Tag: national park camping

A Memorable One Night Backpacking Trip to Santa Cruz Island

Post author By Hannah

Channel Islands National Park encompasses a small five-island archipelago and the expanse of ocean that surrounds them, off the coast of southern California. This rugged yet enchanting landscape is home to one-of-a-kind plants and animals– found nowhere else on the planet. The rustic charm and cultural identity of the Channel Islands make this national park unique in the midst of California’s impressive array of national parks. Located approximately 12 miles off the coast, Santa Cruz is the easiest of the islands to reach. Not only that, it tends to have the most amenable weather as well as the most opportunity for recreational exploration… all the best ingredients for memorable backpacking escapades.

What makes Santa Cruz Island extra special? The remote and wild island may not have any restaurants or concessions, but it boasts quite the seascape. The Pacific ocean is an alluring backdrop to the unforgettable island coastline— the perfect amalgamation of tranquility and pristine panoramas that make for the ideal backpacking adventure. In addition to the natural beauty, Santa Cruz is historically and ecologically meaningful as well. Santa Cruz was once home to the Chumash Indians and remains the only home of the island scrub-jay-only as well as some small island foxes. We were lucky enough to see both while we were there– as well as lots of yarrow, fennel, and California sage bush!

Fast Facts About channel islands National Park

Size: 249,561 acres

Visitors: 328,746 visitors (data from 2023)

Distance from LA: 1-1.5 hour drive + a ferry ride

Became a National Park: March 5th, 1980

Highest point: Diablo Peak at 2,450 ft (on Santa Cruz Island)

Fun Fact: in 2023 there were 23,881 visitors that camped in the backcountry

While I’ve done my fair share of camping before, this was my first non-Army backpacking trip for pleasure. Having a tent, sleeping pad, and jetboil is fancy digs!! The rolling 1,500ft total climb certainly wasn’t easy peasy but the untouched, remote wilderness is hard to beat and so very worth the sweat equity.

Ferry Ferry, Quite Contrary

The rather remote nature of the park means a little extra time and coordination is necessary to plan your arrival. The ferry to Santa Cruz Island is operated by Island Packers. The ferry departs from Ventura Harbor and takes a little over an hour to reach Scorpion Cove. While this is the more popular of the two stops, you’ll want to sit tight a little longer. The ferry waits ~20 minutes to allow everyone time to disembark before cruising to its second destination. About 30 minutes later, you’ll find yourself at Prisoner’s Harbor. Overall you can expect the ferry time to be about 2 hours.

important notes:

you MUST bring all the water you anticipate needing with you onto the ferry because there is no water available at Prisoner’s Harbor and there’s definitely not a tap at the back country campground.
On the ferry, fuel and water cannot stay in your pack → the packs get stacked, so you don’t want the water bursting. Your water should be either in bladders (place in the back of the boat you can store it) or you can also bring gallons and distribute it when you arrive on the island.
When you check in for your ferry, they give you physical tickets to get on the ferry both ways aka do not lose your return ticket!!!
Double check your return time!! Some of them are only 30 min off from one another, but you have to get on the right time (aka actually aim for 30 min early) or else there won’t be enough room for everyone. You don’t want to get left behind!

These Boots Were Made for Walking

Once everyone’s off the ferry, it’s time to get those packs all ready to go! If you plan to bring extra water (to consume after you’ve returned but before you depart on the ferry again) there are fox boxes to store your water in to ensure it’s safe from the wildlife. Just for planning and packing purposes, one gallon of water per person per day is recommended.

Del Norte is a backcountry campground a little over 3 miles from the Harbor. Getting there requires navigating a bit of a rolling hill landscape as you’ll find yourself climbing, descending, and climbing again, for a total elevation gain of around 1,000’. There’s only 4 campsites, and even in April, it was warm enough that we were glad to have the two campsites in the shade! Reservations are required in advance… it’s a bit too long of a trek to be a first come first serve campsite! Reservations are easiest to make online (link here), but you can also call to reserve a campsite (877) 444-6777.

