Grand Portage Isle Royale Transportation Lines

21/06/2025

04/04/2025

We are seeking applicants for a deckhand on the ferry boats, and an office associate for the 2025 season. Housing available.

For more information or to request an application please email [email protected].

27/02/2025

We are seeking applicants for a deckhand on the ferry boats, and an office associate for the 2025 season.

For more information or to request an application please email [email protected].

24/07/2024

John Muir and Theodore Roosevelt. Everett Townsend and Walter Fry. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Richard Proenneke, and Ansel Adams. Since the inception of...

15/05/2024

💙🤎💚

07/12/2023

Reservations for the 2024 season are now available online at isleroyaleboats.com.

04/02/2023

GPIR Transportation Lines is seeking staff for the upcoming 2023 season. We are looking for deckhands on both vessels, as well as office staff.

The deckhand position on the Voyageur II, a 65’ aluminum vessel, is 6 days every other week. This position requires 3 overnights a week on the boat on the island. The season runs from the first weekend in May through the first week of October

Also available are positions on the Sea Hunter III, a 65’ aluminum vessel, the day trip
boat to the island. These trips run 3 - 5 days a week from early June through the first week of September.

Deckhand duties are as follows:
Contribute to the best guest experience possible for each and every passenger
Follow safety procedures in order to ensure the protection of passengers and vessel
Participate in routine safety drills
Handle lines to moor vessels to docks
Assist with passenger boarding and disembarking
Stand watch on ships' decks and in pilot house in order to look for obstructions in a ship's path or to locate navigational aids
Assist captain in vessel maintenance as needed
Maintain the cleanliness and safety of all common areas and crew quarters
Sweep, mop, and wash down decks and exterior using brooms, deck brushes, and hoses
Load and unload passenger luggage, packages, and freight
Gather and remove trash from vessels, maintain supplies of cleaning products, trash bags, etc.
Maintain stock of and facilitate sale of food items; drinks, snacks, etc.
Service, clean, and supply restrooms

Both positions require passing a pre-employment USCG drug screen and on-going random drug testing.
This is an excellent opportunity to gain sea time on a commercial vessel for anyone looking to obtain a Coast Guard Captains license.

Office staff duties include answering phones and emails, inputting reservations into a computer booking system, keeping the office clean and organized, interacting with customers directly, and managing apparel sales.
Our season lasts from mid-May through the end of September. The schedule is Monday through Friday, with weekends and holidays off.
Our ideal candidate will be professional and reliable, and have some office experience, though we are willing to train the right person.

Very competitive beginning wages with potential of an hourly rate increase.
For more information or to request an application please email [email protected].

10/10/2022

To the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Isle Royale is known as Minong, which means “the Good Place.” Minong is part of the ancestral lands of the Anishinaabe/Ojibwe peoples who have cared for this place for hundreds of years.
From their homes on Gichigami’s (Lake Superior’s) North Shore – lands that are now known as Minnesota and Canada – Ojibwe peoples could see Minong. By birch bark canoe the Ojibwe traveled here to fish, obtain copper, make maple sugar, and engage in other lifeways.
Long before Isle Royale became a national park, before it was mined, fished, logged, or vacationed on, before it was even on a map – Ojibwe peoples were the first known visitors and caretakers of this land. Over generations, the Ojibwe fostered a connection to Minong. Despite historical events that eventually separated the Ojibwe from Minong, old connections to place are still cherished, and new connections are being cultivated.
Explore more about the Grand Portage Band's connections with Minong: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/minong-tcp.htm?fbclid=IwAR1GZTa0n1hFEDQbRMAIL2dRUwlgt0FqCuRE20kx6FM-5dYk-Z-4k5s6uuo

To the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Isle Royale is known as Minong, which means “the Good Place.” Minong is part of the ancestral lands of the Anishinaabe/Ojibwe peoples who have cared for this place for hundreds of years.

From their homes on Gichigami’s (Lake Superior’s) North Shore – lands that are now known as Minnesota and Canada – Ojibwe peoples could see Minong. By birch bark canoe the Ojibwe traveled here to fish, obtain copper, make maple sugar, and engage in other lifeways.

Long before Isle Royale became a national park, before it was mined, fished, logged, or vacationed on, before it was even on a map – Ojibwe peoples were the first known visitors and caretakers of this land. Over generations, the Ojibwe fostered a connection to Minong. Despite historical events that eventually separated the Ojibwe from Minong, old connections to place are still cherished, and new connections are being cultivated.

Explore more about the Grand Portage Band's connections with Minong: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/minong-tcp.htm?fbclid=IwAR3ljvJg8Nlq22aEIjBcGLm3SGaejhlsZ7RNMc3Kew_ZSGyimTAHCNO71F8

11/08/2022

Due to high community spread of COVID-19 in upper Michigan, masks are currently required inside of all buildings on Isle Royale. Please plan accordingly. Face coverings are not required on the Voyageur II or the Sea Hunter III at this time.

Update as of 8/14: Masks are recommended, not required in federal park facilities. Masks are required for all Rock Harbor Lodge and Windigo Store facilities. For the most up-to-date information, please visit the Current Conditions page on the park website: https://www.nps.gov/isro/planyourvisit/current-conditions-at-isle-royale.htm

Due to a high-community spread of COVID-19, masks are currently required inside of all Isle Royale buildings and aboard the vessel RANGER III.

Stay up-to-date with what is happening in and around the park on our Current Conditions page: https://www.nps.gov/isro/planyourvisit/current-conditions-at-isle-royale.htm

If the COVID-19 community level drops to low or medium, then masks will not be required. If you have questions about how this may affect your trip, please leave them on this post or contact the Houghton Visitor Center at (906) 482-0984 or [email protected].

📷A park ranger with a face mask on standing in front of a large sign speaks with two people. @ NPS

06/07/2022

Here is some basic information if you are considering traveling with us, including info about wait lists, cancellation policy, and resupply package deliveries, etc.
https://www.isleroyaleboats.com/faq.html

31/05/2022

Are you headed out to the park for the day, or staying at the Rock Harbor Lodge or the Windigo Camper Cabins? Make sure you help by watching this before you go!

27/05/2022

❗️NOTICE regarding Covid-19 precautions aboard ferry boats: Even though the USCG is no longer mandating face coverings, the NPS has the authority to require masking for park visitors. We recommend you bring a mask with you when you arrive at the ferry terminal, as mask requirements could change quickly.❗️