Stoll Trail to Scoville Point - Isle Royale National Park

After we checked in to the Rock Harbor Lodge on Isle Royale, we decided to hike the Stoll Trail to Scoville Point. The trail is named in memory of Albert Stoll, Jr, conservation editor for The Detroit News, who championed the creation of Isle Royale National Park from the early 1920s until it was established in 1940.

The trailhead is near the easternmost lodge building. The trail stays near the coast all the way to Scoville Point, but the return route is further west near the shore of Tobin Harbor. The loop trail is listed as 4.2 miles by the park service. However, the park service lists the end of the trail as Smithwick Mine. Adding the distance from the mine back to the lodge pushes the total to 4.4 miles. The trail elevation varies by about 50 feet from the shoreline to its high point. The fog that shrouded the island when we arrived finally lifted while we were on the trail. We hiked in late July 2016.

Topographic map with GPS route

Beginning of the trail

Visibility improved as the fog lifted

The first of several boardwalks

The trail quickly devolved to a single track

A few of the many islets in Rock Harbor

Another boardwalk

Mushroom

Bridge over a drainage

A carpet of Bunchberries (Cornus canadensis)

More boardwalk

Single-track through the forest

Scentless Mayweed (Tripleurospermum inodorum)

Fruticose lichen

Foliose lichen (left) and Crustose lichen (right)

Bat Island from the trail

Remnant of a prehistoric copper pit

Open forest near the shore

Lake Superior

Shoreline

A painted trail marker

Another type of trail marker

An unnamed islet marking the southern edge of Rock Harbor

Trail through the boreal forest

The trail skirts a rock outcrop

Small waves crash ashore

Wood lily (Lilium philadelphicum)

The path wanders across the rocks

A small gravel beach

Another view of the beach

End of the loop, out to the point and back along this same path

Offshore rocks in shallow water

Water continues to erode the rock

Rock wall creates a reflecting pool

More pools

A pair of unnamed islets

A small cove

The channel leading to the small cove

Back in the forest

Gull Rock

More islets along the rocky shore

Birds nesting on Scoville Point

Waves crashing on submerged rocks at Scoville Point

South Government Island and Flag Island

Tobin Harbor

Artist-in-Residence workshop

Back on the loop trail

Reflections in Tobin Harbor

Shallow water of Tobin Harbor

Deeper water to the northeast

Sunlight reflecting off the water

Lush vegetation almost overtakes the boardwalk

The trail turns inland through the forest

Remnants of Smithwick Mine

Barricade around Smithwick Mine

Entry to Isle Royale National Park is free. However, the park charges a daily user fee of $4 per adult (over 11 years) per calendar day. This fee is not covered by the Interagency Annual Pass, Interagency Senior Pass, or the Interagency Access Pass. In addition, this is the only national park that completely closes for the winter. The island is closed from November 1 through April 15.

The park website is https://www.nps.gov/isro.