Campfires are prohibited, but jetboils are very much allowed, so it’s still very possible to enjoy a nice hot dinner. The picnic tables make for a breezy spot to relax and play cards together. It’s a lovely spot to spend the evening together, and perfect for stargazing into the night.

Prisoner’s Harbor and Del Norte exude peace and make it easy to imagine what a simple life would have been like hundreds of years ago. The simplicity can be quite the reprieve from the every-day hustle and bustle, but it also means you’ll need to bring EVERYTHING you need with you. This is by no means an inclusive packing list, but here’s a handful of things you’ll be glad to have with you regardless of the time of year!

Packing Up and Packing Out

When morning rolls around, it’s time for a spot of breakfast and then packing everything back up! The trail to the Del Norte campground is an out and back, so you shouldn’t feel too worried about getting lost on the way back— it should all be rather familiar to you.

If you’re wanting to take the path less traveled, there is an option to come back a different way, if you are so inclined (we highlighted this below). Just in general downloading the trail on AllTrails was nice to have, just as a safeguard against any accidental wandering off the intended path.

Keep on Keepin’ On

Once you make it back to Prisoner’s Harbor, take a little break and enjoy a snack because you’ve got more hiking on the itinerary! The ferry should be back by 11am at the latest, which is worth noting because there’s a naturalist aboard that will lead a guided hike (pro-tip: sign the waiver right after you buy your ferry ticket so you don’t have to worry about this later)!

The hike is along the Pelican Bay trail, and is less of a hike to a specific destination and more of a let’s-enjoy-the-journey hike. This can be a perfect opportunity to spot wildlife! We saw a small Island fox while we were on this hike– this fox only exists on Santa Cruz Island!! The Island Scrub Jay is also found only on Santa Cruz and is more commonly seen around Prisoner’s Harbor!

Shippin’ Out

The ferry typically leaves to head back a little after 3pm, so even if you explore along the Pelican Bay trail, you’ll find yourself with a little extra time. We just went down and relaxed in and by the water, but if you bring a snorkel mask, there’s a kelp forest along the shoreline worth exploring. While sea kayaking is a popular activity on Santa Cruz, this is more commonly pursued on the east side of the island, near Scorpion’s Cove.

Before you know it, it’ll be time for the ferry to head back to the mainland, so soak up all the secluded serenity while you can! Keep your eyes peeled as you head back— we spotted a mama whale and her calf on our way back…. an incredible experience!!

Alternate Options

While we found the one-night backpacking trip to be a perfect sampling of Santa Cruz, here’s a few other ideas for folks a little less inclined to backpack or camp overnight.

If you hop off the ferry at Scorpion Anchorage, you’ll want to check out the Potato Harbor Overlook hike. This out-and-back hike clocks in at just over 5 miles, with 660’ of elevation, making it moderately challenging, but nothing too tricky. Definitely worth the effort to take in the gorgeous vista!
Have you ever been sea kayaking? Santa Barbara Adventure Company is the only company on Santa Cruz Island that offers guided kayaking trips. This is another Scorpion Anchorage stop, and it’s the perfect way to take in the iconic caves of the Santa Cruz coastline. Depending on your comfortability in a kayak, there’s a few different options regarding length of time out on the water. They also offer snorkel rentals and guided snorkeling tours!
Island Packers doesn’t just ferry people back and forth, you can opt for a nice day trip adventure with them. After departing from Ventura, you cruise into the Painted Cave, experiencing one of the biggest sea caves in the world. The colorful cave is named for the naturally occurring pigmentations, derived from various rock types and algae that make up its walls. The cave is also home to varied sealife as well– keep your eyes peeled for seals! After the cave exploration, the boat will head over to Prisoner’s Harbor to do the Pelican Bay trail hike (same one we did!). From there you’ll get to head back to Ventura.

the memorable Prisoner's harbor with a simple dock and the hilly green backdrop

final thoughts

Santa Cruz Island, particularly Prison’s Harbor, is an almost-untouched sliver of California’s coastline that calls back to a bygone era of symbiosis between nature and the Chumash Indians that once inhabited. The wild island and its impressive seascape make for an amazing backpacking trip– you won’t regret making the trek out!

