Duncan Narrows Campground

Overview

About Duncan Narrows Campground

Why stop

Two shelters give paddlers a roofed overnight option.

Heads up

Reaching it requires a canoe, kayak, or private boat.

Map

Where it is

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Full map

CampgroundDuncan Narrows Campground48.16931, -88.47796

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Plan your stop

Before you go

Best time to go

The campground operates April 16 to October 31. It has a seasonal composting toilet and nonpotable water, plus food-storage lockers available year-round. There’s no camp store, and pets aren’t allowed anywhere in Isle Royale, including aboard boats.

Dock, stay limits and permits

Canoes, kayaks and private boats are the listed ways in, and boats can stay overnight at the dock. It has about six feet of depth in normal conditions. Small-party campers need a free overnight permit; the stay limit is three nights from June 1 through Labor Day.

8 active Isle Royale alerts

ClosureSeasonal park closure begins November 1Isle Royale closes to public use November 1–April 15 because extreme winter weather threatens visitor safety; the closure extends 4.5 miles into Lake Superior from the island.Official details
ClosureCamping closures at east-end campgrounds and Zone 9Camping restrictions are in effect at four east-end campgrounds and Off-trail Camping Zones 9–13 and 30–38 because of increased human-wildlife interactions and food-storage concerns.Official details

See all 8 alerts

A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone — Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

Isle Royale Tour Guide

Your drive to Duncan Narrows Campground, narrated.

Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Isle Royale National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.

Recorded for this area

The Lava Beneath the Ridges

0:00 / 0:34

“Isle Royale's long ridges began as layers of lava. About one point one billion years ago, North America started pulling apart, and molten rock poured out through the cracks.”

Plays on the road 1.6 mi from Duncan Narrows Campground in the Parkwolf Isle Royale Tour Guide.

More about Duncan Narrows Campground

A boat-in stopDuncan Narrows is a small backcountry campground in the narrows of Duncan Bay, at Isle Royale’s…

Duncan Narrows is a small backcountry campground in the narrows of Duncan Bay, at Isle Royale’s northeast end. It’s an overnight stop for paddlers and private boaters, with one first-come tent site and two shelters. There’s no road access.

Wildlife

Wildlife in Isle Royale

All Isle Royale wildlife maps

308 sightingsMooseMost seen around 8 PMSighting map

93 sightingsWolfMost seen around 8 PMSighting map

77 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 5 PMSighting map

150 sightingsLoonMost seen around 7 AMSighting map

24 sightingsTrumpeter SwanMost seen around 6 PMSighting map

71 sightingsBeaverMost seen around 8 PMSighting map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across Isle Royale. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.