Isle Royale Queen IV
Encyclopedia
The Isle Royale Queen IV is a passenger ferry operating on Lake Superior
between Copper Harbor, Michigan
, and Isle Royale National Park
, the largest island on Lake Superior and the State of Michigan's only national park. The ferry operates from mid-May to the end of September each year. In the months of June, July, and August the ferry operates nearly every day. The crossing distance between the port of Copper Harbor and the Smithwick Channel entrance to Rock Harbor at Isle Royale is 53.9 statute miles. The Queen IV makes this crossing in 3:15, depending on weather conditions on Lake Superior.
The Queen IV is owned and operated by the Donald E. and Elizabeth A. Kilpela family who now operate the ferry and all the business operations associated with the Isle Royale Line. Inc. (formerly known as the Isle Royale Ferry Service
, the private corporation that owns the service. The corporation is a contracted concessionaire of the U.S. National Park Service
).
The Queen IV is the third ferry the family has operated on the Lake Superior run since 1971. The ferry began operations on the run in 2005 after being purchased by the family in Port Canaveral, FLA, in 2004. The ferry was built in 1980 in Louisiana, but operated for many years as a tour boat named the John Jay in New York's lower harbor.
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
between Copper Harbor, Michigan
Copper Harbor, Michigan
Copper Harbor is a small unincorporated community in northeastern Keweenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is within Grant Township on the Keweenaw Peninsula that juts from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan into Lake Superior.-History:...
, and Isle Royale National Park
Isle Royale National Park
Isle Royale National Park is a U.S. National Park in the state of Michigan. Isle Royale, the largest island in Lake Superior, is over 45 miles in length and 9 miles wide at its widest point. The park is made of Isle Royale itself and approximately 400 smaller islands, along with any submerged...
, the largest island on Lake Superior and the State of Michigan's only national park. The ferry operates from mid-May to the end of September each year. In the months of June, July, and August the ferry operates nearly every day. The crossing distance between the port of Copper Harbor and the Smithwick Channel entrance to Rock Harbor at Isle Royale is 53.9 statute miles. The Queen IV makes this crossing in 3:15, depending on weather conditions on Lake Superior.
The Queen IV is owned and operated by the Donald E. and Elizabeth A. Kilpela family who now operate the ferry and all the business operations associated with the Isle Royale Line. Inc. (formerly known as the Isle Royale Ferry Service
Isle Royale Ferry Service
The Isle Royale Ferry Service was the name of the transportation service between Copper Harbor, Michigan and Isle Royale National Park from 1971 to about 2004. The service became the Isle Royale Line, Inc. in about 2005, when the company began operating the Isle Royale Queen IV...
, the private corporation that owns the service. The corporation is a contracted concessionaire of the U.S. National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
).
The Queen IV is the third ferry the family has operated on the Lake Superior run since 1971. The ferry began operations on the run in 2005 after being purchased by the family in Port Canaveral, FLA, in 2004. The ferry was built in 1980 in Louisiana, but operated for many years as a tour boat named the John Jay in New York's lower harbor.