Minnesota
Why Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota is a hidden well of natural beauty
National Parks: Rarely visited parks worth going out of your way for
These are among America’s least visited national parks, excluding remote places like Alaska, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa and Dry Tortugas.
Staff video, USA TODAY
Just like you can’t judge a book by its cover, you can’t judge a national park by its numbers. Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota is one of the least visited national parks in America.
“I think it’s one of the best kept secrets,” said Mark Miller, the park’s acting chief of Interpretation, Education, Visitor Services, Public Affairs and Partnerships.
“We are a water-based park predominantly, with approximately 40% of our acreage being water,” he said.
In the summer, Voyageurs’ lakes are prime for water recreation like canoeing, fishing and just relaxing on houseboats “complete with a hot tub and a waterslide off the upper deck.” In the winter, Miller said, “People love to come for 110 miles of snowmobile trails that we have, a number of miles worth of groomed cross country ski trails, (and) ice fishing.
Here’s what travelers should know about Voyageurs, the latest national park in USA TODAY’s yearlong series.
What is so special about Voyageurs National Park?
“The park is so well known for its amazing landscapes, the 218,000 acres of woods and waters that border on the boreal forest,” Miller said. “From an ecology standpoint, great stands of white pines, red pines and the ecosystem that holds megafauna like moose and bear and wolves, but also the geology of the park, rocks up to 2.8 billion – with a B – years old, some of the oldest rocks here in the heart of the continent of North America. Our lakes are lined with this amazing, rocky shoreline of exposed granite with pine tree-studded forests.”
He noted that 99% of the park’s campsites have lakefront views, which is unique among national parks. They’re perfect spots to sit back and take in the night sky.
“We are a certified International Dark Sky Park and what that means is incredible dark skies that we strive to preserve and protect so that people can come and have an opportunity to see the Milky Way in all its glory, constellations like they’ve never seen before, and the northern light, the aurora borealis, shimmering in waves, the orange, red, pink and green,” Miller said.
Where is Voyageurs located?
Voyageurs National Park is located in Northern Minnesota, almost to Canada. It’s about four-and-a-half hours away from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-Saint Paul by car.
The gateway city of International Falls is about 12 miles away from the park. There is a small airport in International Falls, which offers connecting flights to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport via Delta and regional carrier Sky West.
“For those people that are looking for a remote, yet unique, beautiful experience, Voyageurs is a great place,” Miller said.
What’s the most visited national park? Answers to your biggest park questions
Can you drive into Voyageurs National Park?
Yes, but how far you can drive depends on the season.
“Via snowmobile and driving on our plowed ice roads, one could make the argument that in terms of driving a car, there’s actually more mileage that you could do in the wintertime,” Miller said.
The rest of the year, there are a couple of what Miller describes as spur roads that lead to the park’s Rainy Lake and Ash River visitor centers. “That’s about the extent of driving a vehicle on our road inside the park boundary.” During open-water season, he said most people take watercraft deeper into the park.
What is the best time of year to visit Voyageurs?
Voyageurs is a year-round park with no entrance fees, but there are two sweet spots for Miller.
“I love August and September,” he said. “You get the best of summer. The air is dried out. There’s less bugs. It’s warm. And then if you wait a little further into September, you get the opportunity to enjoy the turning colors of autumn.”
For winter activities like snowmobiling, cross-country skiing and ice fishing, Miller recommends February and March.
“February and March is often when we have the best snow and ice conditions and warmer temperatures. We’re talking maybe highs in the 20s come mid February to mid March,” he said. “Hopefully we’re done with highs that are below zero like we often see in January.”
What months can you see the northern lights in Voyageurs National Park?
You can potentially see northern lights any time of year at Voyageurs.
“If you’re a night owl, being here in the summertime is of course as good a time as any, yet it stays light pretty long at these northern latitudes,” Miller said. “It’s really not getting dark in June and the first half of July and until after 10 p.m., and there’s ambient light that persists seemingly as late as 11 p.m.”
