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Jerry Pillarelli | profile | all galleries >> Travel and Nature >> US Travel; by Trip, by State >> Minnesota >> Voyageurs National Park – Minnesota tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Voyageurs National Park – Minnesota

Images of Voyageurs National Park – northern Minnesota, taken in July 2017.

Voyageurs National Park, on the southern edge of the Boreal Forest, is a wilderness park known for its history of rich beaver hunting and a short-lived gold rush. Except for the roads which go to each of the parks three visitor centers the only way to get around through the park is by boat.

I took two boat tours which ventured out into the wilderness; to Kettle Falls in Kabetogama Lake and to the islands of Rainy Lake. Both tours wound through some of the 500-plus islands in the park and explored the history of the area as a part of a trade route from Montreal to points west. On the water there is no shortage of beautiful views; bedrock islands covered with lush vegetation and eagles in the air above them.

To see if I could find some land based wildlife I took the Echo Bay Trail that I was told passed by a small pond with an active beaver den. It was obvious that the trail was sparsely traveled as the “trail” was mostly tamped down grass and as I went deeper into the woods I realized that forgetting to use bug spray was going to make this trip a little less enjoyable than it could be; not a lot of mosquitos but a lot of pesky little biting flies. Then I caught a branch hidden in the grass and took a face first dive to the ground made more painful because of my effort to protect my camera at all costs. It didn’t hurt much then but I definitely felt it a few days later! On I went until I finally made it to the pond and…splaaaash! I froze; something had jumped into the water about 10 feet from me. Then it happened again about 40 feet away and I realized it was a beaver slapping its tail on the water. I’ve heard that beavers are very curious animals so I climbed onto a stump at the edge of the pond and waited. Sure enough the beaver glided back into the area where it first made a splash and after looking me over turned around and tried to scare me off with another splash. It came back several times going through the same process, enough to give me ample opportunities to get some solid images and making this hike worth dealing with all the flies and the pain of my impromptu face plant!
Exposed bedrock and plant life on one of the 500-plus islands in Voyageurs National Park
Exposed bedrock and plant life on one of the 500-plus islands in Voyageurs National Park 		Island in a small bay in Voyageurs National Park
Island in a small bay in Voyageurs National Park		 Canoe moored to a dock in Voyageurs National Park
Canoe moored to a dock in Voyageurs National Park		 Grassy shoreline on Kabetogama Lake in Voyageurs National Park
Grassy shoreline on Kabetogama Lake in Voyageurs National Park		 Pine tree grows from island bedrock in Voyageurs National Park
Pine tree grows from island bedrock in Voyageurs National Park
Island in Namakan Lake in Voyageurs National Park
Island in Namakan Lake in Voyageurs National Park		 View across Kabetogama Lake in Voyageurs National Park
View across Kabetogama Lake in Voyageurs National Park		 Gull and dead tree on a small bedrock island (note suspended rock) in Voyageurs National Park
Gull and dead tree on a small bedrock island (note suspended rock) in Voyageurs National Park		 Single pine on the edge of an island in Voyageurs National Park
Single pine on the edge of an island in Voyageurs National Park		 Tree stump gnawed by beavers in Voyageurs National Park
Tree stump gnawed by beavers in Voyageurs National Park
Beaver glides into a small pond along the Echo Bay Trail in Voyageurs National Park
Beaver glides into a small pond along the Echo Bay Trail in Voyageurs National Park		 Large beaver climbs over a downed tree in Voyageurs National Park
Large beaver climbs over a downed tree in Voyageurs National Park		 Curious beaver in a pond along the Echo Bay Trail in Voyageurs National Park
Curious beaver in a pond along the Echo Bay Trail in Voyageurs National Park		 A beaver pokes his head above water in Voyageurs National Park
