Voyageurs National Park dedicated its new tour boat the “Voyageur” Saturday morning and offered the public free rides into Rainy Lake through Tuesday.
The 49-passenger craft will offer the public another way to access Voyageurs National Park, which is the nation’s only water-based national park. Officials said it is important for people who do not have their own boat or are unable to get out on the water to experience Minnesota’s only national park.
But before the first public rides on the boat could begin, a proper christening had to take place, which involved a prayer, speeches from officials, and the traditional breaking of the champagne bottle over the side of the boat.
David Given, the regional director for the Midwest Region of the National Park Service, said that it was a “wonderful weekend for Voyageurs National Park.”
“The park service has known since the creation of Voyageurs that we had to find some good way for people to see this wonderful park when they didn’t come here with their own boat,” he remarked.
He added that the park service, “tried everything in our book of tricks” to make sure that the public was able to access the water areas of the park. This included using private companies to give tours.
“We’re finally at the point where we have a boat here that will serve us well into the future,” Given noted.
U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar called the tour boat “a great addition to Voyageurs National Park and the northland.”
“The heritage is there,” he said, referring to the tradition of the voyageurs who once traveled the same waters that the tour boat will cover. “We link now the earliest beginnings and the rich history of the voyageur to the commerce of today and the energy that will come to support our economy.”
The boat was constructed by Armstrong Marine Inc. out of Washington state, where it underwent sea trials. Oberstar noted that the boat maneuvered three-foot waves during the trials and should be sea-ready for Rainy Lake.
Local VNP captains have been training on the boat, which has all the latest navigation equipment and twin 600-horse-power Cummins diesel engines. The boat also has an upper, open-air viewing deck, an enclosed lower deck with seating, galley and other amenities.
The pilot house is on the upper deck. The lower level is wheelchair accessible.
Falls Mayor Shawn Mason said that the boat should be accessible for those who are “frail, elderly or handicapped in some way.”
Free hourly tours Saturday through Tuesday were the public’s first chance to explore a small part of Rainy Lake on the tour boat. Saturday’s first VIP excursion marked the first public use of the craft.
Guides described for the passengers what they were seeing, including wildlife, remnants of Rainy Lake City and the gold mines, and the history of the area. They also answered general questions about the lake and the park, which would be of particular interest to first-time visitors to the area or those unfamiliar with the lake.
“I look forward to celebrating the ‘Voyageur’ not only today, but when we bring it out in June,” VNP Superintendent Mike Ward told the crowd Saturday.
After this initial four-day run, the park will winterize the boat, which will be brought back out for public tours next summer.
