Isle Royale Forums

I’m futzing around with different itineraries for my late July trip. After taking the ferry from Copper Harbor to IR, I’m thinking of possibly catching a water taxi to Chippewa Harbor and then looping back to Rock Harbor over 7 days to catch the Queen IV back to Copper Harbor.

Question…how does the water taxi service work? I looked on their website and it lists the following fares:

Rates One Way:
11 - 15 Miles 
Chippewa Harbor, (12 miles) 

One or Two people: $169.00 
Three People: $176.00 
Four People: $184.00 
Five People: $191.00 
Six People: $199.00

It looks as tho the price per person is based on the number of people on the boat.

Two people for $169 is about $85 a pop. Ouch.

But 6 people for $199 is about $35 ea. That’s quite reasonable.

Do they count the entire passenger load and divide the fare among them? Or do they do it on a per group basis as priced?

It’s rather confusing.

I have an e-mail into them but haven’t heard back yet.

I've used it a couple times in the past. The charge has been per group. So for 4 of us, we paid the 4 person rate from Rock Harbor to Moskey, but there was another group of 2 on board ... making for 6 total passengers. I assume they paid the 2 person rate.

Ack. That blows goats.

Wish it were more like a land taxi. Pile as many people in as you can and pay the meter $ when you arrive.

Well, it is what it is ... and it is the only show in town for point-to-point on the east end at a schedule you can adjust.

Depending on your timing you might be able to hop a ride on the Voyageur as it goes around the island. I believe it will stop at Chippewa, but all rides should be booked in advance to avoid surprises.

That it is. But Voyager isn't an option. It leaves before we arrive that Sunday, and it doesn't run on Monday. Would have to either wait for Tuesday, or arrive a day earlier.

Not a solution. That's okay tho. We'll work with what we've got.

How is the determination made as to who is in a group? Could folks pre-determine they are going to the same place and thus get the lower pp rate? If this is the case, I'd love to pair up with a couple people wanting to take the taxi to Chippewa Harbor on Aug 29. Family of four, but having a couple more would knock the price down further. Either respond here or send me a private message.

does any one know the schedule of the "water taxi". I'm looking at using it either the first or second week of August, going to chippewa. One thing I did read was it will take only 2 canoes at a time.

FYI
Rates One Way: 11 - 15 Miles
Chippewa Harbor, (12 miles)
Belle Island Dock, (13 miles)
One or Two people: $169.00
Three People: $176.00
Four People: $184.00
Five People: $191.00
Six People: $199.00

The water taxi does not operate on a set schedule. You can make reservations for the specific time and day you need the service. They are pretty good about working with you to meet your request.

Niners is right on. I made reservations last week for our August trip and they asked where we were coming from (e.g. what boat, etc.), whether we were bringing a boat (not) and set the schedule then for us to taxi to Chippewa Harbor at a little after noon. Couldn't have been easier.