Isle Royale Forums

I'm planning my first trip to Isle Royale for late August 2009 (in/out at Rock Harbor). We'll have a group of 4 or 5.

I know this is a subjective question, but given your pick, do you always stay in a shelter if one is available, or are there benefits to the tent sites? Do the tent sites offer more seclusion than the shelters? Either way, it sounds like we should bring tents in case shelters are not available.

Your help is appreciated--and I'm sure I'll have more questions as I do more research and planning. These forums have been a great help!

I always take a shelter. There is room to spread out. You don't have to hassle with setting up or taking down the tent. Your pack doesn't have to sit on the ground. The wood floor is usually as hard as the campsite floor. Escape from the bugs. No worries about a moose crashing through and on your tent.

I'm happy to have a shelter, when it's available, especially if it's raining. A lot of the campsites don't offer it as an option, and I'm content to carry my little tent around.

I prefer tlhe tent sites. That is real camping in my opinion. My last trip to IR was camping at Chippewa Harbor and there was a group of 3 who took one shelter for each of them. Not only that, they set up their individual tents INSIDE the shelters! Don't get me started on this one......... I think a shelter here and there to get out of the rain while hiking would be fine, but not a fan for camping in, just my 2 cents.

Like Philranger, I'll typically take a shelter if it's available. In addition to the reasons he states, they also seem to have the better views and are closer to the common amenities. (Fire ring, toilets, etc.)

It's nice to be able to set the gear out (especially if you're caught in the rain) and be on the trail all the faster in the morning.

I would never travel without my tent, in case a shelter is not available, but see it as a nice 'bonus' when I hike into camp and one is open. Time not spent setting up and taking down a tent is time spent enjoying other aspects of IR.

I guess I'm just echoing many of the other opinions listed above, but if I have a choice I go with the shelter. Obviously a tent is more constricting as you can't stand up to stretch your legs, changing clothes is easier in a shelter, and if it is raining, well, I don't need to explain how much more comfortable it can be inside a shelter. Plus, many of the shelters I have stayed at already had a picnic table dragged inside which makes it nice for cooking and eating if the bugs are bad or if it is raining. On top of that, picnic tables make it more convenient for organizing gear before packing it away because you can lay all your gear on top of them without it becoming muddy or wet.

I have been to Isle Royale 4 times for a total of 32 nights and have only stayed in a tent one time when the shelter was already taken at Merritt Lane CG. Of course it stormed like hell that night!! Of the 36 days I have spent on the island, it has only rained 3 times, which I think is pretty amazing. I tent camp quite a bit in northern Michigan and love that, but I especially enjoy the benefits of the shelters on IR, such as a hideout from the skeeters and rain.
I also prefer the picnic table to be outside of the shelter for the extra space. I think the idea of setting up a tent would be a nice way of staying warm if i had the room, but I am usually sharing it with 3 other people. We use a tarp on the front of the shelter at night to help on the windy or chilly nights.

A shelter is my first choice; but I wouldn't let it influence my choice of campgrounds. My first trip I stayed the first night at Lane Cove; no shelters there, but beautiful and quiet.

I will always take a shelter over a tent site for the reasons mentioned above. There is something comforting about sitting out a storm over the lake from the relative safety of a shelter. If you go late or early in the season, nothing like preparing meals while sitting in the warmth and comfort of a sleeping bag when it is snowing outside.
When the bugs are out, a shelter is heavan!!!!
I also prefer the table outside-if the bugs are not bad and it is not raining!!
I also think shelters cut down on wear and tear on the thin topsoil at camspites.

I'll note that we're not SUPPOSE to have a stove inside the shelter (we all know that) and that the park service asks that the picnic tables be kept outside.
Having been in shelters where the table was hauled in (those buggers are heavy!), I know how handy it is to have inside. That being said, to respect the park's requests, if we find a shelter with a table inside, we move it back outside... Right before we leave.

And many are art museums.

I would never count on getting a shelter however it is a good feeling when rain is OTW or already falling to get to a campsite with an open shelter.

Shelters are the 4 star accomodations of the backcountry! That being said, I always bring my own shelter, and never plan on getting a shelter ... just cheerfully accept one when it is available!

I shouldn't prefer a shelter, but I do. I like the deep backcountry feel of no shelters, tables, etc., but man, sometimes they are a nice luxury.

Also, given the weather factor, sometimes it's the best to sit in a shelter when it's pouring rain outside the open-face shelter and you are sitting inside playing cards, nice and dry, with plenty of room to spread out. And in the morning, you don't have to pack up a wet tent! Double bonus.

Like most others on this thread, I take the shelter if it's available. There's nothing like being able to spread out all your gear and still have room to move around. This is particularly nice if you've been hiking in rain for several hours. The shelter graffiti is also VERY entertaining.

Using a shelter means a quick pack-up in the morning. No tent to dry out and pack! Quite a luxury!


I always carry a shelter (Tarptent Rainbow) just in case I don't snag a shelter. I make it a point to sleep in my tent at least once on every trip to IR. If I'm carrying it, I'm going to use it!!!