A beaver pokes his head above water in Voyageurs National Park		 Beaver floats on the water in a pond in Voyageurs National Park
Beaver floats on the water in a pond in Voyageurs National Park
Backlit dragonfly along the Echo Bay Trail in Voyageurs National Park
Backlit dragonfly along the Echo Bay Trail in Voyageurs National Park		 Eagle and nest in Voyageurs National Park
Eagle and nest in Voyageurs National Park		 Bull Thistle plant buds in Voyageurs National Park
Bull Thistle plant buds in Voyageurs National Park		 Mature eagle in Voyageurs National Park
Mature eagle in Voyageurs National Park		 Backlit pine needles in Voyageurs National Park
Backlit pine needles in Voyageurs National Park
View from the Beaver Pond Overlook near the Ash River Visitor Center in Voyageurs National Park
View from the Beaver Pond Overlook near the Ash River Visitor Center in Voyageurs National Park		 Wild blueberries along the Blind Ash Bay Trail in Voyageurs National Park
Wild blueberries along the Blind Ash Bay Trail in Voyageurs National Park		 Autumn Onion flower along the Blind Ash Bay Trail in Voyageurs National Park
Autumn Onion flower along the Blind Ash Bay Trail in Voyageurs National Park		 Spider web in a tree along the Blind Ash Bay Trail in Voyageurs National Park
Spider web in a tree along the Blind Ash Bay Trail in Voyageurs National Park		 Early morning sun through the trees along the Blind Ash Bay Trail in Voyageurs National Park
Early morning sun through the trees along the Blind Ash Bay Trail in Voyageurs National Park
Bedrock island on Namakan Lake in Voyageurs National Park
Bedrock island on Namakan Lake in Voyageurs National Park		 Shoreline in Hoist Bay in Voyageurs National Park
Shoreline in Hoist Bay in Voyageurs National Park		 Historic Kettle Falls Hotel on the Kabetogama Peninsula in Voyageurs National Park
Historic Kettle Falls Hotel on the Kabetogama Peninsula in Voyageurs National Park		 The Kettle Falls Dam from the water in Voyageurs National Park
The Kettle Falls Dam from the water in Voyageurs National Park		 Water flows through the Kettle Falls Dam in Voyageurs National Park
Water flows through the Kettle Falls Dam in Voyageurs National Park
Canadian island as viewed from the Kettle Falls Dam in Voyageurs National Park
Canadian island as viewed from the Kettle Falls Dam in Voyageurs National Park		 Historic Harry Oveson Fish Camp on the shores of Rainy Lake near Cranberry Bay in Voyageurs National Park
Historic Harry Oveson Fish Camp on the shores of Rainy Lake near Cranberry Bay in Voyageurs National Park		 Grasses in the water on Rainy Lake in Voyageurs National Park
Grasses in the water on Rainy Lake in Voyageurs National Park		 Island bedrock shoreline in Voyageurs National Park
Island bedrock shoreline in Voyageurs National Park		 Rugged bedrock shoreline in Voyageurs National Park
Rugged bedrock shoreline in Voyageurs National Park
Rainy Lake cove and shoreline in Voyageurs National Park
Rainy Lake cove and shoreline in Voyageurs National Park 		Bushyhead Island gold mine entrance in Voyageurs National Park
Bushyhead Island gold mine entrance in Voyageurs National Park		 Remains of a metal winch from the gold mine on Little American Island in Voyageurs National Park
Remains of a metal winch from the gold mine on Little American Island in Voyageurs National Park		 Mayweed flowers in Voyageurs National Park
Mayweed flowers in Voyageurs National Park		 Park islands and boaters on Rainy Lake in Voyageurs National Park
Park islands and boaters on Rainy Lake in Voyageurs National Park
Bedrock outcropping on an island in Kabetogama Lake in Voyageurs National Park
Bedrock outcropping on an island in Kabetogama Lake in Voyageurs National Park		 Turtle in the waters of Kabetogama Lake in Voyageurs National Park
Turtle in the waters of Kabetogama Lake in Voyageurs National Park		 Pelicans and gulls on the rocks in Voyageurs National Park
Pelicans and gulls on the rocks in Voyageurs National Park		 Plant along the Blind Ash Bay Trail in Voyageurs National Park
Plant along the Blind Ash Bay Trail in Voyageurs National Park		 Bedrock island in Kabetogama Lake in Voyageurs National Park
Bedrock island in Kabetogama Lake in Voyageurs National Park

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