Sight · Isle Royale National Park
Fuel, rentals and dock services in a remote island harbor.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Isle Royale Tour Guide
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
Rock Harbor Lodge and Scoville Point“You're approaching Rock Harbor Lodge, a useful stop for a hot meal even if you're not staying overnight. Greenstone Grill serves pizza, burgers and sandwiches, with a deck overlooking the harbor.”
Plays on the road 0.1 mi from Rock Harbor Marina in the Parkwolf Isle Royale Tour Guide.
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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!!!!”
Guide
Rock Harbor Marina is a boat-service dock at the heart of Rock Harbor, on Isle Royale’s northeastern end. It matters most if you arrive by private boat, need fuel or dock services, or want to rent a small craft. The marina has 450 feet of dock space for boats up to 65 feet. If you come ashore by passenger ferry for a hike or lodge stay, treat the marina as part of the landing area rather than a separate sightseeing stop.
The docks offer electrical and fresh-water hookups, sewage pump-out, gasoline and diesel. Motorboats, canoes and kayaks are rented by the half day or day during the operating season. The listed rental fleet includes small aluminum motorboats and 15- and 17-foot canoes; rental motorboats are limited to 15 horsepower, and canoes are not motorized. Overnight dockage costs extra.
The marina sits among the east-end landing and visitor facilities. A store, restaurants, lodging, a campground, visitor center and trail access are in the wider Rock Harbor area, but they are separate nearby facilities rather than services at the marina dock. NPS lists a picnic table at the marina; parking and restrooms specifically serving the dock were not established.
The marina is set into Isle Royale’s rugged Lake Superior coast. Glaciers scoured the region roughly 11,000 years ago, leaving fjord-like inlets, rocky points and drowned valleys. The wooded shore and the boats across the water give you a small-scale look at that broken shoreline, even while the marina itself is a practical stop.
Wildlife
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 mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Isle Royale. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingHarbor to Hills Loop33.2 mi · 1.3 days · At the trailheadA 33-mile island loop climbs from Lake Superior shore to Greenstone Ridge.
EasyTobin Harbor Trail3 mi · 3 hr · 0.1 mi awayHarbor islands and an inland sea arch off an easy woodland walk
ModerateScoville Point Loop4.2 mi · 3 hr · 0.1 mi awayA rough lakeshore and wooded harbor side meet at Scoville Point.
ModerateSuzy’s Cave Loop3.8 mi · 3.5 hr · 0.1 mi awayA rocky shoreline loop to Isle Royale’s inland sea arch.
ModerateRock Harbor Trail11 mi · 7 hr · 0.1 mi awayAn 11-mile rocky shoreline hike from Rock Harbor to Moskey Basin.
ModerateStoll Memorial Trail (Short Loop)1.8 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.1 mi awayA wooded and rocky interpretive loop near Rock Harbor.
ModerateTobin–Duncan Portage Trail1.6 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.5 mi awayA steep, boat-accessed crossing over Greenstone Ridge.
EasyRaspberry Island Trail0.9 mi · 45 min · 0.6 mi awayBoardwalks lead into a tiny bog before the rocky shore.
Visitor center · At the trailheadRock Harbor Visitor CenterA smart first stop for ranger answers and island trip planning.
Store · At the trailheadRock Harbor StoreGroceries, fuel and gear before you leave the main dock.
Restroom · At the trailheadRock Harbor Comfort StationSeasonal toilets, showers and laundry in Rock Harbor.
Restaurant · 0.1 mi awayGreenstone GrillA hot meal and harbor-view deck after a day on the island.
Restaurant · 0.1 mi awayLighthouse RestaurantA sit-down meal at Rock Harbor, far from the mainland.
Lodging · 0.1 mi awayRock Harbor LodgeStay beside Lake Superior at the island's only full-service lodge.
Campground · 0.2 mi awayRock Harbor CampgroundA busy harbor base with campsites close to ferries and trailheads.Sight · 0.6 mi awayRaspberry IslandA boat-access island with bog boardwalks and a rocky Lake Superior shore.Parkwolf’s Isle Royale ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
