Rainy Lake Attracted a National Park!
Rainy Lake has been an attraction for thousands of years! Native groups used the natural waterway and reaped the benefit of plants and animals in the widely varied habitats of the northern forest. Industry used the waterways to carry trade goods, lumber and wood for paper production. Now, Rainy Lake is primarily a great vacation destination. Voyageurs National Park was established to preserve the spectacular scenery, abundant natural resources and vibrant history.
Catch Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Crappie and More!
Rainy Lake is a very large lake with plenty of structure. You will find plenty of opportune areas to fish and you can usually find areas with little competition from other anglers. In the spring and fall, walleye tend to be found near inlets and shallower water. In the summer, expect to find the walleye congregating on the submerged reefs and rocky windward shorelines. Smallmouth Bass like the rocky shorelines and northern pike prefer the weedy edges around the bays. Crappie can be found around structure and there are crappie cribs placed at ideal locations in the lake.
Rainy Lake is a very large lake with plenty of structure. You will find plenty of opportune areas to fish and you can usually find areas with little competition from other anglers. In the spring and fall, walleye tend to be found near inlets and shallower water. In the summer, expect to find the walleye congregating on the submerged reefs and rocky windward shorelines. Smallmouth Bass like the rocky shorelines and northern pike prefer the weedy edges around the bays. Crappie can be found around structure and there are crappie cribs placed at ideal locations in the lake.
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Summertime Boating Vacation Paradise
Voyageurs is made up of thousands of acres of water surface. The National Park is not restrictive as the Boundary Waters, motorboats are allowed on the main lakes. There are restrictions on the smaller lakes on the Kabetogama Peninsula, and can provide a wilderness experience for your summer vacation. You can water ski, swim, relax on a beach, canoe or kayak, boat to points of interest. |
Plenty of Room for Campers and Boaters
Voyageurs National Park has 244 developed campsites, picnic areas, day-use sites and houseboat mooring sites on shorelines throughout the Park. Rainy Lake sprawls over some 40 miles of the US and Canada Border just to give you an idea of the size of the lake. Campsites are generally pretty private and include a tent-pad and food locker, houseboat mooring sites are equally private and are appropriately designed for mooring a houseboat overnight.
Voyageurs National Park has 244 developed campsites, picnic areas, day-use sites and houseboat mooring sites on shorelines throughout the Park. Rainy Lake sprawls over some 40 miles of the US and Canada Border just to give you an idea of the size of the lake. Campsites are generally pretty private and include a tent-pad and food locker, houseboat mooring sites are equally private and are appropriately designed for mooring a houseboat overnight.
Snowmobiling, Skiing or Fishing Winter Vacation
With winter, Rainy Lake takes on a different type of beauty, the kind that comes with sun glinting from ice crystals and fresh white snow drifting in picture perfect scenes. Snowmobile trails provide access to all areas of the National Park and interconnect with state snowmobile trails so you can travel here from anywhere east, south or west of here.
Cross Country Ski, Snowshoe Trails and Ice Roads provide access to the Park if you don’t have a snowmobile. Voyageurs National Park has skis and snow shoes available for you to enjoy the trails near the Rainy Lake Visitor Center. There are also trails outside of the Park and some of those interconnect with the National Park Trails.
Ice fishing on Rainy Lake is usually very good. The game fish tend to concentrate on submerged reefs and near structure that will hold baitfish, so often, when you find the right spot, the fishing is hot! Rainy Lake is managed with a walleye slot limit that returns big breeding size fish to the Lake and it is increasingly easy to catch a trophy walleye, snap a photo or two and release it back into the lake. Winter also provides a string bite from northern pike and crappie.
With winter, Rainy Lake takes on a different type of beauty, the kind that comes with sun glinting from ice crystals and fresh white snow drifting in picture perfect scenes. Snowmobile trails provide access to all areas of the National Park and interconnect with state snowmobile trails so you can travel here from anywhere east, south or west of here.
Cross Country Ski, Snowshoe Trails and Ice Roads provide access to the Park if you don’t have a snowmobile. Voyageurs National Park has skis and snow shoes available for you to enjoy the trails near the Rainy Lake Visitor Center. There are also trails outside of the Park and some of those interconnect with the National Park Trails.
Ice fishing on Rainy Lake is usually very good. The game fish tend to concentrate on submerged reefs and near structure that will hold baitfish, so often, when you find the right spot, the fishing is hot! Rainy Lake is managed with a walleye slot limit that returns big breeding size fish to the Lake and it is increasingly easy to catch a trophy walleye, snap a photo or two and release it back into the lake. Winter also provides a string bite from northern pike and crappie.
