Big questions on taking my little children to IR

[mconn8819]

So, my wife and I have been trying to decide if IR would be a good place to take our kids (5 and 7 yrs old) for a backpacking trip. We have already done multiple backpacking trips but for only one night and hike around 3-4 miles. They both love to fish and spend hours burning up the ol snoopy poles and we usally have to finnaly say it is time to go to get them to move on. But, I have never been to IR and dont know what to expect as far as bank fishing. Ideally, we would hike into a site (3-4 miles) then let the kids fish while we make dinner, etc. I see us staying 4 days/ 3 nights if there are routes that put camping sites at that type of distance apart and if any have decent bank fishing for the kids. Also, can anyone recomend what ship to take with kids? I see the Ranger 111 is a longer trip, but it looks like they have activites on board and I'm assuming it might me a smoother ride as it is the largest boat? Any thoughts/comments would be greatly appreciated.

I know my kids love backpacking right now, so I am careful not to try to over tax them and have them regret going on a trip.

Thanks everyone.

[padraig777]

I took my kids (ages 12, 9, 7) to IRNP in 2010 for 3 days. We took the voyageur II from grand portage, and spent the entire stay in a shelter in windigo. There really is a lot to do....we took day hikes to the mine on the. Huginnin cove trail and did the interpretive nature trail behind windigo, we rented a boat for an afternoon and explwored Washington harbor, we enjoyed a cold drink at the store in windigo in the afternoons, we explored Tue campgrounds, Hung out at The dock , and also enjoyed 3 evening Ranger interpretive talks at the ranger station every night, discussing moose, wolves, shipwrecks and anything else that merits discussion. We had a great trip that my kids are still talking about, as they love recounting the 3 times They saw the windigo moose (and calves) to friends and family....I can only hope our trip to acadia this year gives us half the experiences we had last year. In your case, I think a night at huginnin cove would be memorable, with the last night in a shelter at Washington harbor. Have a great trip!!!

[DonNewcomb]

I think with small children it is better to under-do than over-do. I agree that a base camp at Windigo with day hikes and activities would be far better than trying to make miles. The objective is that you are trying to get them to like camping. The worst thing you could do is to have an experience that they will remember in a bad way.

[mconn8819]

You are right Don, that is exactly what I dont want to do. So far, they really like it but that is becuase we let them be involved in the descion making process and we carry and keep a family nature journal that the kids supply info for on each trip. It also gives me feedback on what they like / dislike. For instance, a few weeks ago we hiked out from a campsite and I made a journal entry for "My favorites." I was suprised to hear what some of their favorites were. I assumed their favorite thing about the trip would have been smores or wildlife, but my 5 yr olds favorite moment was "when daddy was able to start a fire in the rain." So, it is a good reminder to me that it isnt the distance we hike or how long a trip we do, rather, those special moments that you can never really plan for.

[Ingo]

I also like Windigo as your best option. I'm doing something similar in a few weeks (for totally different reasons). But just for completeness, here's what I see as all (or mostly all) viable options:

(a) Stay at Windigo (Washington Creek Campground) for 3 nights as suggested. They have shelters, but you do need to bring a tent in case they're full. There are 2 boats from Grand Portage, MN, or the seaplane from Houghton, MI. The boat ride is 1.5 or 2.5 hrs depending on the boat.
(b) Come into Windigo, then hike to Huginnin Cove 4-5 miles. A little farther than you've indicated, but the next closest campground. Beautiful from what I understand. Probably not much fishing, except at Windigo at the beginning/end.
(c) Come into Rock Harbor on the east end. The issue here is that the R.H. and Three Mile campgrounds have a 1 night limit, and other campgrounds are significantly beyond your range. You could, however, do R.H one night, Three Mile the next (yes, it's 3 miles away), then back to R.H. for the last. This would be the least wilderness experience for sure. You can fish the shore of Rock Harbor, but don't think it would be very productive.
(d) Come into Rock Harbor, then take the water taxi to another site--I'd suggest Moskey Basin. You could stay there, or hike into Lake Richie (around 3 miles +/-). Lake Richie is known for it's Northern Pike fishing, and Moskey's not bad either.

Hope this helps. Whatever you do, have a great trip (I'm sure you will)! And let us know if you have any other questions.

[MikeT]

Another option for fishing and short hikes is getting dropped off at McCargoe cove where there is great fishing on the dock. There is also fishing a short walk away at Chickenbone Lake. Close to McCargoe is a mine site that they may like and a short walk up from there is a great view off of the first ridge of the Minong Ridge Trail where Canada can be seen.

[tfoster]

Hi. We just got back from Isle Royale with our 6, 8, 11, and 15 year old children. The little ones were very newly 6 and 8. Here's a link to our trip report to give you some info about what we did - http://isleroyaleforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1538. I spent many months planning our trip and ended up changing our itinerary a few times before we went over. When all was said and done, I was very, very pleased with how it all played out. Someone here on the forum suggested the water taxi idea to me and I am so grateful. We took it our first day there from Rock Harbor to Moskey Basin, which ended up being the kids' favorite place. We spent two nights there and then hiked back to Rock Harbor. If we had just hiked out from Rock Harbor and back (like I was considering at one point), the trip would not have been as wonderful as it was.

We took the Queen IV over and back and were very happy with it. The Queen gets in before noon, which gave us nearly a whole first day. And on the way back, it doesn't leave until 2:45 PM, which gave us time to sleep in a little and still eat a leisurely breakfast at the restaurant and to take our time packing up, picking things out at the store, doing laundry, etc.

Since my youngest two are similarly aged to your children, if you have any specific questions about our experience, feel free to ask.

Teresa