May 2003 Voyageurs National Park
Five club members spent three nights in Voyageurs National Park the weekend of May 29th to June 1st. We visited the unique Kettle Falls Hotel, where we had two meals during the Friday rain, and also the Ellsworth Rock Gardens on the north shore of Lake Kabetogema. Speaking of rain, it was the first day any of us can remember when the weather was just so yukky that we sat it out. The forecast was for winds of 30 to 45 m.p.h. in the afternoon, and since we had a bail-out option to our itinerary, we changed plans and stayed put. Fortunately, the other three days provided absolutely perfect paddling weather.
For anyone who has not been to Voyageurs, it is a very accessible and safe environment for a first (or second, third or fiftieth) multiple-night excursion. The scenery is as good as it gets in Minnesota, and the lakes are big enough for adventure but small enough that you can get to shelter quickly.
The area has a long history of human interaction, including the Voyageurs (the French Canadian fur traders who paddled canoes for a living), native Americans, copper miners, loggers, fishermen, and now house-boaters. Despite this, the area has largely been preserved without development and is a delightful place to get a few extra miles of paddling in on a long weekend.
The Kettle Falls Hotel is over one hundred years old and is on the National Historic Register. It is operated under a license from the National Park Service by a family that provides food and lodging to fishermen (and kayakers!) from Memorial Day to the last weekend in September. And it is accessible only by boat! They have the most unique bar and pool table you will ever see (I will let you discover what I mean).
Ellsworth Rock Garden is another unique spot. Built over 40 years by one man who spent his summers there, it is a sculpture garden / wonderland of natural and man-made delights, designed to cover the face of a huge exposed granite outcropping. It is just north of Cutover Island, which is just north of Sugarbush Island, which is just east of Sheep Island....or is it the other way around...we got lost just a little bit. Whatever.
If you ever get a hankering to get out of town, and you've done the Apostles one time too many, head north to beautiful Orr, Minnesota and you won't regret it.
-Larry Stephenson
P.O. Box 80331 ~ Minneapolis, Minnesota 55408
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