Our friend made a lil vlog of our memorable backpacking adventure— check it out here!

If remote, warm island parks are your jam, we sure to check out Dry Tortugas National Park the next time you’re near the Florida Keys!

written by Kayla

A literal life saving queen, Kayla Grace is an Army nurse in Fort Irwin, California. When she’s not fixing up folks up in the emergency department, she is likely to be found running, walking, or hiking outside. She also has quite the green thumb and keeps all her plants alive… not just surviving but thriving! Before moving to CA, Kayla was stationed in Washington for a few years, where she discovered her her love for camping and the general woodland-fairy ambiance she exudes while out adventuring. Still rather new to the southern California region, Kayla is in her desert-girl era, exploring her new state with gusto.

Tags Channel Islands National Park, national park camping, national park travel

travel

Everything You Need to Know About the Remote Dry Tortugas

Post author By Hannah

Out in the Gulf of Mexico, with nothing in sight for miles, sits Dry Tortugas National Park. This sparkling 100-square mile park is predominantly open water, with seven small islands included in the protected ecosystem. Boasting amazing snorkeling, unique birdwatching, and a little slice of history, this isolated park is worth the effort! Having been a couple times, we can fill you in on everything you need to know about the remote Dry Tortugas National Park.

Dry Tortugas National Park was one of the first national parks we visited, and we went in a most unusual fashion! Growing up in Florida afforded us the opportunity to learn all kinds of water sports, and sailing was one such sport! Every summer the organization we sailed with would plan a sailing trip from our hometown in Fort Myers down to the Dry Tortugas, and we would spend a week down there before heading back.

The natural beauty here really is amazingly untouched. When we went down, we would live on the sailboat for the duration of our adventure— an adventure girl’s overwater bungalow if you will. It was amazing to peer down into the crystal clear water and see nurse sharks, massive goliath grouper, barracuda, and all kinds of fish just swimming by… every single day. Not only is the water clear, but it’s the most beautiful shade of blue. It’s so peaceful to stare off into the horizon and not be able to distinguish where the sky ends and the water begins.

Fast Facts About Dry Tortugas National Park

Size: 100 square miles

Visitors: 83,817 visitors annually (data from 2021)

Distance from Key West: 68 miles

National Park Initiation: became Fort Jefferson National Monument in January 1935 and graduated to Dry Tortugas National Park on October 26th, 1992

All About Location

Where is this secluded park hiding?? About 70 miles west of Key West you’ll find Garden Key which houses the park headquarters, a visitor center, and a campground… plus some great snorkeling areas! Below we have detailed everything you need to know about getting to the park, things to do once you’re there, and everything that makes this coastal national park unique.

Fort Jefferson

A military fort? On an island in the middle of the Gulf? Yup, you read that right… or at least it was for a while. Fort Jefferson stands as a tremendous but unfinished fortress, making it the largest brick masonry configuration in America, with over 16 million bricks utilized to bring it to life.

Originally scouted as a potential lookout site to suppress piracy in the Caribbean, the fort is located along a busy ship traffic route, so the port served as a harbor for United States ships needing to resupply, refit, or seek refuge during a storm. While the fort was never finished (under construction from 1846-1875) or fully armed, it served as a symbol of protection, for at the time, was a young nation.

The fort was briefly used as a prison for Union deserters during its construction— most notably housing Dr. Samuel Mudd, the physician accused of conspiring with John Wilkes Booth (he was eventually pardoned by President Andrew Johnson in 1869).

Dry Tortugas National Park was established in October 1992 to protect the islands and underwater ecosystems of the Dry Tortugas, to preserve both Fort Jefferson as well as submerged cultural resources nearby (i.e. shipwrecks), and to allow for public access in an organized manner.

