Editing Isle Royale National Park (section)

===Access===
{{See also|Isle Royale Ferry Service}}[[File:IsleRoyalePlane.jpg|thumb|right|Floatplane taking off from Ozaagaateng on Washington Harbor—Beaver Island can be seen in the background at right]]The park is accessible by ferries, floatplanes, and passenger ships during the summer months—from [[Houghton, Michigan|Houghton]] and [[Copper Harbor, Michigan|Copper Harbor]] in Michigan and [[Grand Portage]] in Minnesota. Private boats travel to the island from the coasts of Michigan, Minnesota, and Ontario. Isle Royale is quite popular with [[day-tripper]]s in private boats, and day-trip ferry service is provided from Copper Harbor and Grand Portage to and from the park.

Isle Royale is the only American national park to entirely close in the winter months, from November 1 through April 15, due to extreme weather conditions and for the safety and protection of visitors.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/isro/planyourvisit/hours.htm |title=Operating Hours & Seasons |access-date=February 10, 2017 |archive-date=February 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211081822/https://www.nps.gov/isro/planyourvisit/hours.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Isle Royale is the least-visited national park in the [[contiguous United States]],<ref name="reasonable2"/> due to the winter closing and the distance across Lake Superior to reach the park. The average annual visitation was about 19,000 in the period from 2009 to 2018, with 25,798 visiting in 2018.<ref name="visits"/> Only three of the most remote Alaskan national parks{{mdash}}[[Lake Clark National Park and Preserve|Lake Clark]], [[Kobuk Valley National Park|Kobuk Valley]] and [[Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve|Gates of the Arctic]]{{mdash}}receive fewer visitors.<ref name="visits"/>

====Ships====
[[File:Isle_Royale_Queen_IV_in_Copper_Harbor.JPG|right|thumb|''Isle Royale Queen IV'' at Copper Harbor]]
Scheduled ferry service operates from Grand Portage, Copper Harbor and Houghton.

The Grand Portage ferries reach the island in 1½ hours, and stay 4 hours at the island, allowing time for hiking, a guided hike or program by the park staff, and picnics.

The [[Isle Royale Queen IV|''Isle Royale Queen'']] serves park visitors out of Copper Harbor, on the northern Upper Peninsula coast of Michigan. It arrives at Rock Harbor in the park in 3 to 3½ hours and spends 3½ hours before returning to Copper Harbor.

The ''Sea Hunter'' operates round-trips and offers day trips to the Ozaagaateng visitor center through much of the season, and less frequently in early summer and autumn; it will transport kayaks and canoes for visitors wanting to explore the park from the water. It is the fastest ferry serving the island and arrives in 1½ hours, including some sightseeing points along the way out and back. Because of the relatively short boat ride, day visitors are able to get four hours on the island, and get back to the mainland earlier in the afternoon. This gives visitors on a tight schedule time to visit the [[Grand Portage National Monument]] or other attractions in the same day.

The ''[[Ranger III]]'' is a {{cvt|165|ft|adj=on}} ship that serves park visitors from Houghton, Michigan to Rock Harbor. It is operated by the National Park Service, and is said to be the largest piece of equipment in the National Park system. It carries 125 passengers, along with canoes, kayaks, and even small powerboats.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fournier |first=Thomas |date=April 7, 2025 |title=Isle Royale National Park prepare for first supply trip to the island |url=https://keweenawreport.com/2025/04/07/144801/ |access-date= |website=The Keweenaw Report |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Repanshek |first=Kurt |date=April 2, 2025 |title=UPDATE {{!}} Isle Royale National Park's Ferry Stuck In Dock Without Engineers |url=https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2025/04/update-isle-royale-national-parks-ferry-stuck-dock-without-engineers |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=National Parks Traveler |language=en}}</ref> It is a six-hour voyage from Houghton to the park. The ship stays overnight at Rock Harbor before returning the next day, making two round trips each week from June to mid-September. Briefly in the 2008 season, the Ranger III carried visitors to and from Ozaagaateng. This was not continued after four trips, due to low interest and long crossing times. In 2012, Park Superintendent Phyllis Green required the ''Ranger III'' to purify its ballast water.<ref name=JournalSentinelBallast2014-07-24/>

The ''Voyageur II'', out of Grand Portage, crosses up to three times a week, overnighting at Rock Harbor and providing transportation between popular lakeside campgrounds. In the fall season, in addition to carrying campers and hikers, it provides day-trip service to Ozaagaateng on weekends. The Voyageur transports kayaks and canoes for visitors wanting to explore the island from the water. The ''Voyageur II'' and other boat taxi services ferry hikers to points along the island, allowing a one-way hike back to Rock Harbor or Ozaagaateng. Visitors may land at Rock Harbor and depart from Ozaagaateng several days later, or vice versa. Hikers frequently ride it in one direction to do a cross-island hike and then get picked up at the other end.