ISLE ROYALE

MAY, 2008 --If you like your islands wild where you can hear the wolves howl at night and a moose is likely to wander through your camp site, this is your kind of place. Take my word for it, Isle Royale is simply magical. Great for hiking, paddling and fishing. And you are likely to find me there at toward the end of the summer -- when the moose are still around, but the black flies are long gone.
Getting to his 45-mile-long island off Lake Superior's north shore is something of a trick however. Fortunately, you can get there by any of three ferries or by sea plane.
Isle Royale has no entrance fee, but you do pay $4 a day per person to stay on the island. No your Golden Eagle Pass will not help you here.

RANGER III -- This is the biggest piece of machinery owned by the National Park Service. It is 165 feet long and can carry 128 passengers, plus their boats, backpacks and other luggage. And it's about as smooth a ferry ride as you are going to find to the island. It carries passengers from June 2 to September 13. It runs from Houghton, Michigan to Rock Harbor on the island every Tuesday and Friday, leaving at 9 a.m. The return trips are on Wednesday and Saturday, also leaving at 9 a.m.
One-Way Fares For adults, $50 before July 15 and after August 15; $60 from July 15 to August 15; Ages 7 to 12 are $20; Ages 6 and younger are free; Canoes/kayaks $20.
Isle Royale is celebrating two 50th anniversaries this year. It is the 50th anniversary of service by the ferry Ranger III and the 50th anniversaries of the wolf-moose study on the island.
To celebrate, the Ranger's birthday, the ferry will run same-day round trips to Rock Harbor on the island from January 17 through 21. Price: $50 And it will run same-day round trips to Windigo at the far south end on July 10 and 24, August 7 and 21 and September 4. Price: $75.
And for the wolf-moose study celebration, the Ranger will do round trips on July 25 and 27. Price: One-way, $50; Round trip, $75.

VOYAGEUR II gives you a great way to get to Isle Royale from Lake Superior's North Shore at Grand Portage, Minnesota. The Voyageur makes clockwise round trips around the island. Leaving Grand Portage at 8 a.m. CDT every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, stops first at Windigo to leave at 10:30 and arrives at Rock Harbor at 3:30 p.m. to spend the night Then on Tuesday, Thursdays and Sundays it leaves Rock Harbor at 8 a.m., Windigo at 12:30 p.m. and arrives at Grand Portage at 3:30 p.m.
In addition to Rock Harbor and Windigo, the Voyageur will drop off and pick up passengers and their gear at other locations around the island. These are McCargoe Cove, Belle Isle, Daisy Farm and Chippewa Harbor.
One-Way Fares: For adults to Windigo, $59 for an stop beyond Windigo on that same day $69. Same deal for the trip back from Rock Harbor. For children, $39 and $46. The price for going from one place on the island to another is between $42 and $54.

ISLE ROYALE QUEEN IV makes a shorter commute to the island than the Voyageur by leaving from Copper Harbor at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. This crossing takes three hours instead of six, but it tends to be a bit bumpier in the smaller 100-foot boat.
All trips start at 8 a.m. from Copper Harbor and 2:45 p.m. from Rock Harbor on the island. In May, the Queen sails on Mondays and Fridays, June 2-30, every day but Wednesday and Sunday; July 1-14, every day but Wednesday; July 15 to August 15, every day of the week; August 16-31, every day but Wednesday; and September 1-29, Mondays and Fridays only.
One-Way Fares from July 15 to August are $65 for adults, $31 for ages under 11 and $25 for kayaks. From May 12 to July 14 and August 16 to September 29 are $54 for adults and $27 for 11 and under.

ROYALE AIR SERVICE Or you can fly, the shortest commute of all. Just 35 minutes from Houghton County Airport to Rock Harbor. The Cessna 206 seaplane carries four passengers and goes to either Rock Harbor or Windigo for the same price. One-Way Fare is $185; Round-Trip is $269.

WOLVES AND MOOSE
For the latest on the rises and falls of the wolf and moose populations, check ENVIRO-MENTALITY on this site.

FISH CAUTION
The Park Service reports that only about 150 coaster brook trout (those born and bred on Lake Superior's rocky bottom near underwater springs) are still in the neighborhood. To protect these fish, Greg Blust, a park supervisor, said the Service has invoked a catch-and-release policy. If you happen to catch one, it must be released.
Also, the Park Service now requires that barbless hooks must be used for brook trout on the island's streams and on Hidden Lake.

