Product Description

Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior offers a unique wilderness experience. Unlike many national parks where tourists spend only a few hours gazing at the sights, Isle Royale visitors stay in the park for an average of four days. Each year about 17,000 people journey to this magnificent landscape, drawn by its half-million acres of remote trails and its delightful chain of a dozen lakes. Animal sightings are plentiful; the island is home to everything from beavers to loons, moose to wolves.

Readers will find this book a key reference in planning a trip to the island. Individual route listings include terrain, distance, highlights of the route, input and output sites, and the amenities available at each destination. Introductory material covers the park's campgrounds and shelter, wildlife, fishing spots, portage system, history, access, and data.

Jim DuFresne first explored Isle Royale when he was nine years old and has more than five decades of experience on the island. While writing the third edition of this book, DuFresne chose to journey on foot, crossing many of the park's 165 miles of trails with just a backpack. An avid hiker who has trekked around the world, DuFresne has written more than 15 guidebooks, including titles for Alaska, New Zealand, Australia, and Nepal.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #84182 in Books
• Brand: The Mountaineers Books
• Published on: 2002-09-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780898867923
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
An excellent, thorough guide to the island, including detailed chapters devoted to hiking and paddling. -- Minneapolis Star Tribune

An excellent, thorough guide to the island, including detailed chapters devoted to hiking and paddling. -- Minneapolis Star Tribune

An excellent, thorough guide to the island. --Griffin (GA) Daily News

An excellent, thorough guide to the island. -- Griffin (GA) Daily News

Customer Reviews

Indispensable guide for backpacking/canoeing/kayking IRNP
An excellent guide to the park. Indispensable for planning a backpacking, canoeing, or kayaking trip. "Foot Trails" section of the book includes descriptions of all the trails, including difficulty, mileage information, and scenic views along the way. "Water Routes" section of the book includes information needed for a canoeing or kayaking trip, including routes, portages, & campsites. The book also includes some information concerning island history, geology, and biology. If you buy only one book about Isle Royale National Park, this is the one! Small and light enough to carry on your trip. Combine this book with a Trails Illustrated topographical map of the park, & you'll have the basic information necessary to plan your trip.

The best guide to hiking Isle Royale

This seems to be the only guide dedicated to Isle Royale, so we are all lucky that it's a good one. He describes the hikes in some detail and describes the features of each hike well enough so that you can plan what you want to do.

Dufresne divides the book into long hikes, short hikes, and canoe trips and portages. The long hikes are multi-day backpacking trips, while the short hikes are day trips out of the two ranger stations (Rock Harbor and Windigo). The book also has some helpful background information about the park and NPS rules.

My only complaint is that the mileages listed for some long hikes don't capture the whole distance. For example, Dufresne counts the Feldtmann loop as 24 miles, starting at Windigo and ending at the junction of the Island Mine trail and the Greenstone Ridge trail. Sorry, but you have to get back to the boat, and it's another 7 miles to Windigo from that junction. This means that the loop is 31 miles long, not 24 miles.

To avoid surprises like that, pick up the Trails Illustrated map of Isle Royale, which has mileages on it, to supplement this book.

Wouldn't have gone without it
This book was our bible on our 10 day excursion to Isle Royale (royal like a king, not like royale with cheese). Coupled with a good topo map, we were able to get around the island with ease. Was also great for planning our route before the trip. This book tells you everything you need to know for a backpacking/fishing trip to this beautiful place.