Many years ago, when Joe was in high school, his parents told him and his siblings, “When you all have families, let's get the whole big family together for a trip every few years!” Like many other things that seem important but aren't urgent, this never happened. Then, Joe's brother died, and we realized that time is short. We needed to take these trips now. So, at a recent Camp FI retreat, when Joe was chatting with a couple over dinner, he was excited when they described a family trip they'd recently taken: rent a houseboat at Voyageurs National Park and bring along the whole family! It sounded perfect! So, along with Joe's sister, brother-in-law, and two nieces, we headed north!
Voyageurs National Park is situated along the northern border of Minnesota, in one of the least visited and most remote areas of the lower forty-eight states. Most of the park isn't accessible by road, so it's a wonderland of unspoiled natural beauty and tranquility. Also, because it's so remote, you'll experience fantastic views of the Milky Way at night. That's the good news. The bad news is that if you plan to “jump in the car and head for Voyageurs,” you will be disappointed. It demands lots of planning time, an adventurous spirit, and, as you'll read below, a readiness to embrace unforeseen challenges. This is not a spontaneous endeavor by any means, but if you're ready to plan, we're here to help. Let's jump in!
Joe spent hours on the internet researching houseboat companies and the options available, quickly discovering that they needed to be booked almost a year in advance.
First, we decided quickly that we wanted to be on Rainy Lake. Voyeugers is the United States side of the much-larger-in-Canada Boundary Waters area, and you'll have lots more room to explore on Rainy Lake than on the other lakes in the park. That decision helped narrow our search for appropriate houseboat companies.
We settled on Rainy Lake Houseboats because of their stellar reputation and their prime location on Rainy Lake, just outside of International Falls, MN. Because we'd never been on a houseboat and didn't want to be stuck in a nightmare (we're on a boat with nine people and it's horrible!), we decided to only dabble, choosing the minimum three day option.
We also added in some extras. Each boat comes with a secondary craft (a small outboard fishing boat), but we asked for two canoes to take excursions after we'd park to houseboat for the day. Rainy Lake Houseboats also had firewood available (for campfires when you sit along a shoreline campsite each night), along with other basic supplies like ice. We're sure that other houseboat rental facilities will have similar options.
Yes. You can rent smaller crafts from local companies, but if you can't rent a houseboat or don't have access to your own motorboat, another great option is to take a tour on a concessioner-run boat from the visitor's center. This is a great choice if you only have one day, don't want to pilot the craft, and hope to see the beautiful Kettle Falls, miles from the visitor center. We were advised that our houseboat wouldn't fit through the narrow stretches to reach Kettle Falls, so we'd either have to find a cruise or pack a smaller boat to take in that portion of the lake. Ultimately, we didn't make it to Kettle Falls, so we're hopeful to experience it in the future.
Because we were coming from Texas, we flew into Minneapolis, rented a car, and took our time getting to the park, making stops to enjoy both Minneapolis and Duluth. We even arrived ahead of our houseboat departure date to explore the Voyageurs National Park Visitor Centers and do some shoreline hiking.
You could also fly into Duluth or International Falls. Duluth is a modest 165 miles away, compared to Minneapolis, which is nearly 300 miles from the park. Falls International Airport is small, similar to Texarkana (our home base), so security is quick and parking is convenient. However, it's a Delta airlines-only destination. While you can book tickets via Delta partners, ultimately, you're not going to be able to use American Airline, Alaska, Southwest, or United Airline points to get there.