Isle Royale Forums

Thanks Ingo, I checked and they are starting to book up already... trying to decide whether to pull the trigger on Judge Magney or hold out for the Marina/Casino camp ground.

To those who've been at both, any choice which you feel is better? The drive is short enough the next day that I'm not horribly worried about it... Looks like it's 21 miles, 30+ min should suffice (although we'll likely try to leave 60-75 min so we can get to the boat minimum 30 min early). I'd think to get to the boat the next day. Very doable.

Thanks for the help, I'm very familiar with the Houghon/Copper Harbor area as I've made several trips from MI. this will be a first for me on the Voyager....

Tightlines01 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 19, 2017 10:35 am To those who've been at both, any choice which you feel is better?

I'm chuckling as I write this, because, man, I don't even know how to compare the two. Radically different concepts of "campground."

C.R. Magney - Beautiful MN State Park, nestled within the woods next to the Brule river. Includes classic park-like trails to get some hiking in. Plenty to explore, or just relax. Neat cauldron/waterfall called the Devil's Kettle. As you note, not a difficult drive to the dock. Other than more modern camping amenities, it somewhat has an Isle Royale feel. (The general flora and terrain.)

Casino campground - More of an open, flattish, treeless area between two roads; one that heads over toward the Monument/Docks, the other the little Marina. I'm pretty sure you could see the Casino and Trading Post from the camp, unless the rows of RVs block your view. It would be utility camping at it's finest. It's a place to stay, but that's about it. It somewhat has a football field feel.

Do you have passports? The actual closest reservable campground other than the Grand Portage one, is actually the Ontario Provincial Park campground just over the border along the north shore of the Pigeon River. But you do have to cross into and out of Canada to use this campground.

I usually drive up really late and spend the early morning hours snoozing in my car at a Superior Hiking Trail trailhead. No wet tent that way, but maybe less sleep too. I left the Twin Cities at 11pm last time, and made it to Grand Marais about 3:30 am, filled up the gas tank at one of the 24-hr place, and drove on up to near GP.

bobcat wrote:Do you have passports? The actual closest reservable campground other than the Grand Portage one, is actually the Ontario Provincial Park campground just over the border along the north shore of the Pigeon River. But you do have to cross into and out of Canada to use this campground.

I usually drive up really late and spend the early morning hours snoozing in my car at a Superior Hiking Trail trailhead. No wet tent that way, but maybe less sleep too. I left the Twin Cities at 11pm last time, and made it to Grand Marais about 3:30 am, filled up the gas tank at one of the 24-hr place, and drove on up to near GP.

Actually I'm leaning more toward this option. Night 1 will be at McCargoe Cove anyway so not as worried about great sleep. Going to save the money for hotel on way home instead.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Mostly out of curiosity, do any cellular phone companies cover Grand Portage? I've looked at AT&T's maps that claim to but then I've seen other maps that say, not. Verizon does not claim to cover Grand Portage? Does your phone stop working when you get there?

In Sept. 2016, the Grand Portage Casino told me that the recently installed cell service in Grand Portage is AT&T. My T-Mobile phone did not work, and would not roam to AT&T.

Not speaking from personal experience but based on Verizon's coverage map I would expect an international enabled phone to most likely work. Their Canadian coverage map looks pretty solid, right up to the international boarder and of course does not abruptly end for any electromagnetic propagation reason.

While we typically stay at one of the area hotels before and after a trip, the Grand Marais municipal campground is actually pretty nice. Note that you can also pay just to use the showers there after a trip to the BWCA or Isle Royale.

From personal experience, do not count on any Verizon service once you are north of Grand Marais...

IncaRoads wrote: ↑Sun Jul 23, 2017 3:55 pm In Sept. 2016, the Grand Portage Casino told me that the recently installed cell service in Grand Portage is AT&T. My T-Mobile phone did not work, and would not roam to AT&T.

"Recently installed" would explain why Grand Portage is shown on AT&T's maps but crowd-sourced maps like Sensorly and RootMetrics don't show it. T-Mobile has become very parsimonious with their AT&T roaming of late. I also assume that there was not enough bleed-over from the Canadian carriers to be able to roam their signals?

P.S. T-Mobile's current coverage maps shows roaming service in Grand Portage.

My understanding is that the reservation tried to have a tower (one that they would own) installed, but the big companies don't want to share the revenue that is generated by such a tower.

jerry wrote: ↑Wed Jul 26, 2017 5:52 am My understanding is that the reservation tried to have a tower (one that they would own) installed, but the big companies don't want to share the revenue that is generated by such a tower.

A tower, they can own, and lease space to the wireless companies. If they were thinking of their own cellular system, it's just not practical. They would need to hold (or lease) an FCC license, which are auctioned, exclusively to much larger areas than The Grand Portage Indian Reservation. Also, the basic setup for the switching equipment is a megabuck proposition. Seriously, it would make setting up their own electric company (Generation, transmission & distribution) look like childs-play. They'd need much more than the population of Cook Co. to every pay off the investment.

Verizon is spotty all the way up the north shore once you get past Two Harbors. I haven't been in Grand Portage since 2015, but Tofte was basically a dead zone this spring.

I have stayed at the marina campground and we slept in our backpacking tents specifically because of the possibility of a wet tent being left in my car for a week. The location and cost worked out well. When it is just me solo, I sleep in the car at any one of several trailheads near Grand Marais, then have breakfast in Grand Marais before driving to the ferry.

We stay at the Outpost Motel, about 10 minutes north of Grand Marais. Inexpensive (about $80 for a room with two twin beds), basic, and doesn't tend to fill up in the summer (but get a reservation).

Will put in a plug for the Outpost Motel. Have stayed there in the past and it was a positive experience - the owners then would even accommodate late arrivals by leaving the door unlocked and the key in the room. However years ago when they changed their policy to a two night stay during the peak summer season, it eliminated staying there as an option for us. In checking this year, I discovered that the current owners do NOT have a minimum stay on Queen, Two Queen, or Two Single Bed Rooms. We have reservations to stay there on our upcoming trip to the island later this month. I agree with backwoods doc to get a reservation (I would suggest immediately after booking the boat) to give you the most room options to choose from.