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Voyageurs National Park Facts

Voyageurs National Park Facts
Voyageurs National Park is a 218,200 acre park located in northern Minnesota. The rocks in this region, as part of the Canadian Shield, are as old as three billion years. Natives inhabited the area for more than 10,000 years, but in 1688 the arrival of Europeans brought many changes. It wasn't until 1975 that Voyageurs National Park was established as a national park. For many years it had been home to various resorts and cabins, as well as private homes. Voyageurs National Park is named 'Voyageurs' after the French-Canadian fur traders believed to be the first non-natives to travel through the region on a regular basis.
Interesting Voyageurs National Park Facts:
Voyageurs National Park is the only national park in the state of Minnesota.
'Voyageur' is a French word that translates to 'traveler' in English.
The waterways that flow through Voyageurs National Park were extremely important to the fur trade in the late 1600s and 1700s.
It is still possible to see the evidence of Native Americans who once called the land of Voyageurs National Park home. There is also evidence of the fur traders and homesteaders, as well as former logging, fishing, and mining activities.
Some of the earth's oldest exposed rock formations can be seen at Voyageurs National Park.
The landscape of Voyageurs National Park includes small and large lakes, islands, swamps, bogs, ponds, forest, rolling hills, rugged cliffs and rock formations.
Voyageurs National Park has nine hiking trails ranging from only 1.7km to 27.9km in length.
The four largest lakes in Voyageurs National Park are Rainy Lake, Sand Point Lake, Namakan Lake, and Kabetogama Lake.
Popular places to visit within the Rainy Lake site include Kettle Falls Hotel, Anderson Bay, Surveyor's Island, Camp Marston, Rainy Lake City, Harry Overson Fish Camp, and Little American Island.
Popular places to visit within the Kabetogama Lake site include Ellsworth Rock Garden, and Hacksaw Pass.
Popular places to visit within the Namakan Lake site include Hoist Bay, Mosse River Indian Village, and I.W. Stevens Pine Cone Resort.
Popular places to visit within the Sand Point and Crane Lake sites include Grassy Bay, and Ingersoll Estate.
Wildlife found within Voyageurs National Park includes beavers, moose, wolves, gray wolves, white-tailed deer, foxes, snowshoe hares, muskrats, black bears, and weasels.
There have been more than 240 different species of song birds found in Voyageurs National Park.
Fishing in possible in Voyageurs National Park. The most common species are northern pike and yellow perch.
Common trees found within Voyageurs National Park include spruce, fir, paper birch, aspen, oak, maple, pine, and basswood.
In addition the wide variety of wildflowers tourists might find in the park, there are also an abundance of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries growing wild.
Voyageurs National Park is considered to a great spot to view the northern lights when they occur. It is also popular for star gazing.
The most popular summer activities in Voyageurs National Park are boating, camping, fishing, and hiking, and in the winter months skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling are common.


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