How to Plan a Weekend Trip to Voyageurs National Park

When did Voyageurs become a National Park?  

Nearly a century ago, the land that’s now Voyageurs National Park was on the brink of being flooded. Timber baron E.W. Backus wanted to construct hydroelectric dams in the Rainy Lake watershed as a cheap power source for lumber and paper mills.  

The cost to the land could have been massive. According to Backus’ opponents, water levels would have risen up to 80 feet on lakes across the Canada-Minnesota border and sentenced modern-day Voyageurs to a life underwater.  

Thanks to a series of conservation efforts spearheaded by author Ernest Oberholtzer, the dams were stopped. On April 8, 1975, a major chunk of the region was granted National Park status.  

What’s the best way to get there?  

Voyageurs’ main visitor center (Rainy Lake), is a 300-mile, five-hour drive north from downtown Minneapolis, and about a half hour way from the Canadian border. It’s not just the perfect meeting point within an otherwise sprawling park. Rainy Lake is also a launchpad for canoes and kayaks; an interpretive center that offers quick history lessons and context; and the site of a short hike (the Oberholtzer Trail) you can actually reach without a boat. (Most require paddling and a little patience.) 

If you’re visiting from out of state, consider flying into Minneapolis’ world-renowned MSP Airport or Duluth’s own International Airport. Both make excellent pit stops, but if you want to reach the Northwoods ASAP, starting in Duluth will shave a few hours off your trip. Its airport is so close to nature that it feels like you’re about to land in the treetops.  

That is until you hit the tarmac just a minute’s drive away from downtown Duluth. From there, check into the cozy Enger Lofts in Duluth’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, which is named after the Norwegian immigrant who donated two-thirds of his estate to what is now known as the city’s iconic Enger Park site. 

Enger Lofts has a coffee shop (190°), gourmet grocer (Goat Hill Marketplace), and several locally owned stores (North & Shore, Liila Boutique, Ren Market) on the hotel’s ground level. Some of the port city’s best food and drink spots are also nearby, including Bent Paddle and OMC Smokehouse.  

For a taste of Lake Superior’s North Shore, continue driving up to the New Scenic Cafe for inspired Scandinavian cuisine. Or just head straight for your final destination, which is less than three hours away. 

One popular rental company is Ebel’s Voyageur Houseboats. Located on the Ash River just outside the park, it’s a family-run outfitter that rents everything from a modest 36-foot houseboat to a massive, 65-foot vessel that can host up to 12 people alongside a hot tub and rooftop waterslide. 

Captaining your own houseboat may sound intimidating, but Ebel’s offers hands-on training from an enthusiastic guide on how to operate its boats and navigate the park’s waterways by map.  

Each vessel has bunks, a shower, bathroom, sitting areas, a fridge, and a kitchen with basic supplies. All you need is groceries, linens, and a permit from the National Park Service. Bring plenty of bug spray and sunscreen during warmer months, too. Other solid houseboat companies include Voyagaire, Northernaire and Rainy Lake Houseboats. 

Where can I camp?   

If you want to sleep a bit closer to nature, there are plenty of tent camping sites throughout Voyageurs. Most are right on the lakeshore and have a fire ring, table, bear-proof food locker, and a place to park your boat, which you will need to reach the sites.   

No boat? No problem. Many local resorts and outfitters rent kayaks, canoes, fishing boats, and pontoons.   

For the more adventurous, there are remote backcountry hike- and canoe-in sites. They are located on the park’s smaller, interior lakes (or those that aren’t named Rainy, Kabetogama, Namakan, and Sand Point). 

Are there any hotels, restaurants or bars in the area? 

If roughing it in the backcountry isn’t your speed, there are plenty of ways to explore the park and return to dry land at night.  

The historic Kettle Falls Hotel was built between 1910 and 1913, and a former haven for bootleggers and mobsters smuggling Canadian liquor during Prohibition. It is reachable by a free shuttle from Ash River Visitor’s Center that can be arranged while booking one of its 12 rooms or villas. Dine on burger baskets, walleye and cheese curds while you’re there, or knock back one of their infamous pink slushy drinks.

  

Three miles east of International Falls sits the small town of Ranier. Flanked by the Rainy River to the west and Rainy Lake to the north, Rainier has a lot to do within just a few blocks. Have some craft beers at Loony’s Brew or ice cream at Tara’s Warf, watch the sun set over the lake, and grab dinner and a good night’s sleep at the historic Cantilever Distillery + Hotel.  

This newly renovated destination has luxe rooms with a bustling restaurant and bar serving excellent cocktails that highlight its house-made gin, whiskey and vodka. Take a tour of the distillery to learn about spirit-making and be sure to ask about Cantiliver’s role in Prohibition-era bootlegging.  

International Falls is a slightly larger nearby community overlooked by a massive, 26-foot Smokey Bear statue. Stock up at grocery stores, and fuel up for the park or snag a souvenir at plenty of shops and restaurants like Sammy’s Pizza, Border Bar Pizza Parlor and Chocolate Moose Restaurant Company. Local accommodations include The Nomad Motel and Cobblestone Hotel & Suites. 

Waterside destinations like AshKaNam Resort and Arrowhead Lodge have you staying just outside Voyageurs — sometimes right on the park’s border. AshKaNam is a prime fishing spot, with a restaurant patio overlooking the Ash River and picturesque cliffs a short boat ride from Kabetogama and Namakan lakes. Arrowhead’s onsite restaurant serves fresh, blackened walleye just steps from your bed, offering a perfect respite after a day paddling Lake Kabetogama.  

What outdoor activities does Voyageurs offer? 

Ranier is just 15 minutes by car from Voyageurs’ Rainy Lake Visitors Center. There, the Ethno-botanical Garden lets visitors see how Ojibwe people have been using native plants like raspberries, milkweed, and white pine from time immemorial. The center also has bike trails, interpretive exhibits, hiking trails, and guided boat tours.  

While there’s plenty to keep you busy in and around Voyageurs — a wide range of outdoor activities and such popular stops as Ellsworth Rock Garden, Grassy Bay Cliffs and Gold Portage — the one constant is the area’s beauty. Not many places let you watch a violet-pink sun setting over a boreal forest and mirror-flat waters whose only sound is a loon’s call.  

Will I get to see the Northern Lights?

We can’t promise anything but Voyageurs — one of the National Park System’s only world rneowned Dark Sky sanctuaries — offers world-class views of the cosmos and, if you’re lucky, the Northern Lights.  

 “I still get blown away at scale and what we’re lookin’ at,” says Robert Francis Dantona, a dark sky tour guide. 

Dantona leads tours for Voyageurs Outfitters, taking small groups out to a bog near International Falls for late-night stargazing. Even if you aren’t interested in a formal tour, there are some apps to guide the way. Dantona recommends My Aurora Forecast for Northern Lights forecasts, and SkyView for stars and everything else.  

But, really, there’s no wrong way to stargaze. In Dantona’s words, there’s only one thing to do: “Just look up.”