Isle Royale National Park a Hiker's Paradise

I few years ago I traveled to an island called Isle Royale in Lake Superior.  Not many people are aware of this island in the middle of Lake Superior.  However, I found this experience to be the very best hiking experience of my life.  Isle Royale is located approximately 40 miles north of the Keweenaw Peninsula in Northern Michigan and is also one of the least visited National Parks.  In fact, more people visit Yellowstone National Park in one day than people who visit Isle Royale in an entire year.

Isle Royale is an island that is approximately 40 miles long and 9 miles wide at its widest point.  With over 20 Inland lakes, it's a fisherman's dream, especially when so few people visit the island.   Because the island is a National Park there is no need to have a fishing license at any of the inland lakes either.  One tidbit of information I thought was interesting is that Isle Royale has the largest island on the largest lake on an island, on the largest island on the largest inland lake being Lake Superior.  I know that's confusing to read, write, and say.  It is fun to think about though.

You can take a ferry from either Michigan or Minnesota.  I left from Copper Harbor, Michigan and made the 4 hour boat ride across to the island.  I went there in the middle of June just before the "rush" season in July & August.  I was fortunate to have great weather the entire time I was there.  The trails were in great shape and were varying degrees of difficulty.  Backpacker Magazine at one time had Isle Royale listed as the #2 best places to hike in the country.  I'm not sure of its ranking today though.  See if you can find out.

I packed a collapsible fishing pole, because I knew I'd be stopping by at least 5 or 6 lakes on my journey.  At one of the lakes, I caught some nice sized Northern Pike that I shared with some other hikers I met on the trail.  Along my journey I encountered all kinds of wildlife from beautiful birds to moose.  One Bull Moose, I encountered, walked right across my path about 10 feet in front of me.  I was scared and excited at the same time.  He allowed me to snap some pictures of him and didn't seem to mind a bit.  It was also fun to hear the wolves cry at night.

The views from the Greenstone trail were absolutely amazing.  You can see what looks like cliffs to the north in Canada on the clearest days.  I highly recommend Isle Royale to anyone who likes getting out into the wilderness.  It has to be one of the most private places east of the Mississippi.  There were days that I never encountered another human being.  It was just me and Mother Nature.