Isle Royale Forums

I would like to arrive on the Seaplane rather than by boat. How often is the plane delayed or even worse not able to fly at all. is there a "best time" of year for weather/fog/etc?

If I took the boat is it a really rough ride? I would like to arrive with my stomach still feeling well.

I have been to a lot of national parks(30 of them) and hiked many strenuous trails. I have read some on IR, but I have no clue still as to what the "must dos" are there. I don't now whether to rent a canoe and travel that way(inland-I have very little boating experience) or just backpack. I would probably do 3 days worth. If I went over 4th of July weekend, Memorial Day, or Labor Day- I could add another day. Not sure if this park is much more crowded during a holiday or not. I have even considered just staying at the lodge, but that seems to defeat the purpose of really getting away from it all. I don't even know whether to start at Windigo or Rock Harbor. It would be myself and one other person.

I suppose that if the plane isn't able to go(inbound or outbound) that it would be possible to get a spot on the boat?
Thanks for any info

The seaplane flies an "on demand" schedule. My flights last summer were right on schedule. But at times it can be sort of like waiting for the repair man (scheduled for the morning, waiting at 4 o'clock). Basically you can't predict mother nature and when they can't fly they'll get you out there (or back) as soon as they can. Hard to say how often they're delayed by a day or more. The boats are weather dependent too, to a lesser extent, but usually if they can't run you're waiting till the next day. This is probably not much help, but just saying you need to be flexible and go with the flow--it is a wilderness in the middle of a really big lake .

Given your hiking experience and lack of paddling experience, I would definitely suggest backpacking--Isle Royale isn't the place to learn how to canoe (50 deg water in Aug--colder the rest of the year). There really aren't "must see" sort of things on the island--everyone has their favorites places. The easiest trip for a couple nights would be the Huginnin loop out of Windigo (two 5 mile days). Or the Feldtman loop, for a longer trip. Most options out of Rock Harbor would be down and back. If you took the Voyageur II out of Grand Portage, MN, you could get dropped off at McCargo Cove and picked up at Chippewa Harbor. There also is a water taxi out of Rock Harbor that could take you down the island a bit and then hike back. So lots of options and a few to think about. I'm sure others will chime in.

Wow lots of variables in these questions. Let me see what help I can give.

I can not give you a definate on how often the sea plane is delayed or can not fly. I have been to the Island twice, once on the boat from Copper Harbor and Once via the sea plane. All things considered if I was just hiking I'd take the sea plane every time. I much preferred the shorter drive up from southern michigan (the last 60 minutes feels like more after 10 hours in the car) and having a 40 ish trip over to the island is REALLY nice.

When going you really should plan or at least be prepared for a "weather day" either way you go on either boat or plane as it is possible. Both times I've been to the island have been around the first week of August. When we took the boat Lake superior was extreemly calm on the way over (maybe 1' waves at most) and was actually glass like with absolutely no waves on the way back. I've read and been told that this is VERY uncommon. I guess I was lucky.

I'm assuming your coming from Michigan and not Minnesota. If you are coming from MN the boat from there is a much shorter ride (only about 2 hours) and you have more drop off options at a cheaper price.

As far as which side of the island I'd go to it depends on what you prefer. I took the boat to Rock Harbor and the plane into Windigo. I much prefer the Windigo side for hiking as it seems much less crowded. Rock Harbor seems to have more options to go on shorter loops/camp sites but it has many more people from what I've saw. I'd really try to get on the island for at least three days or more as you'll see more of the island.

If you can only go for three days then go for what you can do and next time you can see other places. I would be a bit skeptical about going to the island for Memorial day weekend. It would be pretty cool I would think. Others can speak more to the other holidays....

As far as things to see. My favorite view from the island is Mt Frankin. This spot has a FANTASTIC view of the backside of the island and on clear days you can see Canada and MN. This can easily be gotten to if you go into Rock Harbor. Take the Tobin Harbor trail to the Mt Franklin trail up the Greenstone Ridge. Its only a .3 mile hike once you get to the top of the Greenstone. Another Great spot to stay is Moskey Basin.

