Isle Royale National Park United States

Legendary

Established in 1940, the park protects Isle Royale, the 4th largest lake island in the world.

Photo by Ray Dumas

Fewer people visit this national park in an entire year than visit the Grand Canyon in a single day. Around 26,000 make the trip annually.

There's a reason. You can't drive here, and there are no roads or towns on the island at all.

The only way in is by boat or floatplane. The park also closes completely from November through mid-April.

Isle Royale sits in the far northwest of Lake Superior. It belongs to Michigan, but it's much closer to Canada, about 15 miles from the Ontario shore.

The main island stretches 45 miles long and 9 miles wide. More than 400 smaller islands and rocky islets surround it.

Ancient volcanoes built the island, and glaciers later carved it into long parallel ridges with lakes tucked between them. Ojibwe people called it Minong, meaning "the good place" or "place of blueberries."

The park was established on April 3, 1940. Most settlement ended then, though a few fishing families kept lifetime leases on their historic cabins.

Isle Royale is famous among scientists for one long-running experiment. Moose arrived around 1915, and wolves crossed over on winter ice bridges in the late 1940s.

Because the island is isolated, researchers can watch predator and prey affect each other with almost nothing else interfering. The study has run since 1958, making it the longest of its kind anywhere in the world.

The wolf population nearly disappeared a few years ago, dropping to just two animals. Rangers brought in new wolves from Minnesota, Michigan, and Ontario, and the population is recovering.

Hike the Greenstone Ridge Trail, which runs 40 miles along the island's spine. Paddle a kayak along the rocky shoreline and into the quiet inland lakes. Watch for moose grazing in shallow water near the western end, where they're easiest to spot.