Rock Harbor is the main access point for visitors landing on Isle Royale

Isle Royale

Isle Royale is an island of the Great Lakes, located in the northwest of Lake Superior, and part of the state of Michigan. The island and the 450 surrounding smaller islands and waters make up Isle Royale National Park....

 in northern Lake Superior

Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...

. It sits at the northeastern end of the forty-five mile long island, the whole of which is protected as Isle Royale National Park

Isle Royale National Park

Isle Royale National Park is a U.S. National Park in the state of Michigan. Isle Royale, the largest island in Lake Superior, is over 45 miles in length and 9 miles wide at its widest point. The park is made of Isle Royale itself and approximately 400 smaller islands, along with any submerged...

. Two structures in Rock Harbor -- the Rock Harbor Light

Rock Harbor Light

The Rock Harbor Lighthouse is a light station located in Rock Harbor on Isle Royale National Park, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.- Description :...

 and the Edisen Fishery

Edisen Fishery

The Edisen Fishery is a fishery located in Rock Harbor in the Isle Royale National Park in Michigan. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1976 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.- Description :...

 -- are listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

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The Rock Harbor name is properly applied to the eleven-mile long inlet from Moskey Basin to Scoville Point along the southern shore of the easterly part of Isle Royale. This inlet is screened from the open waters of Lake Superior by a number of offshore islands, including Mott Island, the site of the Park headquarters.

Travel to Rock Harbor from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is by the Ranger III park service ferry, operating from Houghton, Michigan

Houghton, Michigan

Houghton is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and largest city in the Copper Country on the Keweenaw Peninsula. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,708. It is the county seat of Houghton County...

, the Isle Royale Queen IV out of Copper Harbor, Michigan, and seaplane service. The Voyageur II operates out of Grand Portage, Minnesota

Grand Portage, Minnesota

Grand Portage is an unorganized territory in Cook County, Minnesota, on Lake Superior, at the northeast corner of the state near the border with northwestern Ontario. The population was 557 at the 2000 census...

; it circumnavigates the island with stops at Windigo

Windigo Ranger Station

Windigo Ranger Station, or simply Windigo, is a docking and refueling port on Isle Royale, the largest island in Lake Superior, and is a ranger station for Isle Royale National Park. Along with Rock Harbor, it is one of only two ports for visitors to enter the national park...

 Ranger Station in Washington Harbor on the west end of the island and other points along the shore.

The ferry boats land at Snug Harbor, which also has berths for private watercraft, a campground, the visitor center, and a lodge that predates the national park.

Rock Harbor is the eastern end and terminus of the Greenstone Ridge Trail

Greenstone Ridge Trail

The Greenstone Ridge Trail is the -long primary hiking trail that serves Isle Royale National Park. It extends from the a harbor on Isle Royale's western end, Windigo, to a harbor and lodge on its eastern end, Rock Harbor...

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