Isle Royale Trail Descriptions

IsleRoyale.Info - Trail & Campsite Guide

This is meant to be a comprehensive guide to Isle Royale National Park for backpackers. It is based on my personal experience going to the island since 1996. I have spent over 60 days on the island backpacking and have been on every trail on the island except two and every backpacking campground except one. During those trips I have taken notes and shot digital video of the trips. Since 2001, I have taken a GPS unit and refined a lot of the trail descriptions based on that.
This is a work in progress. The only reason it is here now it so I can share what is done. I am constantly adding to this based on reviewing video, notes and taking other trips. There is a lot to add and refine but, this is it NOW. Check back for additions. You are more than welcome to print this out and use it but, please do not post it or publish it anywhere.

Notes:
Mileage
All map miles are from the 1994 Trails Illustrated topographic map which is based on USGS topographic maps modified and revised by Trails Illustrated. GPS miles are based on me actually walking the trails using a Garmon "E-Trex" GPS. Miles used in the descriptions of trails are based on the GPS or, my guestimate.

Direction
All directions are based on the island being East to West lengthwise and North to South across the narrow part. The island actually faces West-Northwest to East-Southeast acrossed it's length.

Difficulty
Trail Difficulty is based on a scale of 1-10. 1 being a walk on a paved flat road to 10 being the stretch between Lake Desor North and Little Todd Harbor along the Minong Ridge in the rain. I consider this the most difficult stretch on the island. If the difficulty has a question mark (i.e.. 5?) next to it, that indicates I have not done the trail and I am judging based on experience on the island and looking at the map. Difficulty will vary based on the season and the weather conditions. All of my ratings are based on what it would be like to walk in wet/slippery/worst conditions.

Trail Descriptions
All trail descriptions are based solely on my experience on the trail or, if I have not been there, based on experience and looking at the topographic map. Those descriptions are recognizable because they are brief and lacking details.

Site Ratings
Site rating are based on my personal experience and, reflect my personal opinion of what "I" consider a good site. These ratings will also vary based on the number of people in the campground (ie. someone is in the next door camp so, one farther away would be better) and, weather and wind conditions.

Campground Information
Information on the type and number of sites at each campground is based on my experience. Sites I have not been to (canoe sites) is based on the information in 2001 edition of "The Greenstone" published by the Isle Royale Natural History Association. I have also cross referenced my notes with this information to make sure of descrepencies. Picnic Tables (if listed) are based on the sites I have been to but, in general, if the site has shelters, it has tables.

(C)Copyright 2001-2004 Mike Tremblay All Rights Reserved All photographs are Copyrighted and may not be used in any form without permission. This site is not affiliated with Isle Royale National park or any official or commercial organization. The information presented is to the best of my knowledge.