Seven sensational Great Lakes National Parks

Planning a trip to the great outdoors this summer?

The Great Lakes offer some great natural destinations

Isle Royale is one of the most isolated and least visited of our nation’s National Parks, because a trip to this gem in the far reaches of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula requires a three- or five-hour ferry ride (depending on whether you depart to the island from Houghton or Copper Harbor) to reach the park. There’s always the chance that rough water on Lake Superior can delay your scheduled ferry ride by a day or so, but what is an extra day or two extension of your vacation? When we last visited Isle Royale, we used our ferry-delay day to squeeze in a little extra hiking and picture-taking before returning to the mainland on the next day’s ferry.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore near Munising (MI) is another one of Michigan’s Lake Superior gems. Kayak on the lake for some of the best views of the park’s sandstone cliffs or hike back into some of the park’s most remote and beautiful waterfalls. Enjoy more than 40 miles of Lake Superior’s rugged shoreline but be advised that swimming in the largest, deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes is only for the hardiest of souls on the warmest of summer days. I’ve gone swimming in Lake Superior, and while it felt great at on a hot summer afternoon, even this cold water lover only lasted a very short time in the chilly water.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, in the northwestern portion of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula is a little closer to home for us so we’ve visited there many times over the years. Attractions like Port Oneida Rural Historic District preserve some of the area’s history, and the seven-mile Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive leads visitors past many of the area’s most interesting geological and natural sights. Many visitors best know Sleeping Bear for its challenging dune climb, where a beautiful view of Glen Lake rewards those who make it to the top.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park, located close to Cleveland (OH) along the crooked Cuyahoga River, offers visitors a look at the history of transportation the Ohio and Erie Canalway. Even as the park is quite near heavily urban areas of northern Ohio, it offers visitors plenty of natural wonders like wildlife and waterfalls to enjoy. I hope to return to the park sometime with my bicycle to ride along the mostly level Towpath Trail that follows the path once traveled by mules to tow boats along the historic Ohio and Erie Canal.

The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, which includes 21 islands and 12 miles of mainland along Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin, offers especially plentiful opportunities for serious kayakers and those who love photographing Great Lakes lighthouses. We loved staying In Bayfield (WI), where visitors can easily book shuttles to island hop or purchase tickets for one of our favorite trips—a sunset cruise past some of the area’s lighthouses.

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore offers visitors another look at the dunes along Lake Michigan. Indiana may not have a lot of Great Lakes shoreline, but this park showcases some of the best of that limited real estate. The National Park Service planned five prescribed fires at the park this spring as a means for landscape and ecosystem restoration, invasive species eradication and biodiversity protection. This project should offer park visitors an interesting view of how nature restores itself in coming years.

Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota offers camping, hiking and wildlife watching opportunities, but requires visitors take to the water to best explore the area. Voyageurs paddled their birch bark canoes through the area two centuries ago as they transported animal pelts and other trade goods. Today, canoes, kayaks, houseboats and motorboats cruise these waters, and summer visitors can even take a guided tour aboard a 26-foot North Canoe to see the park much as the long-ago voyageurs did.

Have you visited any of these sensational Great Lakes parks?

Midwest Guest