Isle Royale Forums

Traveling from Copper Harbor for first visit to the Island. Unfortunately only able to stay one night!

Wondering where we should plan to camp. Needs to be close enough to hike back to Rock Harbor to catch the Queen (departs 2:45pm). And still get a good view of the Island. Easy option would be hiking around and camping at either Rock Harbor or Three Mile. Would prefer to make a hike out to Lane Cove or Daisy Farm. Is it reasonable to hike back with enough time to catch the boat? Approximately how much time should we allow for the hike back? Is there any difference in difficulty between the two hikes?

Any advice would be appreciated!

Hmmm... It very much depends on what you want to remember about IR. Sure, you could camp at Rock Harbor or Threemile, and spend your time hiking the interpretive trail and reading up on the history. Nothing wrong with that.
If you hike to Daisy Farm, it's about 7 miles on the Rock Harbor Trail, which is a rock up and down trail with a few cairns. It's a little rough on the body, mostly because you're walking on some rock. It mostly follows the harbor, you'll be Southernly exposed, and will never have any real 'vistas' as you're sticking low. I can't say what your pace will be, but 2mph on trail is not unheard of, so you should have enough time.
The hike over to Lane Cove is much different. It's about the same 7 miles, but may take you slightly longer. The first half, once past the flat Tobin harbor pine-needle highway, will be uphill. The second half, mostly down. You'll get to experience the "South slopes are slight, North slopes are steep" geology of IR. You'll meet up at the Greenstone trail, and could easily hike over to Mt Franklin and get some really nice views of the North side of the Isle, Canada, and other parts, as you'll have pretty good elevation. The trail is a mix of open areas, and swampy woodlands. It probably offers a better picture of the various trails you may encounter. On the way back, you can continue over to Threemile and take the RH trail back to 'town' and your boat. Daisy and Threemile will tend to be busier than Lane Cove, I would guess. The prior two have shelters available, the latter is tents only.

Tom has excellent comments. If I had only one day, I'd go to Lane Cove. I've spent two nites there. Go for it. If you get on the trail early enough you can do some hiking around Rock Harbor area also when you get back.

Thanks for the info. We are planning to visit Lane Cove. Shipping out Aug 5.

Is the Tobin Harbor trail an easier hike than the Rock Harbor trail? We were thinking of trying one on the way out and the other on the way back. Would want to save the easiest for the way back!

linds wrote:Is the Tobin Harbor trail an easier hike than the Rock Harbor trail? We were thinking of trying one on the way out and the other on the way back. Would want to save the easiest for the way back!

YES, by far. A walk thru the forest vs up and down rocks on the shoreline.

Take Tobin Harbor on the way back. You might get to see a moose there too.