Voyageur National Park
ESTABLISHED: 1975 - SIZE: 341 SQUARE MILES - LOCATION: NORTHERN MINNESOTA - ANCESTRAL LAND OF THE CREE, MONSONI, ASSSINIBOINE, AND OJIBWE PEOPLES - FOR MORE INFORMATION: NPS.GOV/VOYA
"Voyageur" means "traveler" in French, and Voyageurs National Park is a destination for those seeking adventure beyond the shore. More than one-third of the park is made up of water, which makes it mostly accessible by boat in the warmer months and by snowmobile in the winter. The park contains 30 lakes that fill glacier-carved basins, many of which were once used for travel and the fur trade. Four large, interconnected lakes—Rainy, Kabetogama, Namakan, and Sand Point—along with smaller lakes, cover nearly 40% of the park. The park also preserves a unique cultural history shaped by its rugged waters and landscape. Visitors can experience this history firsthand through interactive programs led by rangers, who dress in period costumes and paddle the waters, bringing the past to life.
Kabetoma Lake
The sense of the Northwoods is everywhere — in the call of loons and the majesty of northern lights, in the footprint of a wolf or the sight of otters playing in the shallows of a still lake. Watch the moose, deer, and bald eagles here where the southern boreal forest intersects with the mixed hardwood forest. A landscape woven together by water.
Voyageurs National Park commemorates the main fur trade route that opened the North American continent to the northwest— a lakes and river route critical to the economic development of Canada and the United Stages.
Today, Voyageurs is part of the testament to the history and historic relationship we share with Canada — 55 miles of the park directly borders Canada. Voyageurs National Park was established to recognize the superlative contribution to our national heritage and to conserve its resources and values unrepaired for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.
“If we can somehow retain places where we can always sense the mystery of the unknown, our lives will be richer. ”
