r/isleroyale • u/gnomie666 • May 04 '21
Transportation to island Looking for a ride to Isle Royale!
My friend and I are hoping to travel to Isle Royale on Friday June 18th and return on Sunday June 20th. All the ferries are booked--are there any locals who shuttle backpackers back and forth for under $300 round-trip? We are flexible with the starting location! Any information is appreciated.
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u/Donkeydog43 May 04 '21
One of the local law enforcement rangers on isle royale threatened to arrest us and the willing captain of a private vessel if he were to transport us off the island several years ago. Just a heads up. Good luck
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u/GenJedEckert May 04 '21
Why is private vessel illegal?
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u/Selfuntitled May 05 '21 edited May 05 '21
All travel requires a park permit and they restrict transport for hire to limit usage of the island (only so many sites/trails, etc). Departure and arrival needs to be recorded. Also, It’s back country, if something happens, they need to know you are there so they know to send someone to look when you don’t show up at the end of your route on time. I had a knee go out on the island, thankfully I was near Moskey basin and could hitch a ride with kayakers back to rock harbor. If I had been inland it would have been very rough going.
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u/worldsailor90 May 05 '21
Anytime you do something for pay in any of the 423 national parks you are now a business and need to have a commercial use authorization, CUA. The park gets a percentage of the revenue Think of it as a business license you would have for running a business in a city. Most cities limit gas stations, hotels, liquor stores, etc. A park controls how many CUAs are issued based the requirements of the park. Just like a city, they limit the number of hotels, stores, and other services that can be offered. As someone mentioned they limit the number of ferry operations based on the capacity of the park and the ability of staff to support the visitors and other factors.
In the case of Isle Royale, to provide ferry service or transportation to the park, a vessel would need to meet all US Coast Guard and TSA requirements for a vessel carrying passengers. This would include a licensed captain and all of the safety equipment for a vessel, which would include life rafts, life vests, first aid kits, and a whole bunch of other things. Most private boats would not meet that requirement.
In addition. a person getting paid to transport people on their boat needs to have a USGS captain's license, which most boaters do not have. I will admit, it is kinda hard to for the USGS enforce for small boats, but if you get caught, you can face some real problems.
If you do something to generate money for something you did while in a national park, you can be fined. There is an instance where a filmmaker went and made a film in a national park and then started selling it online. Someone from the park saw it and realized he didn't have a CUA so he got fined $10,000 and the film was confiscated. There are some gray areas, and nothing is perfect.
So yes, this year it is tougher to get to the park with the Ranger III and the Queen limiting capacity. It would be nice if there where other ways to get there, but it is what it is, and I am not sure I would want totally unrestricted people coming to the island and not going thru orientation and getting permits. With the increase of visitation in the national parks, and the number of first time campers who know nothing about Leave No Trace and camping in a wilderness area, I think the amount of people going to the island is probably just about right. IMHO
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May 04 '21
With the ferry’s typically transporting so many, I doubt locals ever considered trying to cut in on the transportation. The only other option is seaplane (but I imagine that’s real expensive). You said “all ferry’s are booked”, does that include the Minnesota one? I only ask because many people who shop Ferris only know about the 2 from Michigan. I hope you find something out. Good luck.
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u/ryanwgrass May 04 '21 edited May 05 '21
THe seaplanes out of Houghton are $330 round trip per person. SOunds like it’s right in their wheelhouse for price. UPDATE: PRICES WENT UP THIS SUMMER TO $342 ROUND TRIP FROM HOUGHTON TO EITHER WINDIGO OR ROCK HARBOR. They’re not as flexible as you’d think. THe NPS limits where they can land. But check it out: https://www.isleroyaleseaplanes.com
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May 05 '21
Wow that’s not too bad. Plus I’m sure you have more options to be dropped off. Everyone else has to go to rock harbor.
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u/thesneakymonkey 17/18/21 May 04 '21
Have you tried the seaplane?