It was always on our bucket list to take a trip on a houseboat so the six of us (Jay, myself, Ashley, Chase, Jay's twin brother Jude and his wife, Dee) decided to do just that and visit Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota.
Voyageurs National Park is the ultimate place for travelers who want to explore without the crowds. This 218,000-acre park is 40 percent water, with no roads – making it one of the most remote national parks in the country. It includes more than 30 lakes and interconnected waterways, with visitors getting around on everything from canoes and kayaks to houseboats. There are 655 miles of unspoiled shoreline and over 500 islands to explore. Swimming, fishing, and wildlife watching are all popular.
Award winning video by More Than Just Parks
It is an incredibly beautiful (and isolated!) park. The entire park is accessible only by boat! Rentals are easy and this Voyageurs National Park Guide provides a comprehensive guide to renting boats in the park.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO:
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There are no entrance fees to Voyageurs National Park.
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Cell Service is hit or miss throughout the park. The visitors centers have service and most places with roads do.
It’s a good idea to have a way to contact the mainland in the event of an emergency Rainy Lake has some coverage, but as you go east on the other lakes coverage is rare. If you’re renting a boat, typically your lodge or resort will give you a radio with which to contact them in the event you should need anything.
There are several places in Voyageurs Park where you can rent a houseboat. We worked through Voyagaire to rent ours and settled on a 57' Sunseeker 570 Houseboat.
Yes it was larger than we needed but it was the smallest houseboat we could get 2 bathrooms on, having discovered 1 bath does not work for the 6 of us.
Plus we all loved the idea of having the 8 person hot tub to relax in at night.
Money $aving Tip:
We took 20% off by taking advantage of a seasonal discount.
We'd have access to several lakes in Voyageurs Natl. Park -Kabetogama, Namakan, Crane, Sand Point, and
Voyageurs National Park / Rainy Lake requires overnight permits for each night of your houseboat vacation.
You Must purchase a National Park - Overnight Houseboat Permit for $10 per night ONLINE prior to arrival: https://www.recreation.gov/permits/251977.
Prices are subject to change and will be noted when you purchase your permit.
Our houseboat turned out to be perfect for the six of us as we weren't on top of each other yet had plenty
of room to congregate together when we wanted to. Which was most of the time as we love vacationing together.
With our rental fee and $40 per night damage deposit our total came to $7368. Divided 3 ways we only paid $2456 each with our 20% discount.
But if houseboats aren't your thing there are plenty of other kinds of accommodations in and around Voyageurs Natl. Park. Voyageurs is a large, spread out park with three main lakes, each of which have numerous lodges and resorts that provide excellent accommodations:
CAMPING
Voyageurs National Park Camping
LODGES/HOTELS
Here are more Crane Lake accommodations.
If boating is new to you, not to worry or pass up visiting Voyageurs National Park. There are boats to rent everywhere on the inhabited lake shores and canoeing is so easy anyone can do it! Not only that, it's super inexpensive.
There are also small rowboat-type motorized boats for rent and the rental place will show you how to operate it.
Just make sure you ask the rental place to include a radio for you to contact them should you need to.
These are large lakes and offer more than a few opportunities to lose your bearings. Before traveling make sure to familiarize yourself with how to safely navigate the lakes. The U.S. Coast Guard maintains a series of buoys marking safe routes through the park’s waters. You’ll want to head over to the park website to understand how to use the buoys for navigation. It’s actually very easy!
Once on the lakes in your chosen mode of transport you’ll need a map and the ability to read it properly, a GPS is always a plus too.
Arrive at Voyagaire Lodge and either get settled into your Lodge accommodations or pick up your rental houseboat. Familiarize yourself with the lodge and the surrounding area.
Afternoon: Attend a houseboat orientation session to learn about the boat and safety procedures.
While the guys did that, we gals went to the grocery store and stocked up on supplies since we'd be doing our own cooking on the boat, then stocked the boat in preparation for setting sail the next morning.