In the winter, he said there’s roughly nine more hours of darkness. But darkness alone isn’t enough.
“The key to being able to see the northern lights really has to do more with is there a solar storm and are the skies cloud-free?” he said. “With the solar storms increasing lately – and we’re kind of in a peak of an 11-year typical cycle – here in 2024 and 2025, there are great opportunities to come and see the northern lights.”
Who are the Native people of the land?
“The predominant Indigenous tribe is the Anishinaabe. That is the term that the area tribes often refer to themselves as,” Miller said. “The word Ojibwe is probably more commonly used. It’s the same people group essentially as the Chippewa, which is another word that is used.”
“The Dakota (Sioux) people that have a history in this area as well. Throughout the generations, they ended up migrating to further west onto the plains and the prairies,” he added. “There’s also the Cree but they’re more north, northwest.”
Of the many terrible roster decisions Minnesota sports teams have made over the past 30 years, the worst of the bunch may have been trading Randy Moss to the Raiders for the No. 7 pick in the draft and linebacker Napoleon Harris.
Why are we bringing up a trade that happened 21 years ago? Because the New York Giants traded defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals for the No. 10 pick in this week’s NFL Draft. It was the first time a non-quarterback has been traded for a top-10 pick since the infamous Moss trade in 2005.
Minnesota traded Moss for the Raiders’ first-round pick, Harris, and a seventh-round pick on March 2, 2005. The Vikings used the No. 7 pick on wide receiver Troy Williamson, who never panned out in the NFL. He had 24 catches for 372 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie, 37 receptions for 457 yards and zero touchdowns in 2006, and just 18 catches for 240 yards and one touchdown in 2007.
Williams led the league with 11 dropped passes in 2006. Minnesota traded him to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a sixth-round pick after the 2007 season, where he played in 10 games over two seasons and totaled just eight catches for 64 yards. He was cut before the start of the 2010 season, and that was a wrap on the former South Carolina speedster’s NFL career.
Moss didn’t put up jaw-dropping numbers with the Raiders for two seasons, but he set an NFL record with 23 touchdown catches in 2007 with the New England Patriots. He caught 47 touchdowns in 48 regular-season games with the Patriots from 2007 to 2009.
Whether it was trading Moss to the Raiders, the Timberwolves sending Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics — or drafting Ricky Rubio AND Johnny Flynn over Steph Curry — or the Twins cutting David Ortiz and watching him become one of the greatest players in MLB history with the Boston Red Sox, Minnesota sports teams have a long history of making terrible decisions.
The Bengals, meanwhile, gave up the 10th overall pick for one of the best defensive tackles in the league. They’ll likely get great production from Lawrence, while the Giants are now under pressure to get the 10th pick right. New York also holds the No. 5 pick in Thursday’s first round of the draft.
By the way, the Vikings had two picks in the first round of the 2005 draft. After taking Williamson, they used the No. 18 pick on defensive end Erasmus James. He was just as much of a bust as Williams, playing in 23 games in three years with the Vikings. He had four sacks as a rookie, but injuries wiped out most of his 2006 and 2007 seasons before he was traded to Washington for a conditional seventh-round pick.
James was cut by Washington in December 2009, marking the end of his NFL career.
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Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and two assists, and Ryan Hartman had a goal and an assist for the Wild, who are the No. 3 seed in the Central Division. Wallstedt made 27 saves in his Stanley Cup Playoff debut, and Zuccarello had three assists.
“I was definitely nervous,” said Wallstedt, a rookie. “I think it shows that it means something to you. I like a little bit of nerves. I think it’s something good. There were definitely some nerves throughout the day and then a little bit extra rolling into the game. But after the national anthem was over and the first couple pucks started coming, you’re good.
“I wanted to play and I felt like I have been going good. I was a little surprised (to get the start). But I was very excited as soon as I got the news. I just wanted to make sure I was ready today.”
Jason Robertson scored, and Jake Oettinger made 23 saves for the Stars, who are the No. 2 seed in the Central.
