Isle Royale Forums

Isle Royale National Park to Delay Park Opening for 2020 Season

The opening date of the park will be changed from April 16 to June 15, 2020. During this delayed opening, Isle Royale and its surrounding islands are closed to all visitors. All visitor facilities, including visitor centers, campgrounds and docks, will be closed to visitors until June 15 with no services until the opening date. Lake Superior waters remain open.

Learn more at: https://www.nps.gov/isro/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

Visitors who have paid for Ranger III ferry reservations during the affected closure dates will receive a full refund. Visitors who have paid entrance fees in advanced through www.pay.gov or the Houghton Visitor Center will receive a full refund upon request. All refunds will be processed when staff return to Isle Royale’s Houghton Headquarters pending removal of Michigan’s Stay Home, Stay Safe Executive Order 2020-21.

For more information or to cancel or adjust Ranger III reservations, call 906-482-0984 or email isro_parkinfo@nps.gov. Please contact the Voyageur II, Sea Hunter, Isle Royale Queen IV, Isle Royale Seaplanes, and Rock Harbor Lodge directly for information on schedules and
reservations.

Thank you for sharing. This post is now a global announcement across all the forums.

I looked around and didn’t find any updates from May 1st. So.... we’re still in for the 15th.

TopCarrot wrote: ↑Sat May 02, 2020 2:42 pm I looked around and didn’t find any updates from May 1st. So.... we’re still in for the 15th.

Fishing is now allowed in park waters during daylight hours, but no docking or stepping on land. Only change I recognized. Previously it was a more ambiguous statement, saying no fishing in the park but Lake Superior was open, without clarification of park waters, probably because they conflicted with other entities.

For those of us hoping that the park will open this summer, I found some encouragement in this general statement in the banner on the park website:

2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response
Following guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and state and local public health authorities, we are increasing access and services in a phased approach across all units of the National Park System.

https://www.nps.gov/isro/planyourvisit/index.htm

Interestingly, they're saying that the Ranger III won't make its first run until June 30.

https://www.nps.gov/isro/planyourvisit/ ... 19-faq.htm

Isle Royale is closed until further notice. No ferry service, no lodging at Rock Harbor in 2020.

Link ---> https://www.nps.gov/isro/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

Confusing. No ferry service but you can take the float plane?

treeplanter wrote: ↑Wed May 20, 2020 9:38 am Confusing. No ferry service but you can take the float plane?

I would guess it's because they run on-demand, not on-schedule, if that makes sense. I would imagine the costs of doing business are covered exclusively by the ticket price and having only a couple folks on the plane, whereas the boats need to reach a certain capacity to become profitable, as well as social distancing guidelines. If the lodge doesn't open, there go a bunch of your passengers, so I would think the ferries might have also been looking at financial losses worse than not opening at all...

[deleted due to redundancy. Also: rats! I wasn't likely to make it this season, due to be stationed in CA, but I was looking forward to trip reports.]

Tom wrote: ↑Wed May 20, 2020 9:57 am

treeplanter wrote: ↑Wed May 20, 2020 9:38 am Confusing. No ferry service but you can take the float plane?

I would guess it's because they run on-demand, not on-schedule, if that makes sense. I would imagine the costs of doing business are covered exclusively by the ticket price and having only a couple folks on the plane, whereas the boats need to reach a certain capacity to become profitable, as well as social distancing guidelines. If the lodge doesn't open, there go a bunch of your passengers, so I would think the ferries might have also been looking at financial losses worse than not opening at all...

I wonder what being shut down for a season will do the lodge and the ferry service. It has to be an enormous financial burden for all of them to not be operating for a year.

Isle Royale To Further Delay Park Opening; No Visitor Ferry Service for Summer 2020
Subscribe RSS Icon | What is RSSDate: May 20, 2020
Contact: Liz Valencia, 906-369-7146
HOUGHTON, MI – Following guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the State of Michigan, Isle Royale National Park is delaying its seasonal opening until further notice. In addition, the Ranger III, Voyageur II, Sea Hunter III, and Isle Royale Queen IV will not provide visitor ferry transportation this summer. Rock Harbor Lodge, including overnight lodging, dining, marina services, gift shops and stores, will remain closed for the season.

The NPS is working servicewide with federal, state, and local authorities to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and using a phased approach to increase access. Our operational approach continues to be centered on examining each facility function and service provided to ensure those operations comply with current public health guidance and will be regularly monitored. As the NPS develops its phased approach, we will evaluate providing access to the park in late June/early July. This decision-making process involves a number of factors, including:

The availability of personal protective equipment;
The number of EMS-qualified park staff;
The availability of emergency support services from other agencies;
The status of medical facilities in local communities;
Social distancing requirements;
State directives; and,
Guidance on park housing.
While the park is closed, Lake Superior waters within the park boundary will remain open for fishing during the day. During the closure, all islands and the main island of Isle Royale and all facilities (docks, trails, visitor centers, campgrounds, shelters, outhouses, etc.) will remain closed and all overnight use is prohibited. No fuel is available. Any boaters fishing in park waters need to be self-sufficient.

There will be a skeleton staff opening IR (It takes a while to open) and Law Enforcement on the Island.

This MLIVE Article adds a bit additional clarification to John's latest reporting. They interviewed the same Liz Valencia. If and when the park land based operations open, the access will be by seaplane (if available) or personal boat. Valencia also characterized the chances of staying closed ALL season was "SLIM", so that's a good thought.

I think its a good idea to keep closed until this virus is figured out, if just to keep all the folks who keep everything going and working, Rangers, ferry personnel, concessionaires, etc. safe and out of harms way. Yes being on IR is a great way to social distance until you have to share shelter in a storm which I have done many times as I am sure other folks have. Lets hope the adults trying to figure this out do and all the others step aside and get out of their way.