Of course when the guys found out there were golf courses nearby, they went MIA on us scoping out the nearest golf course rather than helping us stock the boat! LOL
Casual golfing, 9-hole course within minutes of Voyagaire Lodge. Several other Premier Clubhouses and courses in surrounding areas.
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The Vermilion River Greens in Buyck (218) 993-2246
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The Wilderness at Fortune Bay in Tower (218) 753-8917
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Vermilion Fairways in Cook (218) 666-2679
Evening: Have dinner at the Lodge restaurant. The lakeside deck is the cherry on top, with colorful table umbrellas and full-service seating for 50 guests. Available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it is the ideal place for a delicious and memorable dining experience with a great view of the lake.
Morning: Have breakfast at the lodge. Before setting out on the water we stopped at the Crane Lake Visitor Center. 7480 Crane Lake Road in the town of Crane Lake.
The Visitor Center covers:
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Dark Sky Education - Preservation, Enjoyment, Cultural Stories
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Regional Indigenous History
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Interconnected Skies & Waters (Stewardship and Enjoyment of Voyageurs National Park, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Quetico Provincial Park)
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Area Recreation Opportunities, Programs, Wayfinding
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Overview of Voyageurs National Park
Because of its unique location near the Canadian border, this end-of-the-road community serves as an important access to the Crane Lake chain of lakes. Access to Crane Lake is via County Highway 23. Orr, which is the closest full-service community to Crane Lake, is 30 miles away. The nearest medical facility is 50 miles away in Cook.
Location and abundant access to recreational areas establishes the community of Crane Lake as a popular short-term vacation destination. Many people visit and use the local lodging facilities for a few days to a few weeks at a time. Thousands of visitors also use the community as a point of departure for trips into the adjacent recreational areas of the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness, Quetico Provincial Park and Voyageurs National Park. While most of the visitors come during the summer months, there is a growing demand in winter because of the popularity of outdoor winter sports.
Tourism and logging comprise the major employment opportunities for the community. Federal State and County land surround Crane Lake.
Crane Lake
We crossed Crane Lake then on to Sand Point Lake.
The Sand Point Lake Area is one of the most iconic and beautiful parts of Voyageurs National Park. This area is known for its pristine waters, rugged shoreline, and abundant wildlife, Visitors can explore the many
islands, bays, and inlets of Sand Point Lake by boat, kayak, or canoe. The area is also popular for fishing, with a variety of fish species including walleye, northern pike, and smallmouth bass. Additionally, the Sand Point Lake Area offers numerous hiking trails, scenic overlooks, and camping opportunities for visitors to enjoy the natural beauty of the park.
The Sand Point Lake area is home to a variety of wildlife species. Visitors can often spot white-tailed deer, red foxes, black bears, and beavers in the surrounding forests and along the lake shores. Lucky visitors may even catch a glimpse of elusive animals such as timber wolves and moose.
Beaver dam
We all like to fish so cast our lines to hopefully bring in some walleye that we could have for a shore lunch. The guys caught some beauties and we pulled in to shore to have our shore lunch.
Afternoon: If you're not familiar with shore lunches...
DIRECTIONS:
Season the fish pieces with white pepper and salt. Dredge the fish in the flour mixture. Dip into the beatem eggs,
As a bonus, I'll give you the fave Wisconsin recipe for beer battered walleye:
Ingredients
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3 quarts vegetable oil
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2 pounds walleye or whitefish filets, trimmed and cut into 3-to-5-ounce filets
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Ground white pepper
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Salt
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2 cups flour, seasoned very well with salt and ground white pepper
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3 eggs, beaten
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2 cups crushed Ritz crackers, pulsed in food processor
coating well, and then into the Ritz cracker breadcrumbs. Fry the fish pieces in batches until golden brown, about 5 minutes. As the fish come out of the frying pan, season with salt.
It's delicious!
(It must've been since we picked up a pelican following us...)
