock balds on upper ridges, and marshes created by beaver activity. Its environment is heavily influenced by the cold waters of surrounding Lake Superior. The island is world-renowned among scientists for a long-term study on predator-prey relationships between wolves and moose, which began in 1958. Other wildlife inhabiting the island includes red foxes, snowshoe hares, beavers, red squirrels, mink, muskrats, bats, and various species of reptiles and amphibians.
As the least visited national park in the contiguous United States, Isle Royale offers opportunities for hiking, backpacking, fishing, boating, canoeing, kayaking, and scuba diving among historic shipwrecks such as the SS America. Wheeled vehicles and transport devices are prohibited on the island, though wheelchairs are allowed. Outdoor enthusiasts can explore roughly 170 miles of trails, including the popular 40-mile Greenstone Ridge Trail that travels along the island's elevated interior.
Visitors enter the park primarily through two main developed areas: Rock Harbor on the east end, which features a resort, marina, paid showers, and supplies, and Windigo on the west end, which provides basic provisions and paid showers. Campgrounds across the island generally feature pit toilets, individual tent sites with picnic tables, and screened shelters, with coastal camps offering docks for boaters and paddlers. Because there are no drinking wells, all gathered water must be thoroughly boiled or filtered.
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