Canoe route suggestions/general questions

[FocoChristy]

We are a family of four, planning a trip to IR at the end of June and we plan to bring our canoe. Our kids are 13 and 15 and we are all experienced canoe campers. We will also be visiting Voyageurs NP and BWCA after IR.

We are hoping to take the Ranger III to Rock Harbor and stay on the island four nights. We are really into the National Parks but are wondering if the six hour ferry is worth the time or if it would be better to take one of the other ferries? We’re looking canoeing in the Five Fingers area and could use help planning the route. How bad is that Duncan Bay to Tobin Harbor portage? The book says challenging.

Also what kind of weather should we expect? We will be there June 29-July 3. Thank you!

[Midwest Ed]

Hello and welcome,

Your post implies one canoe for the 4 of you. Even if it was a smaller canoe with 2 people, that portage is not one I would aim to include for just a 4 day trip. With a bit more information about yourselves, others would probably have more firm advice on the portage.

If you could shift your schedule forward one day, you could depart Grand Portage, MN on the Voyageur on Monday and then be dropped off at Belle Isle the same afternoon. It could then pick you up on Wednesday afternoon (about 1:30pm CT). You would then spend Wednesday night at Rock Harbor and return to Grand Portage on Thursday morning. Wednesday afternoon could be either a very nice hike on the Scoville Point Trail or canoeing Tobin Harbor to Hidden Lake with a shorter hike to Lookout Louise (or just explore Tobin Harbor).

Otherwise I would spend the days in and around the Rock Harbor Channel and Tobin Harbor. You could do both of the above ventures plus Rock Harbor Channel offers a few other campgrounds and sites to see such as the Rock Harbor Lighthouse and Edisen Fishery.

I’d go for just 4 days but I’m sure there’s not room in the canoe for a fifth.

[Ingo]

I would also highly recommend taking the Voyageur II out of Grand Portage and start at Belle Isle. In fact, we did that exact thing many years ago when our 2 girls were that age. We spent 2 nights on Belle Isle, doing some day paddling, a night at Duncan Bay, and the last night in Rock Harbor. Although the area is mostly protected waters, you do have to pay attention to wind and weather: Belle Harbor can get rough in a NE wind, as well as Five Fingers as you come out of Stockley Bay. The daily distances are fairly short, but there's plenty of areas to take your time and explore.

The Duncan/Tobin portage is 180' up and down over .8 miles (250ish rods, if I recall). The Duncan Bay side is particularly steep with a couple switch backs near the top. I had previous experience with it, so told the kids (and my wife) how miserable it would be (i.e. worst experience of their life) and let them decide if they were up to the challenge. It worked! and at the end (3+ hrs I think) they said "it wasn't THAT bad" (I portaged both canoes, ugh). I will make 2 trips to get canoe(s) and all gear up to the top on the ridge, then take a nice rest, or lunch if it's time, and then head down. Yeah, not fun, but I find it's a matter of attitude and taking your time (slow and steady). But I wouldn't recommend doing it twice on the same trip, especially for a first trip (even though decades ago I would do it both ways on back-to-back days with a 80+ lb canoe).

All the campgrounds in the area are great. If you want a little longer trip you could paddle down to Pickerel Cove the first night. It's small but a beautiful little spot. Belle Isle is my favorite, though, and almost always seem to be treated to spectacular sunrises. Lane Cove is a favorite of backpackers, although I haven't camped there, I have been through to day hike up to Mt Franklin while camped at Belle Isle. If weather is a concern for Day 2, you could easily head there off the boat and be rather protected from the big lake. Duncan Narrows and Duncan Bay CGs are both very nice as well--I like the Narrows, but you're more likely to share with fisherman in boats. Duncan Bay is a no wake zone, so you're less likely to have company at the campground at the end. And it's a neat paddle up the creek at the end--you can go a lot farther than I expected. When back in Rock Harbor, be sure to leave time for the 4 mile round-trip hike out to Scoville Pt.

Weatherwise, expect lows in the 40s and be prepare for the 30s. On the lake, highs are unlikely in the 70s, although once you get off the lake it can warm up quickly. Watch out for fog, as it can move in quickly--on that same trip we lost each other in the fog at one point and had to navigate by compass to cross Belle Harbor. A VHF radio is a good idea, or at least a good weather radio.

Hope that helps, and have a great trip!

[Bobcat1]

On the “big portage” if you choose to do it, get everything to the top, then take a hike on the Greenstone Ridge to get a taste of that and some views of the region you have been paddling.

[backwoods doc]

Another option to consider is canoeing the inland lakes of IR. On a typical day, we have seen more moose (and other wildlife) than people, and the fishing is great. The BWCA is absolutely packed with people by comparison.

Here's a suggested itinerary for an easy 4-5 day trip:

Day 1: Voyageur II from Grand Portage to Rock Harbor. Scoville Point trail in the late afternoon.
Day 2: Voyageur II from Rock Harbor to Malone Bay. 0.3 mile portage to Siskiwit Lake. Paddle to Wood Lake and camp 2 nights.
Day 3: Day trips to Lake Whittlesley or Intermediate Lake (or just hang out at your site and watch the moose, otters and loons, and do some fishing).
Day 4: Paddle back to Malone Bay (get an early start - the wind out of the SW tends to pick up by mid- to late morning)
Day 5: Voyageur II from Malone Bay to Grand Portage

All in all, just one, flat portage and a short paddle to a beautiful isolated lake. Be sure you have nice, light Kevlar canoes.

