Bordering Canada along Minnesota's northernmost point, this stunning National Park is a hidden gem, as it's among the nation's least visited.

Now, I found Voyageurs National Park to be serene, untouched, and utterly beautiful. Am I biased? Sure! I'm a Minnesotan, and Voyageurs is our only National Park. But, seriously, if you take the bias away, this remains one gorgeous National Park. I can't believe it's among the country's least-visited! Comprised of over 218,000 acres of lakes and wilderness, this park has much to offer the nature enthusiast.

Like all National Parks, Voyageurs has some unique features. There's a reason why it's often said that, in order to properly explore this park, you have to get on the water. The reason why people say this is because 40% of Voyageurs is water. That's right, nearly half of this park is made-up of the park's lakes. There are four major lakes at Voyageurs National Park: Rainy Lake, Kabetogama Lake, Namakan Lake, and Sand Point Lake. Each of these straddles the Canadian border, with the exception of Kabetogama. Unlike most National Parks, the main entrance to Voyageurs is by water....most visitors boat, kayak, or canoe their way into the park. I was also stunned to find that the Our America the Beautiful National Parks Annual Pass is useless here, as this National Park is totally free to visit. I had no idea any National Parks are free. They actually don't even sell the annual passes here, since they don't require them.

Though we didn't rent a boat or bring a kayak for our visit to Voyageurs, we still had a wonderful time and really enjoyed the park. So, despite what everyone says, you don't need a boat to enjoy this park. We hiked and explored, fished, and dipped our toes in the (cold) Minnesota waters. We stood in awe of the clarity of the water... It honestly almost resembled the clear glacial waters of Lake McDonald at Glacier National Park. The kids played with sticks and gathered pine cones to play with. And, while we did visit in the summertime, we didn't see many other people in the park, which made it feel almost like we had the park to ourselves. It was really relaxing and peaceful. The ranger told me that his friends who work at some of the major parks: Yosemite, Glacier, and Yellowstone, were totally overwhelmed with visitors during this same time frame.

Voyageurs has really interesting geology. It sits on the Canadian Shield, which is essentially a huge plateau that covers over 2/5ths of Canada's landmass. The Canadian Shield is drained by rivers flowing into Hudson Bay. The rocks here at Voyageurs National Park range between 1 to 3 billion years old. Yep, I said billion. So, the visible rocks you see here are the oldest of any National Park in the United States. It's pretty cool if you really think about it.

Another very special attribute of this National Park is its designation as an International Dark Sky Sanctuary, in fact, it's Minnesota's very first. What does this mean? Well, it means that Voyageurs has very little light pollution, and therefore very dark, very beautiful skies for stargazing. In fact, they're some of the Midwest's darkest skies. So, if you come here to camp, or you stay for a twilight, be sure to look up. I highly recommend printing out some sky charts for the kiddos, and teaching them about how and why some places are better for stargazing than others. Stargazing is a favorite family activity for us, so this is an added bonus to Voyageurs.

There's plenty of amazing camping available at this park, though note that campsites are ONLY accessible by water. So, if you want to camp here, you will need a boat.

Voyageurs offers over 52 miles of hiking trails, and would certainly offer more if half the park wasn't made up of lakes. We entered the park via the Ash River Entrance and we discovered several easy, kid-friendly hikes. The first trail you come to is the Voyageurs Forest Overlook trail, a wild half-mile loop. This trail is not stroller-friendly, but it is a nice, fun, beautiful little family hike. Be advised: the ranger did clarify that, despite the name, there's essentially no longer an actual overlook, as the trail area has become overgrown.  Before he told me this, I was totally bewildered as to where the supposed overlook was! Still, the trail was a blast, and my little one kept announcing with glee, "this is the craziest trail ever" due to the rugged nature of the pathway. There's a picnic table and restroom at the trailhead, too, which is ideal for families with littles.

Other Ash River Entrance trails include Beaver Pond Overlook (0.2 miles) though it no longer features active beavers, it's a pretty little hike, and Kabetogama Lake Overlook (0.2 miles one way) which is handicap accessible.

Voyageurs National Park has so much to offer, and located on the Minnesota/Canada border offers such spectacular views of this beautiful wilderness. I highly recommend a visit to this gorgeous, underrated National Park.