Why Voyageurs?

Many years ago, when Joe was in high school, his parents told him and his siblings, “When you all have families, let’s get the whole big family together for a trip every few years!” Like many other things that seem important but aren’t urgent, this never happened. Then, Joe’s brother died, and we realized that time is short. We needed to take these trips now. So, at a recent Camp FI retreat, when Joe was chatting with a couple over dinner, he was excited when they described a family trip they’d recently taken: rent a houseboat at Voyageurs National Park and bring along the whole family! It sounded perfect! So, along with Joe’s sister, brother-in-law, and two nieces, we headed north!

What Is Voyageurs?

Voyageurs National Park is situated along the northern border of Minnesota, in one of the least visited and most remote areas of the lower forty-eight states. Most of the park isn’t accessible by road, so it’s a wonderland of unspoiled natural beauty and tranquility. Also, because it’s so remote, you’ll experience fantastic views of the Milky Way at night. That’s the good news. The bad news is that if you plan to “jump in the car and head for Voyageurs,” you will be disappointed. It demands lots of planning time, an adventurous spirit, and, as you’ll read below, a readiness to embrace unforeseen challenges. This is not a spontaneous endeavor by any means, but if you’re ready to plan, we’re here to help. Let’s jump in!

Research and Planning

Joe spent hours on the internet researching houseboat companies and the options available, quickly discovering that they needed to be booked almost a year in advance.

First, we decided quickly that we wanted to be on Rainy Lake. Voyeugers is the United States side of the much-larger-in-Canada Boundary Waters area, and you’ll have lots more room to explore on Rainy Lake than on the other lakes in the park. That decision helped narrow our search for appropriate houseboat companies.

We settled on Rainy Lake Houseboats because of their stellar reputation and their prime location on Rainy Lake, just outside of International Falls, MN. Because we’d never been on a houseboat and didn’t want to be stuck in a nightmare (we’re on a boat with nine people and it’s horrible!), we decided to only dabble, choosing the minimum three day option.

We also added in some extras. Each boat comes with a secondary craft (a small outboard fishing boat), but we asked for two canoes to take excursions after we’d park to houseboat for the day. Rainy Lake Houseboats also had firewood available (for campfires when you sit along a shoreline campsite each night), along with other basic supplies like ice. We’re sure that other houseboat rental facilities will have similar options.

Can I Just Rent a Boat For The Day?

Yes. You can rent smaller crafts from local companies, but if you can’t rent a houseboat or don’t have access to your own motorboat, another great option is to take a tour on a concessioner-run boat from the visitor’s center. This is a great choice if you only have one day, don’t want to pilot the craft, and hope to see the beautiful Kettle Falls, miles from the visitor center. We were advised that our houseboat wouldn’t fit through the narrow stretches to reach Kettle Falls, so we’d either have to find a cruise or pack a smaller boat to take in that portion of the lake. Ultimately, we didn’t make it to Kettle Falls, so we’re hopeful to experience it in the future.

How Do I Reach Voyageurs?

Because we were coming from Texas, we flew into Minneapolis, rented a car, and took our time getting to the park, making stops to enjoy both Minneapolis and Duluth. We even arrived ahead of our houseboat departure date to explore the Voyageurs National Park Visitor Centers and do some shoreline hiking.

You could also fly into Duluth or International Falls. Duluth is a modest 165 miles away, compared to Minneapolis, which is nearly 300 miles from the park. Falls International Airport is small, similar to Texarkana (our home base), so security is quick and parking is convenient. However, it’s a Delta airlines-only destination. While you can book tickets via Delta partners, ultimately, you’re not going to be able to use American Airline, Alaska, Southwest, or United Airline points to get there.

Hiking Voyageurs National Park

If you’ve read our trip reports, such as our recent Great Basin adventure, you’ll already know that hiking is one of our favorite pastimes. Each of the visitor centers at Voyageurs offers good hiking opportunities, each with its own unique insights into the park’s fauna, flora, formations, and animals. The centers are also great places to obtain information or get questions answered by the park rangers. Our biggest question was about bears. It turns out that while there may be a bear or two, they’re not something the locals worry about much!