After a hiatus of many years, we went back to BWCA due to COVID last summer, and I doubt we'll ever do that again. I can suggest longer canoe routes on IR if you decide to skip the BWCA altogether, or you could do a combination backpacking/canoeing trip (say, stop off at Windigo on the way back and hike out to Huginnin Cove).

[kolo]

Belle Isle is my favorite, though, and almost always seem to be treated to spectacular sunrises.

Ingo always has good information to share and I have surely benefited from his experience/advice in my past trips to Isle Royale! You cannot go wrong in using his advice! I am adding a picture taken on one of my trips to support his statement on the sunrise from Belle Isle. I believe it is arguably the best place on Isle Royale to see the sunrise.

[Midwest Ed]

Another option to consider is canoeing the inland lakes of IR. On a typical day, we have seen more moose (and other wildlife) than people, and the fishing is great. The BWCA is absolutely packed with people by comparison.

Here's a suggested itinerary for an easy 4-5 day trip:

Day 1: Voyageur II from Grand Portage to Rock Harbor. Scoville Point trail in the late afternoon.
Day 2: Voyageur II from Rock Harbor to Malone Bay. 0.3 mile portage to Siskiwit Lake. Paddle to Wood Lake and camp 2 nights.
Day 3: Day trips to Lake Whittlesley or Intermediate Lake (or just hang out at your site and watch the moose, otters and loons, and do some fishing).
Day 4: Paddle back to Malone Bay (get an early start - the wind out of the SW tends to pick up by mid- to late morning)
Day 5: Voyageur II from Malone Bay to Grand Portage

I was going to make a similar suggestion but the initial focus was on Five Fingers. A variation of backwoods' suggestion would be to proceed through Lake Whittlesley to end at Chippewa Harbor (which is another favorite) for a Voyageur Ferry pickup there. Actually all the stops along the route are great. I especially like Wood Lake Camp Ground.

Belle Isle is also a favorite. Here's a couple of photos from Belle Isle:

[Ingo]

I pulled out some old photos of the portage and posted them in "Pictures".

[kolo]

I pulled out some old photos of the portage and posted them in "Pictures".

Ingo, looking at your pictures explains why it was as bad as I remember! I traveled from Duncan Bay to Tobin Harbor and had a difficult time finding the portage to begin with. I didn't stop at the top and continued down to Tobin Harbor with my canoe in one trip. I then went back for my portage pack.

[FocoChristy]

Thank you everyone! Your comments are all super helpful!! Yes, we are hoping to get by with one canoe, we have an Old Town Discovery 16’9”. We tend to pack pretty light, so it should be doable, but will practice in the weeks before the trip.

So we if we start at Belle Island, where do we get our camping permit? Does the ferry stop at Windigo long enough to get it? Also, the f we are leaving from Grand Portage instead of Houghton, we could potentially push the Isle Royale closer to the end of our trip, to the week of July 19. Is this something we should consider for weather and bugs?

[IncaRoads]

...where do we get our camping permit? Does the ferry stop at Windigo long enough to get it?

Yes. After a brief Leave No Trace talk upon arrival in Windigo, one can obtain a permit if being dropped off at McCargoe Cove or Belle Isle. Campers bound for Rock Harbor get theirs when they reach their destination.

...[if] we are leaving from Grand Portage instead of Houghton, we could potentially push the Isle Royale closer to the end of our trip, to the week of July 19. Is this something we should consider for weather and bugs?

Expect black flies and mosquitoes to peak in June or July. I recommend bringing headnets in addition to bug repellant.

[backwoods doc]

Please get a second canoe. The last thing you want to do is be in an overloaded, open boat in Lake Superior (where 1-3 foot waves are common). It's just not safe. Imagine for a moment what it would be like to swamp that canoe 50-100 yards off shore. How much of your gear could you get to land? You could easily be on your own for many hours -- perhaps even until the next day -- before you could flag down a boat. Are you aware that there is no cell phone service on the island?

You can rent a second canoe at Bear Track Outfitters in Grand Marais, take it out on the ferry to IR, and also use it in the BWCA (particularly if you paddle out from the Gunflint Trail).

And please consider a more sheltered paddling route for your family.

[Ingo]

... we could potentially push the Isle Royale closer to the end of our trip, to the week of July 19. Is this something we should consider for weather and bugs?

I like going the end of July. Bugs are not too bad, better than the end of June in my experience.

we are hoping to get by with one canoe, we have an Old Town Discovery 16’9”.

Four people and gear would be dangerous in my opinion, too. The water is very cold, and even if close to shore, there are few places to get easily on to shore in an emergency--lots of steep rocky shores with overhanging trees. I've rented a couple of times from Bear Track in Grand Marais and also recommend--they have light kevlar canoes which are wonderful to portage. The Voyageur II also has aluminum canoes to rent, although that leaves you portaging 2 rather heavy canoes on one tough portage.