A Minnesota fishing license is required to fish on Voyageurs National Park. Purchase a Minnesota license online here: Minnesota Fishing License . If you are traveling to and fishing in Canadian waters, you will also need an Ontario fishing license as well as a Remote Area Border Crossing Permit (obtained through Canadian Customs.) Purchase an Ontario license online here: Ontario Fishing License.
Sand Point Lake / Photo credit: NPS
On to Namakan Lake.
Wolf Pack Island on Namakan Lake / Photo credit: NPS
Namakan Lake can be accessed through the gateway communities of either Kabetogama Lake, Ash River or Crane Lake. Namakan Lake is 16 miles long and 25,130 acres in size. It has 146 miles of shoreline, a maximum width of 7 miles, and a maximum depth of 150 ft. The name Namakan figures prominently in history. Name’ or Nah-mee means sturgeon in the Ojibwe language.
Namakan Lake provides great boating, camping, paddling, and fishing opportunities.
There are commercial services in the park that offer private boat tours, fishing charters, canoe rentals, etc. Namakan Lake can be accessed by paddling or boating through either Kabetogama Lake or from Crane Lake into Sand Point Lake.
Voyageurs National Park offers boat tours. Reservations can be made online or by calling recreation.gov at 877- 444-6777.
Evening: We pulled into a secluded bay and anchored for the night. After having a BBQ dinner prepared on the grill, we swam and competed in a rowdy game of Codenames.
Morning: Breakfast on the boat. Today we were headed toward the Ash River area then on to Kabetogama Lake.
Even though the Ash River Visitor Center is fairly small, there really is quite a bit to do in that area. In the summer, you’ll find a ranger-led interpretive canoe tour. There also are two different boat launches – one for canoes and kayaks and another for motorized boats. Finally, there are a few hiking trails and overlooks.
When the kids found out the Visitor Center offered a 12 person canoe voyage they were all for giving it a try.
Reservations are available on recreation.gov. Note: be sure to search Voyageurs National Park Special Interpretive Programs to find this tour.
The program begins with rangers dressed in period costumes, telling a bit about the French-Canadian voyageurs and the hundreds of pounds of goods they transported across the continent. While this program is a little hokey, it is also an interactive and interesting way to learn about these people and the effort it took to transport these goods.
From there, you’ll get a safety briefing and some basic information about paddling before piling into the large 12-person canoe. The canoe is a modernized version of what the voyageurs used as they paddled these waters more than 200 years ago.
The actual paddling part of the program only lasts about 30 minutes but it was A LOT of hard paddling.
The rangers are doing their best to show you just how hard the voyageurs actually worked. It is not a leisurely sightseeing paddle! This trip is more about learning the history and how difficult the journey was for the voyageurs.
Overall though, we were glad we did it.
We also hiked the Blind Ash Trail. This 3-mile trail starts near the Ash River Visitor Center and takes you through the forest to Blind Ash Bay. When you get to the loop part of the hike, veer to the left. This will avoid a steep uphill climb and saves the best views for last. As you first approach Blind Ash Bay, you’ll be fairly close to the water. There are a couple of places where you can walk down and take pictures.
Lake Kabetogama from the overlook along the Blind Ash Trail
The trail is moderately difficult with a lot of up and down and it's quite covered with roots and rocks, so you’ll definitely need to watch where you step. Thankfully, though, the trail is shaded pretty much the entire time, so at least you don’t have the sun beating down on you.
After our hike it was on to Lake Kabatogama. There's a visitor center there as well. off of Highway 53 in Kabetogama.
Lake Kabatogama / Photo credit: NPS
Kabetogama Lake can be accessed by the gateway communities of Kabetogama and Ash River.
Kabetogama Lake is 15 miles long and 25,760 acres in size. It has 78 miles of shoreline, a maximum depth of 80 feet, and 200 islands. All of Kabetogama Lake is in the park. Kabetogama has an Ojibwe Indian name – Ga-bi'-togum-ag' za’ -ga-I-gun that translates as “the lake that lies parallel or double with another lake,” meaning Kabetogama lies parallel to Rainy Lake. French fur traders referred to Kabetogama Lake as “Travere” or “Travers” which translates as “abreast or alongside.”
