Our first trip here to Lake Kabetogama in Voyageurs National Park area landed us in Woodenfrog Campground. It’s a no reservation campground managed by the nearby Bear Head Lake State Park. Primitive campgrounds with basic campsites, drinking water and vault toilets. Perfect!!
Lake Kabetogama is within the boundaries of Voyageurs National Park. There are 6 National Park Service locations in Minnesota but Voyageurs is the only park and is 40% water!
We pulled in with about 5 minutes of time to get the tent setup and then it started to rain. Hard. So we hopped back in the Jeep to find somewhere for a late dinner. Restaurant choices are a little thin along with the cell signal in this area but we did find a bar/grill called The Rocky Ledge that had decent bar food and a few big groups of guys, celebrating the start of their annual fishing weekends. I didn’t have to ask, it was easy to listen in to them chatting, buying rounds of shots and swapping “remember when” fishing stories. 🙂
The next morning we got up, made some breakfast and walked down to one of the campground docks with our coffee to see what we could see. (Kicking myself for not getting a picture here. Sorry I was too in the moment… 🙂
Now when a lot of people think of Minnesota lakes (all 11,842 of them), you might thinks lots of action and waves from fishing boats, kids jumping off docks and water skiers zipping by. Not at all the case for Lake Kabetogama. With a slight fog lifting we sat their gazing across calm, clear water, sipping our coffee and listening to the calls of the Common Loon. (how’s that for an uber Minnesota moment??)
Thanks to our shuttle boat driver, Larry, we learned a lot of great facts about Lake Kabetogama. We were recommended to go chat with Larry from a nearby gift shop. They said he’s the guy that runs a shuttle service on the water and can drive us over to the Rock Garden. (More on the Rock Garden in a minute.)
We met Larry at Arrowhead Lodge and Resort. He filled our ears with a wealth of knowledge about the lake and says he decided to run a lake shuttle service simply because he enjoys being on the water. He told us he moved up here 15 years ago with his family not to retire but for a change of pace. He was ready to leave the work he didn’t like, for something he loved. Now he owns Arrowhead Lodge and Resort. (Go Larry!!)
Keep in mind, the main body of Voyageurs National Park is only accessible by boat in the summer or snowmobile/ski in the winter so if you want to really be “in” the park, you need to get off the shoreline.
Now don’t get me wrong I REALLY wanted to get on the water in my own kayak or paddleboard. You can rent boats, kayaks, canoes from many different spots but they don’t come with the knowledge that Larry has and offered to us as we drove across the lake. Here’s what we learned and why we love this lake…
Lake Kabetogama is one of the four major lakes that makes up Voyageurs National Park. It is 25,000 square miles with undeveloped shores and over 200 islands on its map. But there are many, many more islands in the lake since, from what we learned from Larry, to be classified as a true island, they have to be at least 1 acre in size. We cruised by dozens that were just large enough for a couple trees, a little sand and smooth rocks big enough for a picnic blanket.
Ths lake sometimes gets a bad rap due to all the reasons I think it’s perfect. The median depth is only around 28ft and there are many rocks barely surfacing the water. This scares off a lot of boaters since you could very easily hit one or run yourself aground in shallow spots between the smaller islands.
Also, jet skis have been banned from the lake as well. Not because they are disruptive but strictly for safety reasons. So on a calm day there will be a lot of boats but just as many kayaks, canoes and paddleboards cruising the shorelines and hopping through the islands.
There are also a number of hiking trails around the lake to explore.
So back to the Rock Garden. “The Showplace of Lake Kabetogama” which is the most popular day use destination in Voyageurs National Park. We easily spent an hour here taking photos and reading about the construction and sculptures. Pack a lunch and have a picnic here on the grounds. It’s really a destination that is not to be missed!
Back in 1944, Jack Ellsworth, a contractor from Chicago, decided to use a canvas of granite rocks as a canvas of sorts to create a beautiful, terraced garden of flowers and artistic sculptures made from the native rock. He did it all by hand and it look his 21 summers to complete it. One of the signs here states a quote from Jack as to why did built the rock garden. “We love this country and wish we could spend more time there but, I just needed something to keep me busy.”
After 22 years on their property, Jack became ill, and in 1966 the Ellsworths stopped spending summers at their Lake Kabetogama property. Jack Ellsworth passed away in 1974.
Have you been to Lake Kabetogama or other notable spots in Voyageurs National Park? Tell us about it in the comments.
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Going here this summer! Thanks for you information!! Keep up the good work!
Thanks! Have fun up at the lake! 🙂