National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation

08/28/2026

Park Spotlight: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Spanning 42 miles of some of the Lake Superior’s most dramatic shoreline, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore has plenty to satisfy every adventure appetite. From summer hikes to winter ice climbing, visitors come throughout the year to enjoy sandstone cliffs, beaches, sand dunes, waterfalls, lakes, forest, and shoreline.

While the iconic pictured rocks of the shoreline are a focal point for many, the vibrant natural areas in the parks interior are vital to the health of the park and region.

Beaver Basin Wilderness, encompassing nearly 12,000 acres in the heart of Pictured Rocks, is the site of an exciting new stream restoration effort. Together with the National Park Service, Fred Waara Chapter of Trout Unlimited, and others, NPLSF is working to build support to protect Lowney Creek, a cherished cold water trout stream. The multiyear project will remove six dams and restore the stream channel. It’s a big effort and in the early phases, but the project promises to ensure the continued health of Brook Trout, a species of special concern and Apex Predator. Future generations, and anglers of all ages, will benefit from the effort!

08/27/2026

Park Spotlight: Isle Royale National Park

This remote island wilderness is one of our country's least visited, but most re-visited, national parks. Accessible only by boat or seaplane, Isle Royale National Park offers unique hiking and boating opportunities. Humans have visited the island for thousands of years, drawn by its native copper deposits and fishing. It remains a place of deep significance to the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, who know the island as Minong, or “the good place.”

The unique island ecosystem of Isle Royale has also made it a destination for scientific researchers, including those focused on the interplay between the moose and wolf populations over the past few decades.

NPLSF works closely with park leaders on many projects, including infrastructure that improves resilience and supports park staff, visitors, and scientific researchers. Case in point: while there is no public use of motor vehicles allowed on the island, park staff have long used diesel powered vehicles to get around and manage operations. Thanks to support from NPLSF, park staff are moving to electric powered cargo bikes and utility vehicles to do their work, dramatically reducing fossil fuels, lowering fire risks, and adding staff efficiency.

📸Ranger III leaving Isle Royale's Windigo dock by Tom Irvine

08/26/2026

Park Spotlight: Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
With 21 stunning islands, 12 miles of Lake Superior shoreline, sea caves, sandy beaches, and the largest collection of lighthouses in the national park system, Wisconsin’s Apostle Islands National Lakeshore has much to offer.

Visitors flock to the park for boating, hiking, and cultural experiences. While outdoor activities take center stage, the park also includes multiple buildings, including staff dormitories in need of upgrades. NPLSF recently helped the park improve HVAC systems in several employee dorms. It may not be as photogenic as a sea cave, but NPLSF is happy to help provide comfortable, energy efficient housing for the people who work so hard in the park!

08/25/2026

Park Spotlight: Grand Portage National Monument

One of the country’s few national parks located entirely on native land, Grand Portage National Monument is a place to explore the cultural heritage of Lake Superior, with a special focus on the fur trade era. Here, visitors can take in the sights and smells of a bustling depot reconstructed over its original footprint and participate and wide range of activities.

NPLSF is proud to partner with the Monument on multiple projects, from the park’s “Dark Sky” initiative and Junior Ranger programs to the popular annual Rendezvous Days event where visitors mingle with costumed reenactors and enjoy crafts, games, music, and more.

The Monument is always free and open to the public, with trails, a heritage center, and year-round activities for the whole family!

📸2026 Rendezvous Days photo by Chuck Olsen

08/24/2026

Park spotlight: Keweenaw National Historical Park: Celebrating the stories of people and copper in the Keweenaw Peninsula

A wealth of history awaits you at Keweenaw National Historical Park, from deep underground in Quincy Mine to the high bluff overlooking Lake of the Clouds in the Porcupine Mountains. Encompassing 23 affiliated heritage sites, the park is excited to welcome visitors to celebrate National Park Week through Sunday, August 30.

Just this weekend the area gained a new attraction when a statue of Anna Klobachur Clemenc, known as “Big Annie,” was unveiled in Calumet. NPLSF board member Frida Waara was on hand for the unveiling, sharing that "Big Annie herself was a key figure in the 1913 Copper Strike in the Keweenaw, and a force to make changes in worker safety, child labor, and union representation."

Learn more at https://www.nps.gov/kewe/index.htm

The stories of people and copper in the Keweenaw Peninsula have been intertwined for more than 7,000 years. Indigenous peoples made copper into tools and trade items. Investors and immigrants arrived in the 1800s in a great mineral rush, developing thriving industries and cosmopolitan communities. T...

08/23/2026

🇺🇸It’s National Park Week and we have much to celebrate here on Lake Superior! Our five national parks offer places to boat, hike, explore, and learn about the area’s fascinating ecology and culture. Each day this week we will feature one of our beloved parks.

🛶Since today is the week’s “safety Sunday” we will say it loud and clear: Our big lake can be treacherous! If you are planning a trip out on the water, be prepared!!

📸Photo by David Guttenfelder

08/18/2026

The Isle Royale National Park of today is known for its moose and wolves, but those are not the island’s “natural” inhabitants. In fact, if you visited just over one hundred years ago, you would see no moose or wolves at all, but plenty of woodland caribou, lynx, and passenger pigeons.

As NPLSF board member and historian Tim Cochrane puts it, “given the fact that the nearby mainland has experienced sweeping ecological change for three centuries, it would be a fair presumption that 'naturalness' on Isle Royale has been a fleeting condition for quite some time.”

In this fascinating story, Tim finds clues into the history of the island and how humans and other factors have changed it over time.

Change (not “balance”) is an inevitable part of island life. One notable conclusion of Island Biogeography is species “wink” in and out, that is, are extirpated and others may recolonize an Island. Island resiliency is limited, less able to buffer impacts. The pace of change accelerates with...

08/14/2026

Twin Cities-based park lovers: Join us September 14 at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis for an inspiring, award-winning film about our national parks! We will be there, along with other park friends groups, with information on Lake Superior's five national parks. See comments for a link to buy tickets!

08/11/2026

Rendezvous Days 2026 marked another fun family weekend at Grand Portage National Monument! Thank you to all of the park staff, volunteers, and historical reenactors who made the weekend a so special! We were proud to sponsor the park shuttle 🚌 and are already looking forward to next year!! Check out these amazing photos by

08/05/2026

What do abandoned mines have to do with the future of energy? Michigan Tech archaeologist Tim Scarlett joins Walt Lindala and Frida Waara to talk about mapping historic mines, the safety and environmental challenges abandoned mines pose to communities, and how sites like the Quincy Mine have become major heritage assets. From there the conversation moves to how that same underground infrastructure could become tomorrow's energy storage — pumped hydro, compressed air, geothermal — and what that means for post-mining communities.

🎧 Listen here: Listen here: https://www.nplsf.org/timothy-scarlett-episode