Things to pack

Reef safe sunscreen — don’t just pack any old sunscreen… if you plan on doing any snorkeling, be sure to pack a reef safe sunscreen (our favorite reef safe face sunscreens). It’s sometimes a little strange to think of a coral reef as a compilation of living, growing organisms, but the chemicals in some screens can be damaging to the reef systems.
Hat — man oh man can the sun get hot out there, and the sun is strong!! You will never regret packing a sun hat or a baseball cap to protect your head and give you a little extra shade
Water bottle — while water may be provided to you, it’s never a bad idea to bring a water bottle along for the ride. Florida is known for its year-round warm temperatures and its position close to the equator means you might have to be a little more intentional about hydration than you’re used to… even in November!
Change of clothes — not necessary for everyone, but if you’re visiting in the summer you might get a little sweaty and salty after wandering around and snorkeling. Sometimes it’s nice to have a clean, dry outfit to change into for your journey home!

the shady spots are few and far between!!

How to Get There

With the park being accessible exclusively by boat or seaplane, you have to put in a bit of planning to get to Dry Tortugas National Park. With the nearest drive-able location being Key West (check out our Key West blog post here), you’ll get to enjoy the south Florida archipelago before embarking upon the sparkling blues of the national park. Each option has its pros and cons, and the size of the group you’re going with as well as the direction of your overall interests (day trip, camping, etc) will largely dictate what will be best for you.

Option #1: The Yankee Freedom from Key West

The Day Trip Scoop

The best part about a remote part is that you are privy to a two-for-one experience. Not only is this a means of transportation but the ferry ride also takes you on a gorgeous ride through the Gulf of Mexico. Holding 250 people, the ferry isn’t a ‘small group’ experience, but it’s nowhere near as hectic as a cruise ship at port. It’s nice to have a large boat to wander around while you’re cruising. She gets up to a top speed of 30 knots!

Everyone on board receives a complimentary breakfast and lunch, so it’s nice to not have to worry about packing a lunch before your 7am check-in time. The good times keep rolling once you arrive. The cost of the tour includes your admission into the park as well as a fully narrated 45 minute tour of Fort Jefferson. Also super convenient, snorkeling equipment is provided… one less thing to pack is always music to my ears!

Timeline for the day:

Snorkel gear is available to Yankee Freedom sailors upon arrival at Ft Jefferson, and I cannot recommend highly enough how much you MUST give this a try during your day of exploration. Since the Dry Tortugas are protected waters, the marine life is amazing. We’re talking swimming with the biggest lobster you’ve ever seen, colorful coral arrays, and hundreds of curious fishes.

The ferry allows for 5 hours of exploration around the fort and snorkeling. Which is more than enough to get the essence of the Dry Tortugas. The fort sits on a small, 14 acre island, so there is only so much overground exploration to be had on the island itself. If you consider yourself a casual to moderate purveyor of U.S. national parks, this will likely be more than enough time to make you feel you can robustly check Dry Tortugas off your park bucket list.

One Day Isn’t Enough!

For those potentially looking to do a bit more kayaking or camping, the ferry is still an awesome option for you (likely your best option), but you’re going to need to make your plans in advance. The Yankee Freedom transports no more than 10 campers per day to Ft. Jefferson (for a max stay of 3 nights). Interested parties must decide in advance how long they plan to stay, to ensure both their outbound and inbound trips are scheduled. Even more exclusive, no more than three kayaks or small canoes may be transported on any trip, so these spots go fast…. like booking 6 months in advance still might not get you a kayak spot.

If you plan to go camping via the Yankee Freedom, you don’t necessarily have to pack light, but it won’t be a free-for-all. Each camper must be able to contain their gear, food, water, and ice into one storage bin (max capacity 27 gallons), one bag (a < 75L backpack or duffel) and one cooler per person. The combined weight of the storage bin and bag cannot exceed 60 pounds. There is no weight limit for water and ice, but campers must be able to carry and lift their own coolers. It goes without saying, but you must supply your own containers. You can get the full scoop on Yankee Freedom camping information here.

Camping Notes

A packing note: per US Coast guard regulation, no compressed gas (i.e. propane bottles) or liquid fuel are allowed, so you must use self-starting charcoal or Sterno gel if you want to get a flame going. Per Yankee Freedom safety guidelines, no weapons are allowed on board, so any knife blades cannot be more than 2.4 in. length or .5 in. width.