TO AND FRO
There's a reason Isle Royale is one of the least visited national parks in the continental United States. It's hard to get to. Unlike the Smoky Mountains which are on the way to a lot of places, Isle Royale, located high on the north side of Lake Superior,isn't on the way to anywhere.
But if you love the outdoors and wilderness. It's positively worth the trip.
The 2006 ferry prices have bumped up at bit over last year. But not much.
RANGER III.
The National Park Service's Ranger III ferry makes two round trips a week from Houghton, Michigan to Rock Harbor on Isle Royale from June 2 to Sept. 13. It's typically about a five-hour trip.
Departures from Houghton are at 9 a.m. on Tuesday and Friday, and returning from Isle Royale at 9 a.m. on Wednesday and Saturday.
One-way fares this season are $54 for adults, $24 for ages 12 and under and $24 for a canoe or kayak.
For details, contact Isle Royale National Park.
*** Don't forget you must pay a $4 a day park user fee, no matter which means you use to get to the island.

ISLE ROYALE QUEEN IV.
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The 2006 schedule for the 100-foot long Queen IV varies through out the season for the Queen's three-hour crossings from Copper Harbor at the tip of Michigan's Keewenau Peninsula and Rock Harbor on the island. It also leaves the Copper Harbor at 8 a.m. and departs from the island at 3 p.m.
The schedule varies throughout the season. From May 15 to June 3, the Queen runs on Monday and Friday. From June 4 to 30, every day except Wednesday and Sunday. For the month of July, every day but Wednesday. From August 1 to Sept. 4, every day. And from Sept. 5 to 30, on Monday and Friday.
One-way fares are $52 for adults, $26 for children 11 and younger and $25 for a canoe or kayak from May 15 to July 14 and from August 16 to Sept. 29. In the heart of the summer, from July 15 to August 15, the prices jump a bit to $60 for adults, $30 for children and $25 for a canoe or kayak.
For details, contact Isle Royale Line.

ROYALE AIR SERVICE.
Yes, you can fly there from Houghton. Leaving from Houghton County Memorial Airport, RAS's Cessna 206 will fly six days a week ( Never on Sunday. You seniors can remember Melena Mercouri) from mid-May to mid-September.
The fares for 2006 are $250 per person round trip; $175 one way.
To get to Houghton's airport, start at the canal bridge (the one that connects the towns of Houghton and Hancock), drive five miles north on Highway 41, turn at Airport Boulevard and go one mile.
For details, contact Royale Air Service.

VOYAGEUR II
This 60-foot ferry starts in Grand Portage, Minnesota up on Lake Superior's north shore and makes a two-day clockwise loop around Isle Royale starting on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Starting at Grand Portage at 8 a.m., it goes to Windigo (10:30 a.m.) at the far west end, loops over the top with possible stops at McCargoe Cove and Belle Isle and settles in for the night at Rock Harbor (3:30 p.m.)
The next morning it leaves Rock Harbor (8 a.m.), travels along the south side with possible stops at Chippewa Harbor and Malone Bay, goes on to Windigo (12:30 p.m.) and arrives back at Grand Portage at 3:30 p.m.
One-way fares from Grand Portage to Windigo ware $54 for adults; from Grand Portage to any other stop, $65; going from one island stop to another is from $36 to $50. Ages 12 and younger, $35 to $40.
For further information, contact the Grand Portage Isle Royale Transportation Line Inc.
WENONAH
The 65-foot Wenonah makes daily trips back and forth between Grand Portage and Windigo, with about a three-hour layover in Windigo.
It leaves Grand Portage at 9:30 a.m., docks at Windigo at about noon to 12:30 p.m., then heads back to Grand Portage at 3 p.m., arriving between 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.
One-way fare for adults is $39, round-trip $45. Ages 4 to 11, half price. For details, contact Grand Portage Isle Royale Transportation line. See above.

ROCK HARBOR LODGE
If you don't bring a tent, options on where to stay on Isle Royale are pretty limited. And pricey. Think Chicago hotel rates.
The Rock Harbor Lodge has rather basic rooms for between $193 (in nonpeak season from May 26 go july 14 and Aug. 16 to Sept. 9) and $215 per night (peak season from July 15 to Aug. 15), double occupancy. If you want an American plan (with meals), it runs from $302 (nonpeak) to $323 (peak).
Also 20 cottages are nearby with kitchenettes. Their prices range from $187 (nonpeak) to $208 (peak) a night for double occupancy.
For further information, contact Rock Harbor Lodge.
In fact, everything on the island carries a hefty price tag. What's more you must add 33 percent to everything for taxes -- 6 percent Michigan sales tax, 3 percent room assessment and 24 percent Utility Pass Through, which as a charge from the National Park Service for bringing utilities to the island.
However if you see the northern lights, hear a wolf howl or spot a moose lumbering by, it's all worth it.