HOUGHTON - Visits to Isle Royale National Park have decreased slightly but noticeably, according to park and transport personnel.
Jennifer Longstaff, a park ranger, said 741 people have gone out on the Ranger III from Houghton so far this year.
"It's not terribly down, but visitation's definitely down this year," she said.
Longstaff said the recession was likely the main culprit.
"We've been having a lot more last-minute reservations," she said. "We hardly ever have that."
So far this year, there have been 3,087 visitors to the park's visitor stations at Rock Harbor and Windigo.
Ben Kilpela, captain of the Isle Royale Queen IV, which leaves from Copper Harbor, said they're down this year, though they've had a successful promotion of day trips.
"We even had response from farther away than we've had in the past, such as Marquette or Iron Mountain ... that day trip promotion seems to be something people are interested in," he said.
Poor weather in June also had a hand in reducing business, particularly for short-term visitors, Kilpela said.
"The long-term planners, the experienced backpackers who go out for three, four, five days, they're going ahead regardless," he said. "They're sticking to it, because they're prepared for anything."
Despite the recession, Kilpela said, "it looks like it's going to be a pretty good season all in all."
The Ranger III runs until Sept. 12, leaving from Houghton to Rock Harbor at 9 a.m. Tuesdays and Fridays. The return trip is at 9 a.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The Isle Royale Queen departs from Copper Harbor at 8 a.m. and leaves Isle Royale at 2:45 p.m. every day but Wednesday in July and the first week of September, increasing to every day in August.
From Sept. 7 to Sept. 28, the ship travels only on Tuesday and Friday.
Royale Air Service, which leaves from Houghton County Memorial Airport, flies people on demand six days a week between mid-May and mid-September.
The Voyageur II leaves from Grand Portage, Minn., and provides service between stops at Isle Royale. Trips leave from Grand Portage at 7:30 a.m. Central time Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, arriving at Rock Harbor at 3 p.m. Central.
Return trips from Rock Harbor leave at 8 a.m. Central time on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, arriving back in Grand Portage at 3 p.m. Central.
For more information, go to nps.gov/isro.
Garrett Neese can be reached at gneese@mininggazette.com.