An important cash-money note: for those just visiting for the day, you do NOT need to bring cash for your admission to the park as this is included in the cost of your ferry ticket. However, for those camping, you DO need to bring cash to pay for your campsite ($15 or $30/night) — this goes to the NPS and is not included in your ferry transportation costs as everyone’s length of stay is different.

The primitive campground is just a short walk form the public dock, and it offers 8 individual campsites. Reservations are not required, as campsites are available on a first come, first serve basis. If there happens to be more campers than campsites, there is an overflow camping area. Once a camper arrives, they will be guaranteed a place to camp. If you have any other questions about camping, check out the NPS page here.

the Price is Right

This is the current pricing for adults (age 17-61), but they do offer various discounts for students, seniors, military personnel, and those that already have an annual parks pass. You can see the full rates list here.

$200 pp
$220 pp for campers
$240 pp for camping with kayak (the extra fee includes transportation of a kayak, not the provision of a kayak)

Option #2: Key West Seaplane Adventures

The two-for-one special with a zippy flight to Fort Jefferson is that you get to enjoy a flight-seeing, birds eye view of the park as you make your way there… and then you further get to explore all that Garden Key has to offer! The perk of flying is that it cuts your transportation time in thirds, only taking 40 minutes each way.

If you hear seaplane transportation calling your name, you have a couple options: visiting either a half-day or a full day. Half day options will have either a morning or afternoon departure, while full day excursions only leave in the morning.

The cost of your admission into the park is NOT included in your seaplane adventure experience, so be sure to either pack cash or your national parks annual pass card.

What to know

Besides getting you to Fort Jefferson, with arguably the best view, they also provide bottled water and soft drinks to quench your thirst as well as snorkel gear to help facilitate your island exploration (you are certainly allowed to bring your own snorkel gear if you so chose). For adventurers embarking on a full-day tour they do not provide lunch, but they will have coolers to ensure any lunch you pack will still be tasty by meal time. Be sure to arrive with enough sustenance packed to last through your trip duration.

They cannot and will not carry dive tanks, weights, knives, underwater scooters, flammable liquids, gas stoves, large coolers (or styrofoam coolers), pets of any kind, beach chairs, shade umbrellas, or drones. So be sure to leave all these items behind! Besides, who needs a drone when you’ll be the one up in the sky getting a bird’s eye view?!

The Key West Seaplane Adventures contract with the NPS is only for half day or full-day round trip tours. As such they cannot leave passengers on the island overnight and are not a viable option for adventurers looking to go camping.

Option #3: Private Charter

A private charter is the perfect option for someone that’s looking to do a little bit more and get there according to your own schedule. The 12-hour day trip gives you a full day to explore, meaning you can go fishing, see the fort, hit up a couple snorkeling spots, and still make it back by the end of the day. While there’s a few options to choose from, Good Times Key West and Hillbilly Hookers are both well rated, with similar price points. This option is going to be the spendiest, but it will also provide the most flexibility to create your perfect itinerary.

Things to Do

Self Guided Tour

While there’s no ranger-led tours of the fort, they do have a nice self-guided tour of Fort Jefferson available. It’s super easy to follow the signage, and you can always inquire at the visitor center if there’s anything additional you’re curious about.

Snorkeling

Over 99% of Dry Tortugas National Park is under water, which means you’ve gotta get that snorkel mask on to really appreciate its beauty. The park sits at the southwestern corner of the Florida Keys reef, and the snorkeling here is exactly as amazing as you would expect in an area of protected waters. It’s illegal to spear-fish, lobster, and collect coral or shells within the park, so the marine wildlife are thriving.

The secluded nature of the park, in conjunction with an easterly flowing gulf current means there’s not only a greater plethora of the varied marine life, but the animals themselves tend to be bigger than their counterparts elsewhere in the keys. Even though it’s been years since we’ve been, I recall seeing the largest lobster, just living his life unbothered. It’s beyond special to experience nature in such a personal way.

