Guide to Voyageurs National Park
Enjoy a relaxing few days on the lake at this peaceful national park. Voyageurs National Park is Minnesota's water based national park, making it the ideal place for boating and fishing.
Things to do at Voyageurs National Park
Usually hiking is our go to activity at a national park, but this national park is known for its lakes, not its hiking. We adjusted and enjoyed the water-based activities below during our two days at the park. The park is made up of several lakes and we spent our time on Kabetogama Lake.
Fishing
This is the most popular reason to visit the park. Since we didn't have any fishing gear with us, we decided to do a day long fishing trip with Wade Watson from Voyageurs Adventure. I cannot recommend this more highly.
He knew his way around the lakes. All four of us fit on his boat and he had gear for all of us. He also patiently taught a non-fisher (myself) how to fish. By the end of the day, we all caught fish. Bring bug spray because the flies on the lake are quite pesky.
Unfortunately, we got caught in a thunderstorm at the end of the day. We got rained on pretty hard and decided to call it a day a bit early since we had already gotten in quite a bit of fishing.
Ellsworth Rock Gardens
We stopped here during our day of fishing. It's only accessible via boat. It's a small garden area with many rock statues and formations. It wasn't incredibly exciting, but it was worth a quick stop during our day. There are also bathrooms here.
Boating
Our second day, we decided to rent a pontoon boat for half the day. Anthony made a great captain as he took us around the lakes. We rented the boat with Northern Lights Resort & Outfitting.
Thanks to the map provided to us with animal nests marked on it, we saw several bald eagles nests and a couple of bald eagles.
We spent most of the morning hanging out and doing crossword puzzles by a beaver dam hoping to see a beaver. Much to my mom's dismay, we did not get to see one.
Hiking
After returning our boat on the second day, we decided to go for a hike. We started to do the Echo Bay Trail which is a 2.5 mile loop trail. We ended up turning around after about a half mile because there really weren't any good views and the flies were driving us crazy.
Where to eat around Voyageurs National Park
It's slim pickings for good restaurants in the area. One night we had fast food. The other two nights we found decent food options around International Falls.
Rocky Ledge Resort
This was the recommendation of our fishing guide and probably my favorite place we ate. Get the fish tacos and walleye fingers.
Chocolate Moose Restaurant Company
The food here was hit or miss for us. The two sandwiches we got were pretty good. My favorite was the Reuben. I could have passed on the cold, stale fries though.
Getting to and around Voyageurs National Park
It's about a 5 hour drive from Minneapolis, which is where we flew in and out of (though we made many stops before and after this park on our trip). There is a small regional airport in International Falls and it's a 3 hour drive from Duluth, MN as well.
A car is necessary to get around the remote area. The best way to really see the park is by boat though. There is no entrance fee at this park.
Where to stay around Voyageurs National Park
The park is in International Falls, Minnesota. Right across the Canadian border is Fort Frances, Ontario where we decided to stay. We stayed at the Super 8 which wasn't the nicest.
What we didn't realize was that we had to pay a $7 toll every time we crossed the border from the US into Canada here. There aren't a lot of hotel options in the area, but I would recommend staying at the AmericInn in International Falls if I could do it again.
Best time to visit Voyageurs National Park
The warm sunny weather in the summer makes it the ideal time to visit this park. Temperatures can get a little warm, but it's comfortable when boating on the water. Make sure to pack sunscreen for this park!