Isle Royale Forums

I’m taking my 17’ foot boat to Isle Royal in July. Is there any place I should visit that’s hard to get to hiking? I know it’s almost all rocky shore but is there a dirt shore I can pull into?
Thanks
(Mainly south shore)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Where are you coming from?

Welcome,

Siskiwit Bay, Hay Bay, Malone Bay fit your inquiry; there are numerous others that may also work.

Departure/arrival point is a key consideration.

Good luck with the planning.

In addition to the lessor visited campgrounds mentioned, there are also campgrounds on various islands. Almost all of these have docks, but I think your underlying question is about isolated beach areas. There are very few locations with true sandy beaches but there are many small harbors and trap rock locations with pebble beaches that will accept a landing by a small boat. These typically have pea-sized to marbled-sized or larger gravel in small cutouts called trap rock. It called this because of the way the lava flows layered over millions of years with some eroding more quickly than adjacent ones. Google Earth is your best route to locate them. They are almost all on the south side of the island and boundary islands of the Rock Harbor channel, with the greatest concentrations toward the north end. By contrast, the north shore has many extensive areas with shear cliff faces with few or no areas to land.

You should take certain precautions. Lake Superior weather can be some of the most unpredictable and fast changing there is. A marine radio with weather channels is highly recommended as well as other Coast Guard required and recommended gear. How are you planning to get your boat to/from the Island?

Tortuga wrote:Where are you coming from?

Starting at Rock Harbor and leaving Rock Harbor 9 days later.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

kenneth.setser wrote:

Tortuga wrote:Where are you coming from?

Starting at Rock Harbor and leaving Rock Harbor 9 days later.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ranger 3 is bringing me over and taking me back. With my small boat I’m not planning on the north shore. I’m going solo and it’s my first visit. Can’t wait. I have a marine radio in my boat and a hand held marine radio I carry in my pack.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Midwest Ed wrote:In addition to the lessor visited campgrounds mentioned, there are also campgrounds on various islands. Almost all of these have docks, but I think your underlying question is about isolated beach areas. There are very few locations with true sandy beaches but there are many small harbors and trap rock locations with pebble beaches that will accept a landing by a small boat. These typically have pea-sized to marbled-sized or larger gravel in small cutouts called trap rock. It called this because of the way the lava flows layered over millions of years with some eroding more quickly than adjacent ones. Google Earth is your best route to locate them. They are almost all on the south side of the island and boundary islands of the Rock Harbor channel, with the greatest concentrations toward the north end. By contrast, the north shore has many extensive areas with shear cliff faces with few or no areas to land.

You should take certain precautions. Lake Superior weather can be some of the most unpredictable and fast changing there is. A marine radio with weather channels is highly recommended as well as other Coast Guard required and recommended gear. How are you planning to get your boat to/from the Island?

That’s the beaches I’m looking for. Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here are some examples:

Midwest Ed wrote:Here are some examples:

1-Conglomerate Bay.JPG

2-Edwards Island.JPG

3-Epidote Lake.JPG

Looks perfect


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Make sure you do your homework. Even on somewhat calm days and armed with the best nautical chart, shoals just under the surface can present great danger. Add into that some wave action and the uncertainty goes way up. I would want a good GPS with preset waypoints marked on a chart and maybe even a forward looking sonar if I were to take this on in a large way. The underwater vision on still days should be OK provided you go slow but study that chart as there are dangerous shoals marked that are sometimes quite a distance from shorelines.

Also take note: If you find any Greenstones, it is now illegal to remove them. If a Ranger is boating by, they are likely to stop to say hello.

Midwest Ed wrote:Make sure you do your homework. Even on somewhat calm days and armed with the best nautical chart, shoals just under the surface can present great danger. Add into that some wave action and the uncertainty goes way up. I would want a good GPS with preset waypoints marked on a chart and maybe even a forward looking sonar if I were to take this on in a large way. The underwater vision on still days should be OK provided you go slow but study that chart as there are dangerous shoals marked that are sometimes quite a distance from shorelines.

Also take note: If you find any Greenstones, it is now illegal to remove them. If a Ranger is boating by, they are likely to stop to say hello.

Thanks Ed, I think I’m all set. I have a good Depth finder/GPS loaded with the most current maps and 3 motors on my boat. So fingers crossed.
I probably wouldn’t know a greenstone if I saw one.
Thanks for the heads up


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

kenneth.setser wrote: ↑Wed May 23, 2018 2:35 am I probably wouldn’t know a greenstone if I saw one.

Here's some Greenstones. I enjoy sitting on a beach and sifting through the pebbles looking for them, but always throw them back in the water. As Ed said, it's illegal to keep them.

Ingo wrote: ↑Wed May 23, 2018 7:18 amHere's some Greenstones. I enjoy sitting on a beach and sifting through the pebbles looking for them, but always throw them back in the water. As Ed said, it's illegal to keep them.

That's a mighty nice one in the center there. I have a full 35 mm film canister collected from the 1970's, before the law was in place. A friend of mine that was a park employee took me to some of the isolated beaches. It didn't take long to find them. They can also be found on the Keweenaw in the Amygdaloid conglomerate poor rock piles but they are far less prevalent and they are almost always embedded in the conglomerate.