staking out at Belle Isle

Questions about trails and campsites on the island.

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hermsker
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staking out at Belle Isle

Post by hermsker »

So the lady and I have been to the island for 3 years straight. We usually do about 10 miles a day and move everyday. However, the lady tore her ACL skiing, so she cant really hike the distances this year. We rented a boat and spent 2 nights at Caribou a few years back and loved it. Complete solitude, had the whole place to ourselves. Anyway, this year we were considering being dropped off at belle isle and staking out there for 4 nights. It has a 5 night consecutive maximum so that wont be an issue. My question is, how is the terrain in this area. At caribou, we could walk around and explore all day which was nice. Is this an option at Belle? Also, its my understanding that this site has individual fire rings, is this true?
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Re: staking out at Belle Isle

Post by RockRiver »

If you were happy at Caribou, you will like Belle Isle also. There are no real trails, but you can get around some.
There are no fire rings. Each shelter has a grill like you see in roadside parks. There is a large pavillion that has a big fieldstone fireplace. Really nice. The backside of the fireplace is a wood burning cook stove. We get to Belle Isle by seakayak. If you had a seakayak you would have a lot more options to explore in this beautiful area with no trails.
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Re: staking out at Belle Isle

Post by Ingo »

What RockRiver said. I once started to explore the little ridge on the Amygdaloid side and found it pretty dense so didn't go far--typical of a lot of the NE end of I.R. But if I had more time I would have done more. The Voyageur II also has a couple of canoes that they rent--just be careful where you go and keep an eye on the weather.
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Re: staking out at Belle Isle

Post by treeplanter »

Belle Isle is best explored by boat. You can spend days paddling amongst all of the bays and inlets. Safe waters too for the most part, very little direct contact with Lake Superior, especially if you go southwest. The only trails you’ll find on Belle Isle proper, are those made by curious campers. A beautiful spot though, one of my favorites.
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Re: staking out at Belle Isle

Post by hermsker »

Considered renting a canoe, but we are not "experienced canoers". Most of my canoe experience has been on very small ponds, nothing like Superior. I could also rent a fishing boat from the marina again, but that gets expensive for 3-4 days. Would there be any other comparable "island campsites" that would have actual fire rings? Duncan Bay or Duncan Narrows? A fire ring would be nice since we will have a lot of sitting around time. We will only go a mile or so per day, so buschwaking would be fine, we dont need defined trails. We could go to caribou again, they had a community firepit and nobody was ever there but us, but i really like the sunsets from the northern part of the Island.
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Re: staking out at Belle Isle

Post by treeplanter »

Both Duncan Bay and DB Narrows are water access-only sites with no real established trail system. We tried bushwalking at DB Narrows, but quickly gave up, the balsam fir saplings are just too thick.

While not an island, you might try McCargoe Cove. Has a community fire ring and trail access too. The trip up the Minong to Otter Lake is very scenic and historic (old Minong Mine).
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Re: staking out at Belle Isle

Post by IncaRoads »

The 2017 Greenstone Newspaper, Page 6, Campgrounds Table, has a special information column that indicates if fires are allowed or if community fire rings are present.

Link ---> https://www.nps.gov/isro/upload/ISRO_We ... r_2017.pdf
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