Voyageurs National Park

Voyageurs National Park is located in northern Minnesota ~5 hours north of Minneapolis. It is a water based park comprised of 4 major lakes – Rainy, Kabetogama, Namakan, and Sand Point, as well as a couple dozen smaller lakes. Its purpose is to preserve the history and part of the waterway used by the French Canadian fur trade canoemen known as voyageurs.

I think I found the very best campsite from which to enjoy the area! We stayed at the The Lakeview at Rainy Lake which is a couple’s home with 5 small cabins and 5 RV sites located on their property. We squeezed into waterfront site #4.

We loved this hidden gem. Besides our great view of Rainy Lake, we were a 2 minute walk to all that the small town of Ranier offered. Note this is limited to ice cream, a bakery, and booze.

The statue of Big Vic stands at the entrance to Ranier. Originally placed on Little Cranberry Island in the 80s, he was an interesting symbol of local protest to the establishment of Voyageurs National Park. The Smokey Bear statue, as well as groceries and diesel, were found in nearby International Falls.

You have to get out onto the water to enjoy Voyageurs NP. We had considered renting a houseboat which would have been so fun, but ended up just going on one of the NPS boat tours. We chose the tour that goes to the historic Kettle Falls Hotel from the Ash River Visitor Center. It included ~3.5 hours of cruising plus 2 hours at Kettle Falls and we had a great day!

The hotel’s claim to fame is its bar with a sloping floor. The foundation under the bar was collapsing and after the NPS repaired the foundation, they built it back with its original slope.