Isle Royale Forums

I count 15 boat or canoe only Campsites:
Belle Isle, Duncan Bay, Duncan Narrows, Pickerel Cove, Birch Island
Merritt Lane, Caribou Island, Tookers Island, Grace Island, Beaver Island
Hay Bay, Lake Whittlesey, Wood Lake, Intermediate Lake, Lake Ritchie Canoe
I have stayed at 5 and visited 5 others. 5 I have never visited.

My favorite is Belle Isle. I like the grounds, cabins, pavilion, central location to the area, view of Sleeping Giant.

I like Duncan Bay. Unfortunately, the dock is slated to be removed in the future.

Hey...dont forget about the backcountry..kayak only areas. Long Point, Attwood beach. But yes, Belle, Pickerel, Caribou and Merritt are some of our favorites... Birch is ok, but not on our top 5.

Damon...

I've only hit a few 'boat only' on my kayak trip last year, but out of those, Lake Whittelsey is my favorite, probably due to the fantastic fishing.

I plan to do a '5 fingers' trip via kayak or canoe next year, so I will be watching this post

Belle Isle is also my favorite. During my summer in Rock Harbor I paddled there as often as possible. Wood Lake would be my 2nd, but they're all good. Only one I didn't really care for (and haven't stayed at) is Tookers. I've camped at 7 and checked out another 4. Really need to make it to Merritt Lane.

Belle Isle, by far is the most scenic spot to stay and I'm including the trail accessible camp grounds also. For an inland, canoe only choice it has to be Wood Lake. My least favorite is Caribou Island. Maybe it was the 45 degree, 30 mph south wind the day I was there but there was something claustrophobic about the place. I could imagine Tookers Island would be even more so. Maybe on a warm sunny day with a good book things would be different.

Pickerel Cove is my favorite.

Midwest Ed wrote:My least favorite is Caribou Island. Maybe it was the 45 degree, 30 mph south wind the day I was there but there was something claustrophobic about the place.

Sounds like my one day there, so I know what you're saying. But still loved it, maybe because the shelter faces north (and we were in it) . Or maybe because it was the first night of that trip and we were just that happy to be there .

Two ends of the spectrum, Caribou and Pickerel! I like both though.
- Caribou because of Cemetery Island, the lighthouse, fishery and Middles islands passage. Plus the north shore of the island in the middle of the night with the buoy bell ringing (with Maker's Mark . Not much in terms of wilderness though. Busy area.
- Pickerel Cove is the BEST wilderness campground I have been to. Better than Little Todd which I believe is the best walking wilderness campground.
- Merritt is spectacular in terms of location, scenery and cool places to paddle to.
- Whittlesey and Intermediate have a nice wilderness feel, but are limited in view.
- Wood is a great location. I like looking at the two sides which are usually very different.
- Tookers is ok, but very limited on space. The north side is nice though. Good place to spend one night.
- Grace might be my worst because of the lack of easy exploring on land, the small area of the campground and the bustle. It is located close to many things to paddle to though (Washington, Barnum, etc,)