Isle Royale Forums

My Girlfriend and I are planning to do a thru-hike of the Superior Hiking Trail this August, and our goal is to find our way to Grand Portage where we would then take the ferry to Isle Royale as sort of the icing on this delicious North Woods cake. The problem is that the various sources we've found online tell us very different things in terms of what trails go where.
It was my original understanding that we could take the Superior Trail to the Border Route Trail which would then take us to Grand Portage, but I'm not sure if it'll actually take us anywhere near where the ferry actually is.

Has anyone tried this before? Any experienced Isle Royale goers have any input on the subject?

This is our first MAJOR hiking expedition so any advice is appreciated.

Thanks!!

-Jeremy & Bree

Good luck with the hike.
You might want to contact Capt Don at the Voyager. He might have some insight into making this happen.

Cool idea. I always wanted to hike the Superior Trail, and going to Isle Royale direct afterwards sounds like a nifty idea. The only problems is with doing the Superior Trail and Isle Royale, I think I would be requesting to much work off.

Anyways back to your question, did you look at some detailed maps suggesting where the trail begins and ends to help guide you?

Captain Don, Got it.

From what I can tell the SHT doesn't really end anywhere near the Grand Portage Ferry. I haven't had the best of luck finding detailed online maps for this oh so remote section. I have the guide book/pocket maps for the SHT, but Grand Portage is about 40-50 miles away from the end of the trail, so it's not really helpful. I have found a few shuttles that might be able to be of some help, but that would be less than ideal, and just another expense to our already tight budget.

Sounds to me that it would be a perfect idea if everything lined up properly. As in the trail brought you within a couple of miles of Grand Portage. However, 50 miles is too great a distance, and with paying for some kind of shuttle service to compensate for matters, it just does not seem worth the time, money, or effort. Again, it was a marvelous thought, but it just doesn't seem like its worth it in the long run. Thanks for the heads up on everything.

Well I would think your biggest worry would be time. You'd need to hit your miles, or more, every day and make it to Grand Portage on the day that your ferry was going to sale. That's not to say it won't be fun, or you shouldn't do it, but 275 miles + 50 miles at the end of that would be tough.

Do you have the dates set? You could always check sites like HammockForums to see if people are in the area that would be willing to pick you up for 20$

Specific dates have yet to be set until things are more properly figured out. I think what will end up happening is sacrificing a legitimate "thru-hike" of the SHT, getting off a bit earlier and navigating our way from around Hovland and County road 17 to Grand Portage. That cuts the distance down significantly and if back-roads can't be mapped out then highway 61 is a straight shot, in which case finding a cheap ride could be pretty handy. I've never been to HammockForums but I'll give it a shot! Thanks!

All that being said. If anyone knows anything about the trails between Hovland and Grand Portage.... Hit me up!!

-Jeremy

I'm not aware of anyway to get from Hovland to GP, trail-wise. The Superior Shuttle does not go that far either. HOWEVER:

I've heard of these people driving people up to Grand Portage from Duluth, so it's not unfeasible to think they could take you from the trail terminus to GP:

Harriet Quarles Transportation
Phone: 218-370-9164 or eMail:harrietq@boreal.org

There's also this service that I've never heard of:

http://northcoastcallnride.org/

Also, after the recent flooding on the North Shore & Duluth, the status of a lot of the Superior Hiking Trail is unknown at this time.

Dependant upon when you are planning your hike, check this website: http://www.shta.org/Events/Outings.php

I've volunteered to help on the SHT from time-to-time, and I can tell you that a large rain storm can take out most of the trail, to include important bridges. This most recent rain storm was a 100-year-storm, so there's a high probability that some of the trail will be impassable.

Jerabree,
Would you consider going to Isle Royale first and then hiking the SHT North to South? When I was on the Island in May, there was a guy that hiked about 80 miles on IR and then took the ferry to Grand Portage. He mentioned he was going to thru hike the SHT, I offered him a ride to the Otter Lake Road trailhead and I wasn’t the only one that offered. I’m sure you could hitch a ride with someone since a lot of people take Hwy 61 home. Otter Lake Road Trailhead is about 15 miles off of Hwy 61, but the next trailhead (Arrowhead Trail) is only about 3 miles off 61. This way you wouldn’t have to worry about hiking big miles to make the ferry. Just something to think about.

Fonixmunkee's link is a good one to check out regarding the SHT. Also the SHT site has trail condition updates

http://www.shta.org/Conditions.php

Jerabree,
There is a taxi service out of Grand Marais. I've seen them pick up a couple of guys at the V2 dock and take them out to the airport at Grand Marais (private airplane). They should be able to pick you up at Hovland and drop you off at the dock. jerry

Thanks for all the tips and considerations everyone! You've all been a great help. The recent flooding is definitely on my mind these days. Here's hoping for the best.