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Island Mine in Isle Royale National Park

Sight · Isle Royale National Park

Island Mine

A rusted engine and rock piles make a brief mining-era pause.

Photo: National Park Service
Type
Sight
Nearest trail
2.8 mi
DirectionsMap
Parkwolf audio tour17 stories across Isle Royale’s roads

Overview

About Island Mine

Why stop

  • The old engine makes the mining history tangible.

Heads up

  • The remains are brief and require a backcountry hike.

Map

Where it is

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Full map
SightIsland Mine47.92156, -89.03592
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Plan your stop

Before you go

8 active Isle Royale alerts

  • CautionLow water flow at Island Mine StreamMentions this placeIsland Mine Campground Stream has very little water flow; bring enough water to Island Mine or plan water stops along your route. Check current water conditions before hiking.Official details
  • 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
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 Island Mine, 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.

More stories near here in the app

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  • Lanterns on the Toboggan Run
  • 17 audio storiesacross Isle Royale’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
  • Wildlife heatmapsfor Moose, Wolf, Bald Eagle, and 13 more
  • Works offlinemaps, 39 trails, 83 places, and audio download before you lose signal
  • CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
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“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
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4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

Guide

More about Island Mine

A small mining-era stopIsland Mine is a modest copper-mine ruin in the woods along the Feldtmann Loop.

Island Mine is a modest copper-mine ruin in the woods along the Feldtmann Loop. Treat it as a short pause on a backcountry hike, not a stand-alone destination. The clearest remains are a rock pile and an old steam engine tucked behind it among the trees. Look beyond the rubble for the engine; it’s the most distinctive thing here and the best subject to photograph.

Reach it on footThe remains sit beside a backcountry trail, with no road access at the site.

The remains sit beside a backcountry trail, with no road access at the site. The route has rocks and roots, and conditions can change, so bring a map and compass and be comfortable navigating. On the approach from Siskiwit Bay, the last place to purify water is before the trail turns inland at Carnelian Beach. Don’t count on a water source at the mine.

A brief mining chapterMining here ran from 1873 to 1875, and the settlement served briefly as the county seat of Isle…

Mining here ran from 1873 to 1875, and the settlement served briefly as the county seat of Isle Royale County. The surviving scene is small: rock debris and machinery in the forest, rather than an intact industrial building. Old mine workings are unsafe; stay on the marked trail and don’t enter excavations.

coppermininghistoryruinshiking

Wildlife

Wildlife in Isle Royale

All Isle Royale wildlife maps
Moose308 sightingsMooseMost seen around 8 PMSighting mapWolf93 sightingsWolfMost seen around 8 PMSighting mapBald Eagle77 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 5 PMSighting mapLoon150 sightingsLoonMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapTrumpeter Swan24 sightingsTrumpeter SwanMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapBeaver71 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.

Keep exploring

Near Island Mine

See it all on the map

Trails nearby

ModerateIsland Mine Trail4.9 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.8 mi awayA rocky one-way link from Siskiwit Bay to the Island Mine junction.ChallengingMinong Ridge Trail28 mi · 1.3 days · 5 mi awayA tough, remote ridge traverse with views over Superior and Canada.ModerateEast Huginnin Cove Trail3.3 mi · 2.5 hr · 5 mi awayMine ruins, rocky bluffs, and a cove at Lake Superior’s edge.

More stops nearby

Campground · 0.6 mi awayIsland Mine CampgroundA quiet woods camp, but don't count on the creek for water.Campground · 2.8 mi awaySiskiwit Bay CampgroundNine remote sites bring the bay, its dock, and its sunsets close.Sight · 4.4 mi awayMinong Ridge OverlookA rocky ridge above Lake Superior, reached by a demanding hike.Campground · 4.5 mi awaySouth Lake Desor CampgroundBackcountry nights, loon calls, and sunset on Lake Desor.Campground · 4.5 mi awayHay Bay CampgroundA one-site boat-in camp with an overnight dock.Campground · 4.6 mi awayNorth Desor CampgroundThree hike-in sites on Lake Desor’s rocky north shore.Sight · 4.9 mi awayFeldtmann TowerA former lookout tower with a 360-degree west-end view.

Parkwolf’s Isle Royale ranking

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Take Parkwolf to Isle Royale.

The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.

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