Stoll Trail, Isle Royale National Park, Michigan

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
8/20/2026	2.4 miles	2 hours 22 minutes	61'	1.7 mph	247

Parking: 

• Take a boat from Copper Harbor to Isle Royale. There is parking at the harbor.

Map:

• Pick up map on the island from a ranger.

Directions:

• Facing the visitor center turn right. Turn left on the Stoll Trail following the sign for the auditorium. Follow the Stoll Trail. Turn right at the 1/2 loop sign. Follow the trail back to the visitor center.

Today is my day to visit Isle Royale. Glen and I are taking turns, because dogs aren't allowed in the park. Today, Glen is looking after Krumm while I do a day trip. Doing a day trip is kind of crazy, but it works for us! The ferry ride is 3 3/4 hours EACH WAY! The hike they tell all day trip visitors to do is a 2-mile hike. So, I had 7 1/2 hours of boat rides to do a 2-mile hike. Call me crazy!

We left our hotel in Houghton at 6 am (ack!) to get to Copper Harbor at 7 am. Glen dropped me off. I grabbed a muffin at a bakery right in the dock area. Then off to the boat dock information office to pick up my ticket. I waited around with many other people until they let us board the boat. Backpacking backpacks & luggage went on top of the boat. I took Dramamine before boarding. The seats on the boat were pretty much all indoors. It was very chilly. Some people wore puffy's. I'm glad I grabbed my wool hoody this morning before I headed out. The ride was very smooth. I didn't see anyone getting sick. Yeah! I heard later that two days earlier, 3/4 of the passengers got sick. 

I arrived at Rock Harbor at 11:45 am. They separated us into two groups, and we received instructions from a park ranger. We learned what to do if we ran into a moose or a wolf. Say what? We aren't in NC anymore! They told all the day hikers to do the 2-mile Stoll Trail. If you are a fast hiker, you could really do a longer loop. They told us to be back near the dock at 2 pm. I don't think they started loading us onto the boat until around 2:30 pm though. I took off to the Stoll Trail. I noticed the map showed to do the loop in a counterclockwise direction, but I did it clockwise. I turned at the sign for the auditorium.

The hike was short but magical. The trail follows the shoreline of a peninsula. The understory looks different than NC. Plus, there are beautiful views of evergreens along the shoreline of Lake Superior. I fell in love with the place & already wanted to go back while I was hiking! I kept my eyes peeled for moose and wolves. I didn't see any. But I did see many piles of moose scat.  Even taking the hike at a very leisurely pace including a lunch break, I still got back to the boat dock with tons of time to spare. I decided to sketch an NPS boat. 

Then back on the boat. I briefly spoke to a family that I had spoken to on the morning ferry ride. They saw a moose. No way! I'm so jealous! I sat with another couple at a booth on the boat. They had been backpacking. It turns out they saw both a moose & a wolf! The wolf was only 50 feet away from them & was walking towards them. Holy cow! So, my hike was much less exciting. The other couple was working on visiting all of the national parks, so we compared notes on parks that we've been to or wanted to go to.

Glen spent the morning hiking. He said that most of the Copper Harbor trails are mountain biking trails, and he did encounter lots of mountain bikers. He did also go on a hiker only trail, but he said it was less well maintained. Krumm went hiking with him, but no swimming for Krumm today. Glen spent the rest of the day walking around town or hanging out outside the visitor center. There is no cell service in town, but sometimes you can get some spotty wifi outside the visitor center.

Tomorrow, we'll switch. Glen will visit Isle Royale, and I will hang out in Copper Harbor.

Sunrise at Copper Harbor

Lining up for the boat

Rock Harbor, Isle Royale

A copper mine

Smithwick mine

Piles of moose scat everywhere

 

Lake of the Clouds and Escarpment Trail to Cloud Peak, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
8/18/2026	4.2 miles	3 hours 16 minutes	456'	1.7 mph	244.6

Parking: 

• Lake of the Clouds. There is a park fee.

Map:

• Pick up a map when paying the park fee.

Directions:

• Take the wooden boardwalk to the Lake of the Clouds Overlook. Turn left (when facing the lake) to take the Escarpment Trail. Hike 2 miles to Cloud Peak. Return the same way.

One of my friends recommended the Porcupine Mountains, or Porkies to me last year when we visited Michigan. I put it on our list for this year. Chargers are a little scarce up here, but we were able to drive to the Porkies and back from Houghton without needing to stop and charge. We first headed out to the Lake of the Clouds Overlook. My friend recommended it for sunrise, but we were staying an hour away and we aren't morning people. Still, it's a beautiful view. We then headed down the Escarpment Trail, which follows the lake. Sometimes the trail is in the woods, and sometimes it's in full sun with a view of the lake. This hike is gorgeous! We both loved it. It was in the upper 60's/low 70's. No bugs until we sat down. Low humidity. Glen took a nap at the halfway point while I sketched him. The trail is moderate, with rocky terrain. In the sun it was warm, so I recommend a hat. The sun warms the leaves of the plants and they smell fragrant. We are already talking about trying to spend a week at the Porkies next time we visit Michigan. We just need to figure out charging. Maybe staying in a campground.

On the way back to our hotel, we stopped at a beach in Ontonagon Park and Campground to let Krumm have his daily swim in Lake Superior. The waves were kind of big for a dog, but he learned to ride them. Glen promised to rescue him if anything went wrong!

Houghton and Hancock have some sketchable houses, but we are focused on hiking and swimming this trip.

Ontonagon beach