Visit Loggerhead Lighthouse

Loggerhead Key is about three miles west of Garden Key, and is home to a quaint lighthouse as well as some excellent snorkeling. Day trip adventurers arriving by boat or seaplane are unlikely to have time to visit this dive site, but it is totally doable for those planning to camp (and bring a kayak) or any group planning on a private charter.

The lighthouse has been standing since the mid-1800’s and is certainly fun to go seek out, but the crown jewel of Loggerhead key is the Windjammer wreck. This popular snorkel and dive spot found its resting place on the ocean floor in 1901 and has been integrating itself ito the coastal ecosystem ever since. Before you start paddling out to the wreck, be sure to grab a laminated underwater map from the visitor center to help guide your explorations!

Bird-Watching

Dry Tortugas National Park is a renowned birding destination— especially during the spring migration season. Almost 300 hundred different species of birds have been spotted down in the Dry Tortugas… with the elusive magnificent frigate bird and sooty tern nesting exclusively in the park… you won’t find them nesting anywhere else in the continental United States! Bird watching can be a pretty niched hobby, but park visitors of all interests are likely to be delighted by these little feathered national treasures.

Fishing

The abundant marine life in the Dry Tortugas makes for some gooood fishing. That being said, you have to make sure you’ve crossed your t’s and dotting your i’s before you start casting.

As mentioned above, spearfishing and lobstering are not allowed in the park, so leave your best spears at home. Fishing in the Natural Resource Area is also prohibited. You will want to ensure you have a Florida saltwater fishing license and some “circle” hook (“j” hooks are not permitted). Be sure to pack any gear you might need before you head out, because there is, unsurprisingly, not a bait and tackle shop on Garden Key.

If you still need clarification, you can check out the current rules and regulations here. Sometimes you gotta know when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em… or in this case when to release them back. You can find more catch and release information can be found on the here.

This tends to be an awesome area to catch some tasty snapper and grouper! Best of luck fishing… here’s to hoping the biggest fish you see isn’t the one that got away!

Dry Tortugas National Park holds so many special memories to us, and we hope you have a lovely time taking in all there is to see, do, and learn in this beautiful, remote park. Happy adventuring!

written by Hannah

Hannah has learned the hard way to be careful what you wish for— sometimes happily ever after lands you with a husband and puppy… in the Midwest. Despite leaving Florida to move to Wisconsin, Hannah maintains her bossy big sister role with regular phone calls to keep up with all the little sister shenanigans. Notoriously chatty with her patients as well, Hannah stays busy as a physical therapist, but loves spending weekends exploring newfound hikes.

Tags Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida National Parks, national park camping, national parks travel

national parks travel

Making the Most of Your Time at Voyageurs National Park

Post author By Hannah

Explore the boundary waters up at Voyageurs— Minnesota’s only national park! With over 218,000 acres, there are endless nooks and crannies in this forested wetland. The network of rivers, streams, and lakes account for approximately 40% of Voyageurs National Park, however, much of the remaining land is accessible only by water. The interconnected waterways create a mosaic for eager visitors to explore. Whether you’re keen for a day out on the water or intrigued by the Northern lights, here’s to making the most of your time at Voyageurs.

This is a perfect spot for a relaxing long weekend adventure, enjoying nature. From our favorite campsite to maximizing your chances of seeing the aurora borealis, we’ve got the scoop on this aquatic maze.

Enough Visitor Centers to Go Around

First stop? The visitor center! Voyageurs actually maintains three different visitor centers in distinct regions of the park. Rainy Lake is the farthest north and is the only visitor center open year-round. Kabetogama Lake and Ash River are both open seasonally, from May through September. Each center has its own boat launch, so the assorted locations help visitors access the various areas of the park with ease. Regardless which one you visit, be sure to get your national park passport stamped!

Whatever Floats Your Boat

Much of Voyageurs is either water or land only accessible by water. This means a boat is pretty essential to getting the full Voyageurs experience. From kayaks and canoes to pontoons and wakeboarding boats, you’ll see a variety of fun being had. We did a bit of a road trip adventure up to Voyageurs, and didn’t want to deal with a trailer when we were exploring some of the more touristy cities, so we just strapped a canoe to the roof of the car!

