Isle Royale Forums

Hi Everyone,

My friend and I will be taking our first trip to Isle Royale in mid August for 6 days. We plan on hiking, kayaking, and camping out while we are there. We were thinking about spending majority of our time in the Windigo area, but had several questions. (a little bit of background about us is that we are strong hikers & we are moderately strong kayakers.....if possible we would like to do a mix of hiking and kayaking while on this trip).

1) We were thinking about spending the majority of our time in Windigo....does anyone have any kayaking suggestions for this area? Are there any "loops" or round trips we can do around here? Is there anyway to get to Feldtmann lake via kayaking?

2) We also are hoping to see moose on this trip (and in the rare case a wolf)....is windigo or the rock harbor area a better place for this?

3) Finally, any other kayaking/hiking trip suggestions in IR would be welcome ....windigo or rock harbor preference?

Thanks!

Paul

Saw mama moose and twins on the 30th of June at about 9:15 pm at Washington Creek (near Windigo). On the 1st of July after we got up, there was barking east of us (remember no dogs allowed). We came across very fresh wolf scat west of McCargoe heading toward Todd Harbor on the Minong Ridge trail.

Hi Paul,

Windigo (Washington Creek campground) has a 3-consecutive day limit at the time you will be there so you will have to move at least once. Beaver Island or Grace Island are possibilities. Hugginin Cove would be a nice hiking loop (overnighting there).

Yes, you could kayak around to Rainbow Cove, wind and weather willing, and portage the short trail over to Feldtmann Lake. However, if the weather turns you could get stuck there if you are not experienced kayaking in big seas.

Kayaking out Washington Harbor to the islands at the harbor entrance would be very cool. There used to be a bunch of vacation places on those islands in the early 1900s and you could see the wreck of the America in North Gap; one end is only a few feet below the water.

Washington Creek is an excellent place to see moose, especially morning and evening.

Bob

HI
Was there couple weeks ago, every day for 5 days saw moose and her twin babies. Rangers didnt care that we stayed there all 5 days. Met kayakers staying down from us and they were going out to grace harbor to kayak over ship wreck. Rangers said its about 4 miles out by boat. They also kayaked down washington creek and ran into mom moose, she was not happy, they were caught there for quite a while so be careful. Each night as soon as you hear water movement there is a moose near you. Have a great trip, You can hike the Huginnin Cove trail and possibly see moose too, take a head net.

Hey Paul,

The Rock Harbor end is more popular for paddling because there's more protected waters, more routes, and more campground choices. The only loop from Windigo is around the island . That said, I've wanted to paddle Washington Harbor myself, something I haven't done yet. You really can't go wrong just being on the island!

Especially since you're going in peak season, I would definitely plan to respect the consecutive night stay limits. Also Grace and Beaver Island have docks for boaters, so I'd plan to stay there on weekdays if possible, and try to get there earlier in the day. That has usually worked for me in getting a shelter, although I can't speak for those 2 specific campsites.

Have a great trip!
John