From the Ash River Visitor Center, we especially enjoyed the Sullivan Bay Trail. This easy 1.3 mile out-and-back trail offers beautiful overlooks of Sullivan Bay and has a nice picnic area at the end with a table near the bay. Another super easy (and short) trail we liked from the Ash River Visitor Center was the Beaver Pond Overlook Trail. This relatively easy trail takes you on a short walk through a pine forest to see the beaver dams. We, unfortunately, didn’t see any beavers that day. We did, however, hear lots of different birds and used our Merlin app for bird sounds to identify them.

For a little longer trek, try the Blind Ash Trail, which gave us views of Kabetogama Lake after leading through a winding, rocky scenic trail. It’s about three miles long total, and has a little more elevation change than the two trails above.

Over at the Rainy Lake Visitor Center, we explored the Oberholtzer Trail, which is surrounded by deciduous trees, conifers, and wetlands.

Enjoy hiking? Krista Edwards hiked the Pacific Crest Trail and chatted with Joe about it on the Stacking Benjamins Show! Check it out here.

What About Bugs?

Yeah…here’s the bad news. Whether you’re on a houseboat, hiking, or just walking up to the visitor center, there are TONS of bugs. We generously applied bug spray and also wore netting on our head for added protection. Here is an article on bug spray that Cheryl likes to share with her patients.

International Falls Minnesota

We arrived a couple of days early to enjoy hiking, visitor centers, and a good restaurant or two before embarking on the boat. International Falls is the largest and closest city to Rainy Lake, so we found a motel there for a few nights.

Lodging

We can easily recommend The Nomad Motel if you’re looking for affordable accomodations at a great price. This cleaned-up older property (think highway motel with outside access to your rooms and stairs to second story lodgings) was clean and conveniently located across from a both a good restaurant and a grocery store.

There is also camping available, at places like the Wooden Frog Campground and RV parking at the Voyageurs RV Campground or Rainy Lake RV Campground. We can’t recommend these personally because we didn’t stay there. International Falls proved to be a great starting point for Voyageurs. Don’t forget to visit Smokey the Bear while you are there.

Restaurants

Ah, our favorite topic! We ate twice at The Library (partly because it was directly across the road from The Nomad Motel). We had both breakfast and lunch, and both meals tasted great and were presented by warm, friendly wait staff.

We also had heard that the views from the Thunderbird Lodge dining room were great, though the food and service both received mixed reviews. We were impressed with both. It’s a bar-type atmosphere, and very busy. That said, the view out over Rainy Lake and the friendly people working there can make up for a little bit of a long wait. We can easily recommend it if you’re headed to International Falls, though be prepared for crowds.

Our Voyageurs Houseboat Adventure

You can go to Voyageurs, do a few hikes, and check out the visitor centers, but you will be missing out on the absolute beauty of the untamed wilderness and many waterways. That said, as we boarded our boat and began getting settled, we quickly realized that a houseboat is not for the faint of heart! We had a large group, and although the Rainey Lake Houseboat people officially listed our option as “sleeping twelve,” the sleeping quarters were still very cramped with nine. The engine needed to remain running at night until everyone was settled in, which made it loud in the back room. The spaces to crawl into were small, making it difficult for Joe’s older parents.

But, on the flipside, the houseboat definitely had the following perks: a fully stocked kitchen, a large refrigerator, and ample outdoor space to relax and take in the view. Plus, we had a hot tub on the roof and a water slide. We used both and loved them!

Here are some important details to know before renting the houseboat.

Preparing to Push Off From the Dock

Before beginning your adventure, the employees of the Rainy Boat houseboats will explain how the system works. Your boat comes with an electronic depth finder that shows both the depth and any hazards (rocks!) that are in the way. While a few of us learned the ins and outs of how the boat functioned, the rest of us loaded the cupboards, unpacked the food, and picked our beds. We were able to practice with the guide thru the initial mile or so, before he jumped in a motor boat back to the docks. We were on our own!

Discovering Rainy Lake

We started our journey by driving by the Little American Island, which was the site of a short-lived gold rush. After waving to it, we were on to our first stop, Bushyhead Island, which our guidebooks said would be a great sight to take in. For us, it ended up being just a great way to get used to controlling the fits and starts of a large watercraft, when you’ve never driven one before. We took the fishing boat to the island, saw the underwhelming mine (bars block you from entering), and climbed to the top for a kinda-neat 360 degree view. Seriously, there’s no need to stop.