“We didn’t deserve to win,” Dallas forward Mikko Rantanen said. “I think two power-play goals for them, two a little-bit bounces for them where we had guys in the right spot. Just even keel. Playoffs are like this. Sometimes you lose a game, you can feel like you’re done. But that’s the mentality you need to have, you’ve got to reset and learn from mistakes.
“First 30 minutes, we didn’t win enough battles. They were just that little bit stronger in the battles and that’s why they were able to make us defend more than we want to. Just got to be stronger.”
Game 2 is here on Monday (9:30 p.m. ET; FDSNWI, FDSNNO, Victory+, ESPN, TVAS2, SN360).
“We prepped for a couple days coming into this one. Now, we will gather information from this game and continue to move forward,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “For me, it’s game to game and day to day. We want to continue to get better. We won and they [Dallas] lost. It’s not so much being satisfied where you’re at or that’s what it is. We need to continue to find ways to get better.”
Eriksson Ek gave the Wild a 1-0 lead at 5:35 of the first period on the power play. He scored on a one-timer from the left hash marks to finish a tic-tac-toe passing play with Zuccarello and Boldy, who found an open Eriksson Ek with a pass from the goal line.
“I think every team in the playoffs talks about not getting too high or too low. Just enjoy every day and each game and then we will go from there,” Eriksson Ek said. “I think we played pretty good today. The next game is a new game, so we just have to do it over and over every game. We know they are probably not the happiest with that game, so I am sure it’s going to be hard next game.”
Minnesota prosecutors charged a federal immigration agent with assault accusing him of involvement in a February road-rage incident.
Trump administration ends Minnesota immigration operation
Border Czar Tom Homan announced the end of Minnesota’s immigration operation after fatal shootings heightened tension and community backlash.
Minnesota prosecutors charged a federal immigration agent with assault, saying the agent was involved in a February road-rage incident during the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., 35, faces two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, according to April 16 Hennepin County court records. He has a nationwide warrant for his arrest.
On Feb. 5, prosecutors said Morgan allegedly drove illegally on the shoulder of a congested Minnesota highway in an unmarked SUV and pointed his weapon at two people in another car.
Morgan is the first agent charged in Operation Metro Surge, the controversial Minneapolis-area federal immigration operation that resulted in two American citizens fatally shot by federal officials, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
The charges “reflect an important milestone in our efforts to seek accountability for the harms inflicted on our community during Operation Metro Surge,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in an April 16 video statement.
Second-degree assault with a gun has a presumptive sentence of 36 months in prison if convicted, she said.
“Mr. Morgan’s conduct was extremely dangerous,” she said, adding his actions could have led to “another disastrous incident” in the community.
Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security immediately responded to email requests for comment. A cell phone listed for Morgan, identified as a Maryland resident, didn’t immediately respond to a call or text message.
The incident came less than two weeks after two Customs and Border Protection officers shot and killed Alex Pretti, 37, during a protest in Minneapolis. Pretti would be the second American killed during Metro Surge after an ICE agent in early January fatally shot Renee Good, 37, while she drove her SUV in Minneapolis near an immigration operation.
Later in February, the Trump administration drew down Metro Surge, which officials called the largest immigration operation in modern American history.
Investigators said they interviewed Morgan, who identified himself as the driver. Morgan told investigators he and the other ICE employee were returning from a surveillance shift. Morgan said he feared for his life and others’ safety, so he pulled up alongside the vehicle and drew his Glock 19 firearm. He said he identified himself as police.
State investigators said neither Morgan nor the other ICE agent reported the incident to an ICE supervisor.
The April 16 warrant, signed by District Court Judge Paul Scoggin, said there was a “substantial likelihood” Morgan would fail to respond to a summons, and officials couldn’t locate him.
On April 18, Daniel Borgertpoepping, a spokesperson for the county attorney’s office, said there is no knowledge of Morgan being arrested yet.
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@usatoday.com or on Signal at emcuevas.01.
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