The north shore is skirted by the Kabetogama Peninsula and is accessible only by boat. This is where you'll find Ellsworth Rock Gardens.
Photo credit: NPS
The Ellsworth Rock Gardens have been known as the “Showplace of Lake Kabetogama” since the 1940s. Jack Ellsworth, the garden’s creator and a self-taught artist, used natural elements of the native northern Minnesota landscape as his artistic media, creating an original and distinctive art environment on the north shore of Kabetogama Lake.
Over a period of roughly twenty years, Ellsworth, a carpenter from Chicago, used art and engineering to create a complex, terraced garden on a prominent rock outcrop. Ellsworth constructed 62 terraced flower beds on the outcrop, which he filled with more than 13,000 lilies and other flower varieties. He then accented his garden landscape with over 200 abstract rock sculptures that have been compared to the work of modern sculptors like Noguchi and Brancusi.
The uniqueness and magnitude of Mr. Ellsworth’s creation and the garden’s importance as a recreational destination since the 1940s establish its significance. The gardens are the most popular day use destination in Voyageurs National Park.
The gardens contain a system of approximately 204 sculptures which vary in size and complexity.
We hiked the Ellsworth Rock Garden Trail, one of the most unique hikes accessible only by boat, Ellsworth Rock Garden is located on the Kabetogama Peninsula centrally located near Cutover Island. The dock is handicap accessible with a ramp leading up to the trailhead. Stroll through the rock garden, taking in the intricate sculptures crafted by artist Jack Ellsworth, or venture up the rock terrace trail to the bald-faced cliffs for spectacular views of Lake Kabetogama.
Pack a shore lunch, this is the top picnic destination in the park with a covered shelter, grills and picnic tables. This site has a bathroom too! Look for the large eagle’s nest on the southeast shore of Cutover Island as you approach by boat.
Afternoon: Or if you'd rather, have lunch at Kettle Falls Hotel. It is the only food option in the park and is affectionately known as the Tiltin’ Hilton due to its unlevel floors.
Lake Kabetogama is a big lake with 25,000 acres of pristine, clean and cool water. It is a glacier carved 26-mile long lake that offers an abundance of structure for fishing walleye with over 200 beautiful islands.
Evening: Have dinner on the boat. Anchor for the night and enjoy the sunset.
Morning & Afternoon: Breakfast on the boat before heading for Rainy Lake, a trip of about 6.5 hours by boat - so you'll have lunch on the boat enroute to Rainy Lake.
Rainy Lake also has a visitor center that's quite interesting and the largest of the Voyageurs Natl, Park visitor centers.
Located on the shore of Black Bay with views across the water to the Kabetogama Peninsula. The Rainy Lake Visitor Center hours of operation vary with the season. The visitor center offers an exhibit area, displays, a bookstore, a staffed information desk, a children's activity table, and a theater for viewing the park film. A free public boat launch provides access to Rainy Lake during the warm season.
There's an Ethnobotanical Garden on Rainy Lake that we took a walk through. The term ‘ethnobotanical' refers to the cultural importance of the native plants and their uses to the local inhabitants.
This one-acre garden of native plants restores a site that had been overtaken by invasive plants. In the 1990s, during dredging for the boat basin, invasive reed canary grass was transported to this location. Due to this plant’s prolific roots and early growing season, reed canary grass stole resources from vulnerable native plants, transforming this once bountiful site into a barren field.
Photo credit: NPS
There's interpretive signage and exhibits to guide you along the scenic ADA accessible trail. Learn about the history of the local Ojibwe and the plants on which they relied.
There is no admission fee to visit the Ethnobotanical Garden at Rainy Lake in Voyageurs National Park. You can enjoy a self-guided tour at no cost.
We also hiked the Rainy Lake Recreation Trail, which is a wide, gently sloped, paved trail that is non-strenuous and suitable for leashed pets, bicyclists, walkers, runners, and snowshoers. The trail takes about 1.5 hours to complete and offers views of forest, lake, and marsh scenery.
