The Park is located on the Minnesota-Canadian border. The Park may be accessed from four points along US 53 from Duluth. County Route 23-24 from Orr goes to Crane Lake; County Route 129 (Ash River Trail) goes to Namakan Lake; County Route 122 goes to the south shore of Lake Kabetogama. Highway MN 11 from International Falls gives access to Black Bay. No roads access beyond the edge of the Park; it can be reached by boat, canoe, float plane, hiking; snowmobile, or cross-country skiing.
WHEN TO VISIT
Open year round. Peak visitor month is June. Climate: January, -11 to 11 degrees F; July, 54 to 78 degrees F. Winter brings heavy snowfalls; Summers are warm and pleasant.
POINTS OF INTEREST
The Park is named for the French Canadian voyageurs who worked for the fur trading companies in the 18th and 19th centuries. They paddled their canoes through this route between Canada's northwest and Montreal. Interconnected northern lakes, dotted with islands, once the route of the French-Canadian voyageurs, are surrounded by forest. Boaters ply the waters in Summer. Snowmobilers and cross-country skiers travel across the frozen lakes and wooded trails in Winter.
This north woods Park is fifty-five miles long and contains more than 30 lakes and more than 900 islands. Access to the Park in Summer is by watercraft, float plane, or hiking; in Winter by ice road, snowmobile, ski plane, cross-country skiing, or snowshoeing. There are about twenty-five miles of hiking trails which can be reached by boat or float plane. 100 primitive campsites, mostly on lakes, are accessible only by boat or float plane. Kettle Falls Hotel has overnight accommodations, 1-800-322-0886. Food, supplies and overnight accommodations are available in International Falls, Rainy Lake, Kabetogama, Ash River, Orr, and Crane Lake.