If your going into Windigo and can get an extra day perhaps you can do the Feldman Loop. That's on my "to do" list yet and plan on that very soon in upcoming trips.

I may have to wait on this trip for a few years until I can really devote a week or more to it. Time is much more of an issure than money. I am coming from Oklahoma, so I can fly into wherever, so I wasn't exactly sure what my best options if I decided to get there by one of the ferries.

Last year was my first trip to IR, and we decided to utilize the Seaplane in order to save time. We were driving in from Detroit, so we didn't want to spend 2 travel days getting to the island and 2 in order to get off the island. On the way there, we had a 2:00 flight, and when we got to the Houghton Airport, we were met by the pilot and immediately boarded the plane. The weather we great, but he seemed in a hurry to leave (like something bad was on the way).

A week later, for the flight back to Houghton, we had the earliest pick up time (9:00AM - I think). The plane didn't pick us up from IR until around 1 in the afternoon due to fog on the mainland. The weather seemed perfectly normal where we were at (sunny, calm water, little wind), but it was too much for the plane to overcome early in the day.

We made it back ok, and it delayed us around 6 hours driving home--but I wouldn't have wanted to have the latest flight that day, because they probably had to stay an extra day on the island because of the groups ahead of them.

I'd definitely recommend it if you are going through Michigan and are short on time. You just have to be flexible (as you do with any itinerary on IR). You might be better off flying into Minnesota and taking the shorter boat ride to Windigo. It may end up being a more robust solution.

danha1en wrote:You might be better off flying into Minnesota and taking the shorter boat ride to Windigo. It may end up being a more robust solution.

Problem with flying to MN is that the nearest commericial airport (Duluth) is 150 miles from the boat (Grand Portage). There used to be limited bus service to the G.P. casino, but don't think that's still running.

I have never been to the Island in July or August, but I know they are obviously the busiest times (relatively speaking since ISRO NP is in the bottom 10 least visited parks. You have to go to Alaska for more aloneness in a NP.). Also, July 1 is Canada’s Dominion Day so there will be additional boaters from Thunder Bay present. Memorial Day should not be as crowded and now most schools begin classes a week or two before Labor Day so ditto there. Ferry service early and late in the season is less frequent than during the middle of summer so check the schedules carefully. The float plane’s more on demand schedule has an advantage here.

How are you planning to get to Houghton? Car? No problems. Flying? Schedule a longer layover to accommodate weather.

The Voyageur ferry from Grand Portage offers more flexibility regarding remote drop off and pick up, especially for a shorter tip, and the ride over is shorter as well. But Grand Portage is generally a little harder to get to if you are not already in Minnesota. As Ingo states, to get to Grand Portage by bus there is no longer any direct service from Duluth. The NPS website incorrectly lists this as an option. There is a scheduled Greyhound bus to Thunder Bay that routes through Toronto (2 day trip and still won’t let you drop off at G.P., LOL),

Another possibility might be to fly into Thunder Bay. It is served via several airlines. Book a first or last night room at the Grand Portage casino and utilize their free shuttle bus to/from Thunder Bay. Not 100% sure how the logistics would exactly play out.

If you only go for 3 days you will be kicking yourself on day 4, but certainly 3 days is far better than none.

I hate to say it, but a 3-4 day trip to the island from Oklahoma just isn't possible.

You're going to spend all your time travelling.

I still haven't made it to IR yet. Haven't decided which way to roll the dice yet. Flight schedules have improved from Tulsa, OK or Northwest Arkansas to either Houghton or Thunder Bay. Allowing an extra day for delays(2 days-1 for each way) is challenging. This is one hard place to get to with much certainty. Even seems harder than Alaska(iv'e been there). Still looking forward to it though at some point. Thanks for all the info!!