Rock Harbor Trail

Hike Name: Rock Harbor Trail Location: north MI Length: 12 Submitted by: Rob Heck Date Submitted: 0/0/00 Rating:	more Michigan trail reviews Michigan national parks Michigan state parks
For more trail descriptions and topo maps, try a Free Trial Offer from Trails.com

Description
Rock Harbor Trail is one of the most frequently used trails at Isle Royale National Park located in western Lake Superior 56 miles NNW of Copper Harbor, Michigan. We departed out of Copper Harbor on light sea conditions on the Isle Royale Queen III, a private ferry service to the island. We departed CH at 8:00 am (be sure to arrive at the dock at least a 1/2 hour early) and arrived at the eastern port of Rock Harbor on Isle Royale about 12:20 pm. Our party consisted of a husband and wife (factory worker, age 39 and nurse, age 35), my cousin (factory worker, age 42) and myself (bartender, age 38 and overweight). After collecting the gear our representative (me) registered our party and itinerary, Moskey Basin (1 night) to 3 Mile Campground (1 night) to Rock Harbor (depart), with the park service rangers. After the registration we met at the outside of the ranger station for an orientation session and trail report. We had chartered a water taxi to take our party from Rock Harbor to the western terminus of the Rock Harbor Trail at Moskey Basin for our first day/night. We spent our first day exploring the area around Moskey and we spent our first night in Shelter 1 of the "first come first serve" adirondak shelters available. We awoke to probably the one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever had the privilege of seeing. We departed Moskey heading east on the Rock Harbor Trail about 8:00 am blessed with good weather. The trail head up approximately 80 - 100 ft over a 1/4 to 1/2 mile stretch through some decent hard wooded trails that looked as though they could be a struggle if very wet. After coming out of the hard woods we started to cross a series of basalt rock outcroppings that carried us up and down the same 30 - 40 ft elevation for about 3 miles. You have to watch your footing on these rock ledges and look closely for rock cairns stacked up to mark the trails. We stopped to restack some of the cairns which had been knocked over to help other that would come later. We decended back to lake level to come into Daisy Farm at the end of the first leg of our days hike approximately 4 miles at about 10:15 am. We did not see the Moskey Basin for the entire hike from the basin to the Daisy Farm and we met about 4 different parties, 3 heading west, one passing us heading east from Moskey. We replenished our water supply at the dock then continued on to 3 Mile Campground, our destination for the night. We travel over relatively even terrain over the next 4 or so miles to 3 Mile Campground, there were a few steep rises but nothing too strenuous. We stopped at Siskwit Mine to observe the old copper mines breifly continueing into 3 Mile Campground about 12:45 pm. We got the last adirondack shelter left (they fill up quick at 3 Mile we were told), Shelter 12 well off the beaten path. We spent the rest of the day resting/recovering from the eariler 8 mile hike. We explored the area and got to know some of the other campers the rest of the day. We had a small shower about 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm which gave us some quite time talking and listen to the weather reports out of Canada and Minnesota that left us wondering if severe weather was going to hit us. Luckily it didn't and we were greeted with another beautiful day. We dogged it a little through morning and got started out on the last 3+ miles to Rock Harbor at about 10:00 am. The last leg follows the shoreline of Rock Harbor over varying terrain with lots of rocks and roots to step over. This leg of the trail is well established and worn. We arrived at Rock Harbor about 12:30 just in time to see the new group arrive after a rough ride over on the IRQ III. We showered and ate at the Lodge restaurant before our 3:00 pm departure back to Copper Harbor. The ride back to Copper Harbor was fairly rough. We were in 8 - 10 ft waves (the captain told us 12 - 15 fters at times) and turned more than one person on the boat green.

If you decide to do this or any other trail on Isle Royale you should start to prepare for it at least 6 to 8 months in advance. This is a remote hike and there are absolutely no motorized vehicles on this island and help could take hours or days to reach you. You should be in at least decent physical condition because it is very strenuous in places, if you fall ill or get hurt be prepared to treat yourself and know basic survival skills. Take good equipment and know how to use it. I would recommend at least med. wgt. hiking boots and a walking stick to help with your balance. My stick saved me from at least 3 turned ankles over 2 days. Keep your pack light and bring a good water filter. Get plenty of water for your party before you leave Moskey Basin as you will not find a decent supply of water until you reach Daisy Farm almost 4 miles later. Tread lightly, take out what you bring in, and leave what you find that is native to the territory.

Directions to Hike
Depart via passenger ferry from:

Copper Harbor, Michigan
Isle Royale Queen III (webpage available)
Private vessel, reservations recommended

Houghton, Michigan
Ranger III, NPS Vessel

Grand Portage, MN
Private vessel, see below for more info.

Contact Information
Isle Royale National Park
Houghton, MI

National Park Concessions
Mammoth Cave, KY(?) for ferry and water taxi info.

submit a new trail review

---

About Our Reviews

Many people ask us to recommend a place to go hiking. Instead of us deciding what places are best, we let the backpacking community help out. The reviews on budget-travels-tips.com have been submitted by our viewers. Some reviews are positive and some are negative. If you don't agree with a review, feel free to submit your own trail review.