View of Rainy Lake from Visitors Center
We anchored on Rainy Lake for the night and had dinner on the boat.
Morning: Breakfast on the boat before rounding Sha Sha Point to Little American Island.
Little American Island
Gold was discovered on what is now Little American Island in July 1893. The Little American Mine was up and running early the next year with hard rock mining proceeding with both a horizontal adit and a vertical shaft that eventually reached a depth of 100 feet.
By spring of 1894, the Rainy Lake "Gold Rush" was in full swing with the incorporation of the new settlement of Rainy Lake City on the east side of Black Bay Narrows. The boom quickly fizzled and by 1898 the school and newspaper were closed with the town being totally abandoned by 1901.
There is a dock at the island with a vault toilet.
Accessible only by boat, the island is a mere 2 miles from the Rainy Lake Visitor Center, making it an easy and intriguing destination for those exploring Voyageurs National Park.
For those looking for a more guided experience, Rainy Lake Charters 2 ½ hour Voyageurs Park Tour offers an excursion through Voyageurs National Park. Led by Captain Ken Meyer, this tour provides an in-depth look at the island’s mining history and the broader narrative of the park and how it has developed thru the years. The tour includes Little American Island.
After exploring Little American Island we began our return trip to Crane Lake. We wanted to get as early a start after returning the houseboat as possible because we wanted to make one more trip stop before we returned home.
Evening: Dinner on the houseboat. We pulled into a cove about halfway back to Crane Lake and anchored for the night.
Morning: Early breakfast on the boat before arriving in Crane Lake to return the houseboat.
We piled in the Beast and it was off to our last destination in our trip - Grand Portage, MN - a 5 hour drive.
We'd made reservations at Grand Portage Lodge & Casino/RV Park. The RV Park is located adjacent to the Marina with 29 sites with full hook ups and a comfort station with restrooms, showers and laundry facilities.
The nightly fee was $42 per night, or
$47 if you wanted a lakeside slot.
Located on the western shore of Lake Superior, Grand Portage National Monument was a fur trade outpost and hub of trading between the native Ojibwe and Europeans. It is also a great place to learn more about the grueling portage the French-Canadian voyageurs made here.
The admission fee to Grand Portage National Monument is $10 per person for visitors aged 16 and older. However, if you have a National Park Pass,
such as the America the Beautiful Pass, you may be able to enter for free.
Across the street from the Ojibwe village is a fort. Admission to the fort is free.
Gichi Onigaming (Great Carrying Place) is the name of the 8.5-mile portage trail that allowed Native Americans, explorers, and voyageurs to bypass high falls, cascades, and gorges, and has been a critical transportation route for thousands of years. Because of the area’s geology, topography, natural resources, and strategic location, this trail was part of an ancient transcontinental trade route connecting the Great Lakes to the interior of the continent.
The Grand Portage trail itself was a focal point in developing the international boundary between Canada and the United States, and today remains an international road.
During the fur trade Fort Charlotte received furs, unloaded and carried on the backs of the voyageurs over the Grand Portage to be processed for shipping east in the larger 36' Montreal canoes waiting on Lake Superior. Similarly, the 24' North canoes at Fort Charlotte returned with trade goods to villages in the northwest where the Native trappers lived. The canots de maître (Monteal canoes) carried trade goods, collected in Montreal from around the world, to the North West Company depot on the lake. This two canoe system, one size for the Great Lakes and the other for rivers meeting in the middle, enabled the company to move goods across most of the continent in a single summer season each year.
My brother is a kayaking instructor on Lake Superior so I know how rough Lake Superior can get very quickly - at left.
I can't imagine how one would begin to canoe across Lake Superior, much less one loaded with supplies!
Afternoon: Dining options in Grand Portage are pretty limited so we drove to Grand Marais for lunch at Trail Center Lodge.
Rustic, adorable, hospitable, good food and service. $$