Perhaps you’d rather not deal with the hassle of bringing your boat along or maybe you’re keen to have someone else drive the boat– regardless, you have some options. If you’re interested in learning some fun facts while you float, the national park service offers a few different tours to help everyone explore. Otherwise, a comprehensive list of local guides and rentals can be found here.

Hiking

While Voyageurs isn’t hailed as a hiking destination, there’s a couple of hikes worth exploring. If you’re up near Rainy Lake, the Oberholtzer Trail is an easy, under two mile hike that will allow you to experience nature from a different perspective. Closer to the Ash River Visitor Center, you can wander through three miles of aquatic ecosystem views on the Blind Ash Bay Trail. These hiking trails are a great way to enjoy a bit of solitude as well as some potential birdwatching if you’re lucky! No doggos allowed on the trail though, so you’ll have to rock this walk by yourself or with some human pals.

Unique Sights

Each pocket of the park has its own little adventure that awaits. Just north of the Rainy Lake Visitor Center, you’ll find Little American Island. You can take a self-guided tour and see mentos of an old mining era. About five miles north of the Kabetogama Lake Visitor Center and only accessible by water, you will find the Ellsworth Rock Gardens. Originally created by Jack Ellsworth, the garden is a collection of unique rock sculptures and formations, surrounded by thousands of colorful blossoms.

Most easily accessible by the Ash River Visitor Center, Kettle Falls is just a hop, skip, and a jump from the Canadian border. This part of the park is home to a historic hotel. Their motto is “Tough place to get to….. But well worth it once you get there!”

Camping

Voyageurs is pretty unique in that all campsites are accessible exclusively by watercraft. You can make your camping reservation online, which is not only convenient but also a fab way to scope out all the various sites. Voyageurs doesn’t have a campground so much as it has loads of unique individual campsites. We stayed at Sphunge Island West, which is a little over a mile and a half from Kabetogama Lake Visitor Center.

If you don’t have a motorized boat and plan on canoeing, this is a perfect site as it’s a very reasonable distance to traverse with all of your camping stuff on board. There was only one other campsite on the island, and with no overland path to reach them, you really do feel like you have a little lake island to yourself. Most importantly, our campsite’s beach faced north, so we had a perfect view of the northern lights in the evening. Not all campsites are so ideally located, so be sure to investigate your campsite thoroughly before making any final decisions. As a bonus, pets were permitted at this campsite, so we were able to bring our dog!

As a note: While canoe voyages greater than 1.5 miles are beyond feasible, it’s worth noting, there are other motorized boats out tubing and zooming around. When we were in the ‘open bay area’ if you will, it made me grateful we picked something as close as we did. It would have been doable, but I would have been a bit nervous to embark on a much longer canoe trip, with all our backpacks and camping stuff in the boat.

Northern Lights

Voyageurs is certainly home to serene, natural beauty; however, if you have spent any amount of time adventuring around on lakes before, you might be looking for the extra-special-something to make this experience unique. While it’s impossible to guarantee, visiting Voyageurs when there’s a high likelihood of the aurora borealis making an appearance will take your usual lake-life experience to an ethereal level.

The University of Alaska in Fairbanks has an aurora forecast website that monitors geomagnetic activity to provide predictions of when the northern lights are most likely to make their appearance. We found this to be rather beneficial as we were planning our trip. When we arrived, we stopped at the visitor center and spoke with the park ranger, and she recommended the My Aurora Forecast app as a way to more closely monitor your likelihood of seeing the lights, in real time. It gives you a pretty accurate prediction for when you might get some magical dancing light action.

making the most of your time at Voyageurs by staying up for the northen lights

For us, watching the Northern lights dance across the sky was the ultimate highlight of the trip. While the lights tend to be more common to see in the winter months, we visited in early September and were treated to a wondrous light show. Happy travels and best of luck chasing down the magical aurora borealis!

written by Hannah

Tags national park camping, Voyageurs National Park