We left Door County August 8th, Wisconsin and headed up to Houghton, Michigan (back in the Upper Peninsula) and were allowed to boondock at a Wal-Mart parking lot for the night. Originally, we were supposed to go to Isle Royale National Park and Keweenaw National Historic Park in Calumet (20 minutes away) before going to Door County, but we had to back track back to Indiana so we had to make an adjustment. Before heading on to the Apostle Islands the next morning on August 9th, I spent a few hours visiting the Isle Royale NP Visitor Center in Houghton and then went to Keweenaw in Calumet. I planned on boating over to Isle Royale but from Houghton, it's a VERY long boat ride so I thought I'd do that ride when we were staying in Grand Marais, Minnesota because it's much closer than Houghton across Lake Superior. But, I did go to the visitor center here to stamp my book and talked with a great older park ranger who gave me lots of information on Isle Royale.
Isle Royale is open only seasonally from April through October. The only way to access it is via boat from either Copper Harbor or Houghton, Michigan OR Grand Portage, Minnesota or by seaplane from Houghton. Pets are not allowed on the island so that island preservation can remain in tact. Also, no bicycles are allowed, either. Wheelchairs are OK. You can get an overnight park permit but you have to pack in and out all your stuff. The island is very remote and rustic and they want to keep it that way. There are two visitor centers on the island - the Windigo VC from Grand Portage side and the Rock Harbor Visitor Center from Copper Harbor or Houghton side. Isle Royale is an archipelago of 400 islands and over 75% of Isle Royale's 850 square miles is underwater! The main island is 4.5 miles long with multiple hiking rails and 4 lighthouses - 3 in the water and 1 on land!
I couldn't wait to get to walk around the Island when we go to Grand Marais!! The park ranger really had me psyched up to go and visit!
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