Locator Lake Trail

The Locator Lake Trail provides access to one of the most pristine interior lakes in Voyageurs National Park, a motor-free body of water that sees far fewer visitors than the large boundary lakes accessible by powerboat. The trailhead on the Ash River Visitor Center side requires a short boat shuttle to reach the Kabetogama Peninsula, after which the 4.5-mile one-way route winds through mixed boreal forest over exposed granite ridges and through boggy lowlands. Locator Lake itself is a calm, clear-water lake typical of the Canadian Shield, rimmed by balsam fir and white birch and free from the wave action and engine noise that characterize Kabetogama and Rainy Lakes. The absence of motorized craft means fishing pressure is lower than in the boundary lakes, and northern pike, walleye, and smallmouth bass populations are robust. Common loons nest on the lake each summer and are easily observed from the lakeshore. Bald eagles regularly perch in snags along the shoreline. The Canadian Shield bedrock outcrops along the trail display striations carved by glacial ice and swirling patterns of billion-year-old metamorphic minerals. Water should be filtered or treated from any source; the park's lakes, while appearing pristine, may harbor Giardia lamblia.