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Established in 1975, Voyageurs National Park is a United StatesNational Park in northern Minnesota near the town of International Falls. The park's name commemorates the colorful French CanadianVoyageurs, fur traders who were the first white people to frequently travel through the area. The park is notable for its outstanding water resources and is very popular with canoeists, kayakers, and other boaters. The Kabetogama Peninsula, which lies entirely within the park and makes up most of its land area, is accessible only by boat. To the east of the National Park lies the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
The park has several boat ramps and visitor centers around its periphery, though the main body of the park is only accessible by boat or, in the winter, by snowmobile, ski, or snowshoe. The park hosts about 235,000 visitors per year. 114,000 acres of the park are intended to be wilderness by Sept. 30, 2006 [link].
Early Fall in Voyageurs National Park
The park was first proposed in April 1891 by the Minnesota Legislature in a resolution requesting that the president create a national park in Minnesota. It wasn't until nearly eighty years later that federal legislation authorizing the creation of the park was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on January 8, 1971.
The use of snowmobiles in Voyageurs National Park, like in Yellowstone, is controversial, with opponents claiming they damage the natural beauty of the park and adversely affect wildlife.
