Date: April 28, 2009
Contact: Tawnya Schoewe, 218-283-6670
Starting June 14, 2009 Voyageurs National Park will begin its 2009 tour boat and naturalist guided programs on Kabetogama, Rainy, and Namakan Lakes. The park operates a 22-passenger pontoon boat on each lake. Tour boat programs range from 1.5 to 5.5 hours and from $17 to $41 for adults and $12 to $23 for children. There are minimum passenger requirements for trips to occur.
At the Kabetogama Lake Visitor Center, the park offers cruises to Kettle Falls Hotel four days a week and cruises to Ellsworth Rock Gardens one day a week. Both locations offer visitors the opportunity to learn about and see historic structures and landscapes. Other naturalist guided activities include the North Canoe Voyage and Explore by Canoe twice a week, a weekly Voyageur Adventure for Kids program, and the Friday evening Special Speaker Series at the Historic Woodenfrog Refectory building.
At the Rainy Lake Visitor Center, the park offers a Discovery cruise, Bald Eagle Watch cruise, and a trip through Rainy Lake’s historic gold mine area to Little American Island. There is also a Grand Tour that combines history with wildlife watching. Other naturalist guided activities on Rainy include the North Canoe Voyage and Explore by Canoe twice a week, and an evening campfire program.
New this year, the park will offer a two-hour Discover Namakan cruise that leaves from Ash River Visitor Center and traverses Namakan Lake to Hoist Bay and back. Other naturalist guided activities at the Ash River Visitor Center are the North Canoe Voyage, Lacrosse for families and a weekly evening campfire program.
Once again the park will offer a shuttle service from the Kabetogama Lake Visitor Center to the Locator Lake trailhead on Mondays. The boat will leave the visitor center at 9:30am to take visitors to the trailhead. The boat will return to pick up visitors at 3:30pm. The shuttle service is available on Mondays and requires a minimum of 4 passengers in order to run. The cost is $20 per person. This shuttle service will allow visitors to explore the interior of the park during a day hike or to stay overnight on the interior lakes and rent a park canoe. For more information about this new service and the opportunities to explore the Kabetogama Peninsula call 888-381-2873.
Visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/voya or http://www.nps.gov/voya/planyourvisit/boat-tours-and-naturalist-programs.htm to review the park’s tour boat and naturalist program schedule and to read more information about how to make a reservation. To make reservations call 888-381-2873.
