When Voyageurs National Park finally receives its International Dark Sky Park certification this fall, it will be recognized globally for something Minnesotans have known forever: This place is something special.
The International Dark Sky Association created the designation to recognize “a land possessing an exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and a nocturnal environment that is specifically protected for its scientific, natural, educational, cultural heritage, and/or public enjoyment.” Fifty-seven parks in the U.S. boast the title, including the Grand Canyon, Arches, and Joshua Tree. But the difference between them and Voyageurs is the sheer number of travelers who seek them out. In 2019, Voyageurs drew just 232,974 visitors. There were 1.5 million at Arches, 3 million at Joshua Tree, and nearly 6 million at the Grand Canyon.
Cozied up by the Canadian border, Voyageurs is 218,000-acres of greenspace sandwiched between boreal and deciduous forests, with four major lakes and miles of interconnected channels. These passageways were once vital to American Indians, fur traders, fishermen, miners, and loggers. Nowadays, most travelers take to the rugged park in the summer so they can explore the water; drifting along in a houseboat, canoeing, kayaking, swimming, and fishing are all popular activities. Winter draws its own crowd, as Voyageurs morphs into a patchwork of frozen lakes for hardy snowmobilers, snowshoers, and cross-country skiers.
The skies above the park are a draw all year though. Your chances of spotting the sometimes elusive Northern Lights are always better in winter, but the heavens put on a show no matter the season. “You can get amazing starry-skies views from anywhere in or near the park on a clear night,” says Christina Hausman Rhode, executive director of the Voyageurs National Park Association. One particularly moving experience, she recalls, happened while leading a young group on a camping trip to Lake Kabetogama. “We were sprawled out on the rocks and one of the kids asked me what that was up in the sky, as they pointed up,” says Rhode. “I said, ‘Well, that's the Milky Way.’ I'm pretty sure I could see his mind exploding. Most of the kids on our trip had never seen that many stars.” The truth is, most adult parkgoers haven’t either.
Overnight options
Since you'll likely be stargazing from your accommodations, figuring out where to stay—and ensuring it's far from light pollution—is paramount. If you really want to take advantage of Voyageurs' night skies, you should go as deep as possible into the park. The park's 15 backcountry sites require paddling and hiking to reach, but the ultra-low light pollution enhances your views of the stars and increases your chances of seeing the polar lights. Permits are required; book online at recreation.gov or call 1-877-444-6777.
If you're feeling slightly less adventurous, there are drive-up sites for tents, RVs, and car campers available near the park’s borders, but the 270 plus campsites in the park’s interior are truly special. They are mostly frontcountry and accessible via watercraft and, according to Rhode, “have all been designed with seclusion in mind. You can’t see another site from your own, lending to the wilderness-like experience.”
For the glamping set, a houseboat rental is a fun option. The fleets at Rainy Lake Houseboats in International Falls and Ebel’s Voyageur Houseboats on Ash River include a range of sizes and amenities, from two-person boats to 12-passenger vessels. Depending on how deep your pockets are, the accommodations might be tricked out with air-conditioned state rooms, water slides, and satellite TV.
For anyone who balks at the notion of sleeping anywhere but a proper hotel, book a room at the park’s sole lodging, Kettle Falls Hotel & Resort, which sits 15 miles from the nearest road and is accessible only by boat or float plane. Slightly easier to access, albeit outside the park, is the chic new boutique inn, Cantilever Hotel + Distillery in Ranier. Located 10 miles west of the Rainy Lake Visitor Center, the 31-room hotel, restaurant, and distillery offers king suites with clawfoot bathtubs, plus a yoga studio, rooftop sauna and hot tub, and small-batch spirits made with Minnesota grains and water from the Canadian shield. It’s also a block away from Loony’s Brew, a beloved local hang known for its live music and park-inspired beers.
Water, water everywhere
They don’t call Minnesota the Land of 10,000 Lakes for nothing: One third of Voyageurs is covered in water, and a ride in some kind of watercraft is a must on a trip to the park. Though suspended for the 2020 season due to COVID-19, the two park-operated boat tours will offer day-trippers a chance to have an easy cruise on the water when they return. From the Rainy Lake Visitor Center in the northern part of the park, the Voyageur spirits past the only remaining intact commercial fishing camp in the region and stops for a quarter-mile jaunt across Little American Island, once a hub for Minnesota’s fleeting gold rush. Visitors should keep their eyes peeled for soaring eagles and other birdlife; the park is home to loons, gulls, great blue herons, and double-crested cormorants.
From the Kabetogama Lake Visitor Center or Ash River Visitor Center, travelers will be able to board the Amik and tour Namakan Lake, visiting an old logging camp and Kettle Falls Hotel & Resort, once a bootlegger saloon and brothel, on I.W. Stevens Island.
Note that all of the park’s visitor centers are also closed due to COVID-19 until further notice, but rangers are available outside the Rainy Lake and Ash River visitor centers on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and outside the Kabetogama visitor center Mondays and Tuesdays.
Another idyllic way to navigate Voyageurs is via canoe. Ordinarily in the summer months, rangers invite guests to pile into a 26-footer and see the park as French Canadian fur traders might have 200 years ago. Unfortunately, this summer, park tours, including the ranger-led paddles, are on pause due to COVID-19 but visitors should look forward to their return in the future. When the paddles are available again, reservations are a must; call the Rainy Lake Visitor Center at 218-286-5258 to book.
Fishing is big here, too. On a lucky day, you could reel in walleye, smallmouth bass, northern pike, black crappie, or sturgeon. Apply here for a state license and bring your own kayak or canoe—or rent one from Voyageurs Outfitters. For a true no-man’s-land getaway, paddle and portage your way to a secluded interior lake (Shoepack, Quill, Loiten, Ek, etc.), which motorboats are banned from entering.
Other park highlights
Anderson Bay, with its 80-foot-tall granite cliffs, is a fantasyland for photographers. A 1.75-mile loop leads hikers to the blufftops on Kabetogama Peninsula; it also connects to the northern trailhead for the Cruiser Lake Trail system, one of executive director Rhode’s favorites. Though hiking it is a commitment (9.5 miles one way), this might be your best shot at spotting—or at least hearing—a moose, black bear, or elusive gray wolf. Backcountry hikers who really want to push themselves can tackle the 27.9-mile Kab-Ash Trail, winding through towering pine stands and past lowland swamps and beaver ponds.
On the south shore of the Kabetogama Peninsula, the Ellsworth Rock Gardens might be the most heavily trafficked destination in the park. Self-taught artist Jack Ellsworth built his spectacular garden on a rocky outcrop with 62 terraced flower beds and 200 abstract rock sculptures. In spring, more than 13,000 lilies bloom. Another notable stop for landlubbers is the one-acre Ojibwe Ethnobotanical Garden adjacent to the Rainy Lake Visitor Center.