Looking to escape civilization this upcoming spring or summer?

Isle Royale National Park, an isolated island surrounded by Lake Superior, is on schedule to reopen April 16 with limited capacity and services this year.

The island can only be reached via ferry, seaplane or private watercraft like the National Park Service-run Ranger III vessel.

"The park is always closed in the wintertime," said Elizabeth Valencia, the park's public information officer. "We close on November 1 and reopen on April 16. Last year because of the pandemic, we pushed that opening date back and we didn't open until June."

Last summer, only one form of transportation was available to Isle Royale, and that was the seaplane service. This year, ferry and seaplane passenger services will be available starting in mid-May.

"This summer, the ferries will be running and so it'll be interesting to see if there are more people from farther away who are actually coming to the island," Valencia said. "But our repeat visitors and our long-term visitors are all from the upper Great Lakes."

The island, visitor centers, ferries, and Ranger III will be operating at approximately 50% capacity, face masks are required and food services are limited due to COVID-19.

Ranger III will begin passenger service on May 25 and close on Sept. 11.

Park staff will begin processing Ranger III reservations on March 1, according to a press release. To make a reservation, call the Houghton visitor center at 906-482-0984 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Reservations cannot be made online or by email.  

Dining options previously offered on the Ranger III trip to the island, and back, have been cancelled for the summer, Valencia said. There will be an increase in the the amount of "grab and go options" on the island so people don't sit and eat in the dining rooms. 

"Generally, our visitation predominantly comes from Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin," Valencia said. "We've seen that change a little bit through the years, but that's still the majority of the visitation."

People will still be able to go backpacking, camping, hiking and kayaking on the island and its various trails and campgrounds this summer.

"It was limited visitation last summer but the people that did make it seem like they did have a very rewarding experience," Valencia said. "I think that it's important for people during during a pandemic like this to be able to have spaces to go outside and do what they enjoy."

It costs $7 to enter Isle Royale and for each day stayed, while the Isle Royale Season Pass costs $60 for 3 adults during the entire park season.

Contact Nour Rahal at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter  @nrahal1.

To see the orignal article and related reports, follow this link to the Detroit Free Press website.  https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/03/03/isle-royale-reopening-limited-capacity-se...