Isle Royale National Park
VISIT Isle Royale National Park:
Park Details
Isle Royale National Park was established on March 3, 1931, and has a total area of 571,790 acres (893 square miles, or 2,315 square kilometers).
| Address | 800 East Lakeshore Drive, Houghton, MI, 49931 |
|---|---|
| Phone | 906 482-0984 |
| Hours | Open yearly from April 16 through October 31. Closed other months. |
| Entrance Fee | $7 per person daily |
| Learn More | Official Website |
When to Visit: Weather vs. Peak Visitation
Isle Royale National Park is the 317th most visited park in the country.
We crunched 30 years of historical weather and/or park service data to find the best months to visit Isle Royale National Park. We looked for the optimal temperatures, the least amount of snow and rain, and stayed away from peak visitation months if we could help it. All this data then helped us paint a picture as to what the absolute best time to visit Isle Royale National Park is.
Our data shows the best months to visit Isle Royale National Park are June, July, August & September.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park Visits | 4 | 37 | 55 | 61 | 1,055 | 4,837 | 7,714 | 8,798 | 3,342 | 402 | 47 | 58 |
| Precipitation | 32 | 24 | 45 | 66 | 70 | 66 | 55 | 52 | 50 | 53 | 46 | 33 |
| Avg Temp | 20 | 24 | 32 | 48 | 62 | 72 | 77 | 76 | 66 | 51 | 36 | 25 |
| Max Temp | 35 | 37 | 49 | 67 | 80 | 85 | 88 | 88 | 82 | 70 | 51 | 37 |
| Avg Temp | 4 | 8 | 18 | 30 | 41 | 49 | 55 | 55 | 47 | 36 | 24 | 11 |
| Min Temp | -21 | -15 | -7 | 14 | 28 | 38 | 45 | 42 | 30 | 20 | 4 | -13 |
Isle Royale National Park Road Trips
Many family vacations consist of stringing one or more national parks together during a week-long trip. Creating these types of trips is our specialty! Here are the road trips we've created where Isle Royale National Park is visited.
| Trip Name | Trip Miles | Trip Days |
|---|---|---|
| The Great Lakes Circle Tour: Isle Royale, Pictured Rocks, Sleeping Bear & Indiana Dunes | 990 | 8 |
| Voyageurs & Isle Royale | 580 | 7 |
Other Nearby National Park Sites
From national monuments, to historic sites to seashores and more, here are the other parks closest to Isle Royale National Park.
| Name | Distance |
|---|---|
| Grand Portage National Monument | 53 mi |
| Keweenaw National Historical Park | 65 mi |
| Pukaskwa National Park | 123 mi |
| Apostle Islands National Lakeshore | 138 mi |
| Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore | 149 mi |
Nearby Campsites & RV Parks
If you are looking to pitch a tent or park an RV at a campsite near Isle Royale National Park, here is a list of the closest campsites in the surrounding area. They all have slightly different amenitites, so its best to check them all out instead of just chosing the first on the list.
| Name | Details | Miles Away |
|---|---|---|
| Sleeping Giant Provincial Park | Thunder Bay, ON more | 28 miles |
| Chippewa Park | Thunder Bay, ON more | 35 miles |
| Trowbridge Falls | Murillo, ON more | 40 miles |
Nearest Ski Resorts
For those of you who are the diehard outdoors type, visiting a national park on a ski trip can be quite the adventure. Here are the ski resorts within 100 miles of Isle Royale National Park:
| Name | Location | Summit | Difficulty Score™ | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loch Lomond Ski Area | Thunder Bay, ON | 1,450 ft | 41% | 39 mi |
| Mount Baldy Ski Area | Shuniah, ON | 1,607 ft | 40% | 40 mi |
| Mount Bohemia | Mohawk, MI | 1,500 ft | 74% | 55 mi |
| Mont Ripley | Hancock, MI | 1,140 ft | 45% | 68 mi |
| Trestle Ridge Ski Hill | Terrace Bay, ON | 921 ft | 14% | 81 mi |
Nearest Airports
When visiting a National park, many people are faced with either a very long drive across country, or a much shorter flight. For those of you looking to fly into Isle Royale National Park, we've listed the closest airports in the area.
Large Airports
A large airport has scheduled major airline service with millions of passengers per year. This type of airport always accepts international flights. Here are the closest large airports to Isle Royale National Park.
| Name | Code | City | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport | MSP | Minneapolis, MN | 314 mi |
| Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport | MKE | Milwaukee, WI | 357 mi |
| O'Hare International Airport | ORD | Chicago, IL | 424 mi |
| Midway International Airport | MDW | Chicago, IL | 438 mi |
| Detroit Metropolitan Airport | DTW | Detroit, MI | 479 mi |
Medium Airports
A medium-sized airport has scheduled regional airline service. This type of airport may or may not accept international flights. Here are the closest medium-sized airports to Isle Royale National Park.
| Name | Code | City | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thunder Bay Airport | YQT | Thunder Bay, ON | 40 mi |
| Houghton County Memorial Airport | CMX | Hancock, MI | 64 mi |
| Nakina Airport | YQN | Nakina, ON | 166 mi |
| Rhinelander Oneida County Airport | RHI | Rhinelander, WI | 176 mi |
| Duluth International Airport | DLH | Duluth, MN | 191 mi |
| Range Regional Airport | HIB | Hibbing, MN | 205 mi |
| Sioux Lookout Airport | YXL | Sioux Lookout, ON | 206 mi |
Credits: Campground data provided by USCampgrounds.info. Map shapes from CartographyVectors. Weather data from NOAA. Airport data from OurAirports.com. Images from Unsplash, Flickr and Parks&Trips. All data has also been updated and augmented by Parks&Trips.