The remainder of our first day, and each subsequent day, we spent a few hours admiring the wildlife. Campsites at Voyageur are first come-first serve, so while planning we were worried that we’d have trouble getting a good spot. While many that we thought would be great stopping points were full, we never had problems finding an open campsite, and on two nights, parked in really scenic places (more on the third night later).

Two types of spots are marked on your map: specific areas for parking houseboats and separate areas for tent camping, so it’s important to locate the right spot. While sandy beaches seem like a good move, we were told by a Rainy Lake Houseboat employee to look for rocks. We couldn’t agree more. First, we discovered that it was more challenging to dock and undock at sandy areas, as the boat would get stuck. It took a few of us on shore to guide the boat in the right direction while someone else steered at the helm. Second, the bugs were much more noticable in sandy spots.

The guide from Rainy Lake taught us how to secure the boat to the trees using a mooring to prevent it from drifting away during the night. Each spot had a fire pit for a campfire, and we found that each little island had its own unique charm – some had blueberry bushes, and others were home to deer!

What Could Go Wrong?

Ha! While this all seemed like a “no brainer” at first, that proved too good to be true. Piloting the boat was super easy, so Joe decided to take in some closer-to-shore areas. While the map said we had a clear path close to a rock, another family member thought we were too close…so we backed out and piloted the boat across another area. Too late, the boat hit underwater rocks, and ripped up a propeller. Fortunately, we had enough of it left to limp to a campsite for the night (our only sandy beach stop). Also lucky, the staff at Rainy Lake Houseboats were easy to reach on the radio, and they replaced the propeller swiftly, but at a cost.

Later, we also got the propeller stuck in ropes and ripped up the blades again backing out of a beautiful-but-wedged in site. Dealing with tangled rope especially required patience and humor, and some words may or may not have been said that everyone had to laugh about later. Additionally, Grandpa Sehy had a memorable encounter with a leech, which caused his toe to bleed for quite some time. Thankfully, Cheryl had packed a first aid kit.

While having boating experience isn’t mandatory, it probably would have been incredibly helpful. Despite these challenges, we embraced the unexpected moments, as they are all part of a true family vacation experience.

Each houseboat must have a motorized fishing boat attached at the back with a rope. You can bring your boat and motor or rent one. We split the difference. Joe’s dad brought along a motor, and we only rented the boat.

What Should I Bring on the Houseboat?

The size and number of mosquitoes are indescribable. Those pesky insects are no joke. I swear, some of them are the size of birds. We quickly learned to slather on the bug spray and hope for the best. These pests come out tenfold at night. Long sleeves, long pants, and netting are a must to enjoy the night sky, which you most definitely want to do. We ventured outside at one AM one morning to see the sky in its glory and the heavens didn’t disappoint. As mentioned above, a well-stocked first aid kit is not just handy, it’s a lifesaver. The basics include sunblock, fire logs, water bottles, and of course, beer (best after you’ve parked for the evening)! We probably overpacked food, but no one went hungry. Family game night is part of the fun, and we brought along a few favorites and several sets of playing cards. We also found binoculars (more than one pair) very helpful. But if you did forget anything or ran out, you can have it delivered to your boat–once again, at a cost! Click here for a suggested packing list.

Our Conclusion: Voyageurs National Parks is a Must-See

We loved nearly every moment during our days spent navigating through the expansive lake, and were constantly astounded by the wildlife and beautiful shoreline. From the serenades of loons greeting us at dawn, to the turtles gracefully emerging next to our canoe, it was a great trip. And we’ll never forget the eagles gracefully soaring above us.

It’s incredible to note that the largest population of American Eagles thrives in Northern Minnesota, and we were fortunate to spot many of them perched high in the treetops. If you go, you will, too.

As each day progressed and the temperature rose, we eagerly sought out a spot to pause and glide down the slide into the water before submerging ourselves in the lake’s cool (actually, pretty damned cold, but still awesome!) waters. As the early evening approached, we sought out the perfect place to dock the craft, build a fire, and hang out. The fishing was good for our family members who wanted to try out their pole (they caught fish, and even though we’re catch-and-release fisherpeople…they would have been too small to keep anyway), and each little island beckoned us to stop and explore. And who could overlook making s’mores by the crackling fire under the starry night sky? It was a great experience that national park lovers won’t want to miss.

Have you been to Voyageurs National Park? Share your story in the comments below!