Voyageurs National Park

"This national park is an amazing destination, but remember, it's all about the water! There's nearby camping for overnight stays before you embark on your adventures. Since the park is 'on the water,' be sure to take a guided boat tour. It's a fantastic way to soak in the history and catch breathtaking views you might otherwise miss."

"We visited when the visitor center was closed, but the park was open. We had the place to ourselves and it was incredible! The trails were easy to find with the NPS app and we saw so much beautiful scenery. We came back at night to see the stars and were truly mesmerized."

"As national park junkies, we definitely wanted to visit this place. However, we couldn't find anyone in the Twin Cities who had been there although it's only 4.5-5 hours. It was clear that most of the park is only accessible by water. Truthfully, we probably would have been better off doing a houseboat or canoe trip. However, we went over MEA break, right when things were starting to shut down. It was still beautiful colors and we could do enough! We stayed at Thunderbird Lodge on Rainy Lake and did a boat tour from Voyageurs Outfitters (highly recommend). We got some hikes in (5 or so) but it was hard to find hiking trails that were accessible by land. The views were beautiful and it is a unique place. It was a bummer that almost all visitor centers were closed...I wanted my national park stickers! Luckily, they left out a stamp at the Ash River Center so I was able to get that at least!"

"We spent 2.5 days in the park and were able to see and do quite a bit! We visited all 3 visitor centers! The Rainy Lake visitors center was the biggest and is a must. The Ash river one is pretty small, however our favorite hike was there so you might as well stop by. We hiked the Blind Ash Bay Trail which was about 3 miles with a pretty view at the top. We were able to rent canoes and a pontoon boat for the day. It was fun being able to explore the park on our own! There is not much as far as facilities, so keep that in mind. There aren’t really docks on any of the islands so you’ll have to be creative how to explore those. We unfortunately didn’t get to experience the northern lights but woke up one morning to see the stars. Definitely a must! Overall it’s a beautiful, sprawling park!"

"We had planned this trip for quite a while. Unfortunately. The boat tour at Rainy Lake wasn't opening for another 10 days, so we will miss out on that. We did go to 3 of the 4 visitor centers. They were all very different. Which was nice. We did take our Mosquito protection on a few bikes in the various areas of the park. The video that they had was very informative. The volunteers were so nice and knowledgeable as were the rangers. It was definitely worth the trip. We got a t shirt, stickers and magnet for souvenirs. The bathrooms were very clean."