Rainy Lake is 60 miles long; within Voyageurs National Park, it encompasses 200 islands. The lake and its shores offer opportunities for boating, paddling, fishing and camping. In the national park, you can also join guided boat tours, canoe trips and hikes. Ways to experience the water range from exploring on your own to taking guided tours—a useful distinction when deciding how you would like to explore the landscape.
Camping is also part of the lakeside experience: Voyageurs National Park has more than 270 campsites, as well as opportunities for lakeside camping. Not every night outdoors has to be the same: each hike-in campsite at Franz Jevne State Park has a picnic table and a fire ring. These amenities help you distinguish between different types of camping without confusing them with accommodation in a building.
Trails for Short and Extended Explorations
In winter, Voyageurs National Park offers 110 miles of marked and groomed snowmobile trails. The Blue Ox Trail is on a different scale: this year-round, multi-use trail network in Koochiching County is about 74 miles long. Near Lake Bemidji State Park, it connects with the Paul Bunyan State Trail. These figures represent different ways of getting around and finding your way: snowmobile trails in the national park, on the one hand, and an extensive network for multiple uses, on the other.
For a shorter walk, the Ethnobotanical Garden Trail is an easy route of less than a quarter mile. It includes a reconstruction of a traditional Ojibwe camp and offers a view of Black Bay. The trailhead is behind the Rainy Lake Visitor Center; the route can be reached from the Oberholtzer Trail. The short trail and the larger trail network appeal to different interests, without requiring an assumed hiking time.
The Rainy Lake Recreation Trail offers a distinct experience, with views of forest, lake and wetland landscapes. At Franz Jevne State Park, trails pass moss-covered rock outcrops, aspen, pine and fir trees, and open hardwood bottomlands. The Hiking Club Trail ends at an overlook on the Rainy River. Pelicans can be seen on the water, and bald eagles perch in trees along the shore. Just outside the park, a public boat access on the Rainy River is available for fishing and outings.
Cultural History and Special Places
The cultural sites tell different stories. Kettle Falls was a historic travel route used by Indigenous peoples, voyageurs and gold seekers. Kettle Falls Hotel has hosted and served travelers since 1913; it is accessible only by water. The Ellsworth Rock Gardens, an artistic landscape, lie on the north shore of Kabetogama Lake. These places bring together a historic route, a hotel and an artistically designed landscape, though they offer different kinds of visitor experiences.
In Voyageurs National Park, park rangers lead tours through the gardens. The tour, about a quarter mile long, features stone sculptures, tiered terraces with flower beds, building remains and winding paths.
In International Falls, other cultural and local highlights take center stage: Smokey Bear Park is home to a 26-foot-tall, 82-ton Smokey Bear statue. The Bronko Nagurski Museum features exhibits and memorabilia from the athlete’s life and career. The Koochiching Museums provide information reaching back 10,000 years. Together, these span everything from a distinctive public landmark to collections devoted to an individual and a broad sweep of history.
For planning, you can organize your discoveries by interest: the water and islands of Rainy Lake, trails through forest and lakeshore landscapes, a short educational trail or the history of a specific place. Differences in length, activity and subject matter can help you choose the highlights that suit your trip.
Discover more destinations: International Falls, Le Sueur County, Aitkin County, Carver, Olmsted, Steele County, Roseau, Kandiyohi County.
Return to the main travel guide: Minnesota.
