Voyageurs National Park was the first park on our agenda. Conveniently located in our own backyard, the park is just a few hours drive north from the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Voyageurs sits on the border between the U.S. and Canada, and is quite remote.
This was a perfect park to get our trip started. With room for only about twenty RV’s, our campground was small, well spaced out, and had everything we needed…except wifi or cell phone service. Frankly, it was a nice way to transition into the travel lifestyle, giving us a few days to unwind, disconnect and relax. The skies were clear of both clouds and light pollution, gifting us with incredible starry nights. The best part was we were just a few miles down the road from the Voyageurs Ash River Visitor Center, along with many great hiking trails. Over the course of our five day stay, we were able to make several trips into the park, as well as to some interesting places in the surrounding area.
Voyageurs is made up of a lot of lakes, rivers, and waterways, so a lot of the park is only accessible by boat. Since most boat tours were not operating due to COVID-19, we were only able to see a small fraction of the park. But with great pine forests, and beautiful views of the lakes, the parts we did see were incredible!
We only encountered about five other humans during the entire time we were in the park. One of them was on a hiking trail, and he kindly warned us to beware of the porcupine on the path a short distance ahead of us. While we didn’t see the porcupine, we did see a wide assortment of birds, as well as mosquitos, dragonflies and horse flies that were the size of birds.
While in the north woods, we also took the opportunity to visit a few spots that had been recommended to us by either friends or locals. The Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary offered an up close look at bears unlike anything we have experienced before. Owen proved to be quite adept at spotting the bears that were up in the trees. We also stopped by Sha Sha Resort for dinner and a few cold beverages on their deck overlooking Rainy Lake. Lastly, we were able to find another local resort with an open pool that was available to non-guests. We were the only ones at the pool, and possibly the only ones at the resort!
Enjoying the deck at Sha Sha Resort.
Voyageurs definitely got us started off right, and now that we are more familiar with it, we would love to return at some point in the future to experience more of it!
Our Picks
Ash River Visitor Center
Beaver Pond Overlook Trail
Sha Sha Resort Patio/Deck
Vince Shute Bear Sanctuary