Sight · Isle Royale National Park
A freighter lost in a 1927 storm, found half a century later.
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.
“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
SS Kamloops is an intact 250-foot steel freighter lying in Lake Superior near Isle Royale's Twelve O'Clock Point. It rests 175 to 260 feet down and has no buoy. The park advises against diving Kamloops because of its extreme depth. No public surface-viewing spot or routine boat tour is documented, and this map pin is approximate, not a dive fix. Treat it as a story to learn about rather than a general visitor stop.
The freighter disappeared during a severe Lake Superior storm in December 1927, one of five vessels lost in that weather. Divers found it in 1977 near Twelve O'Clock Point, ending a search that had lasted almost fifty years. Photographs of the ship's name on the stern confirmed the wreck's identity.
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
ModerateEast Chickenbone Trail1.6 mi · 1.3 hr · 2.4 mi awayA forested connector with glimpses of Chickenbone Lake.
ModerateChickenbone Lake Loop6.4 mi · 3 hr · 2.6 mi awayA forested lake loop with a short, repeated McCargoe Cove approach.
ModerateMinong Mine Trail2.2 mi · 2 hr · 2.6 mi awayA rugged detour into Isle Royale’s ancient copper workings
ModerateLake Richie Trail1.9 mi · 1.3 hr · 4.5 mi awayA narrow backcountry connector through wetlands and rocky outcrops.
Sight · 1.8 mi awayMinong MineCopper mining here spans 4,500 years on a remote trail spur.
Campground · 2.4 mi awayWest Chickenbone CampgroundA backcountry lake camp reached on foot or by portage.
Campground · 2.6 mi awayMcCargoe Cove CampgroundA remote cove camp with boat access and six shelters.
Campground · 3.4 mi awayEast Chickenbone CampgroundFour forest sites for an inland night, not a lakeside stay.
Campground · 3.5 mi awayTodd Harbor CampgroundA backcountry shoreline camp with a single shelter.
Sight · 3.7 mi awayHaytown MineA small pit marks an ambitious, short-lived copper operation.
Campground · 4.1 mi awayIntermediate Lake CampgroundA tent-only overnight for paddlers crossing the island's inland lakes.
Campground · 4.1 mi awayBirch Island CampgroundA tiny boat-in camp near McCargoe Cove's mouth.Parkwolf’s Isle Royale ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
