While there are wilderness experiences available for those visitors who want to take the time to get off the beaten path in Voyageurs National Park, primitive camping is not the only activity for visitors to the area. Bill Gardiner, chief naturalist at Voyageurs National Park, said the majority of visitors to the park are likely to bring their motor boats while staying at one of the resorts in the area. However, visitors who don't bring their own boats, and even those who do, have a number of options available, in terms of having access to all areas of the park. Gardiner said there are several boat tours people can take from a number of locations in the park, including the three-and-one-half hour Rainy Lake Grand Tour, which takes visitors past Little America Island (site of a gold mining operation) and other attractions, such as nesting eagles, which are viewed from a respectful distance.

Best Boat Trip
"The best boat trip is the one that goes from Kabetogama to Kettle Falls," Gardiner said. That six-hour trip, covering 28 miles, offers a view of some of the same routes taken by voyageurs, lumberjacks, gold miners and bootleggers. Reservations for these boat trips can be made by calling Voyageurs National Park Boat Tours Inc. at 218-286-5470, or the Kabetogama Lake Visitor Center at 218-875-2111, or the park concessioner at 218-875-2070.

Interior Lakes Solitude
For those visitors wanting to visit some of the interior lakes, there are a number of options available, Gardiner said. On Locator Lake, near the west end of Kabetogama Lake, there are five canoes and two rowboats that campers can use free of charge. "To use these canoes or rowboats, people should call a week in advance to reserve them," Gardiner said. "They can pick up a key at the Kabetogama Lake Visitor Center or at Woodenfrog (northwest of the visitor center). The only cost is in getting across the lake, four miles straight north of Woodenfrog. From there, they can hike in two miles, unlock the canoe and paddle back to where they want to go."

Campfire Program
Woodenfrog also is the site of an evening campfire program, which takes place four nights a week during the summer, weather permitting. For more information on all the park has to offer, Gardiner said, visitors can call the park headquarters at 218-283-9821.