Deal reached to offer seaplane service from Grand Marais to Isle Royale

The National Park Service agreed with a Michigan based seaplane service that, for the first time ever, will allow a private company to operate regular seaplane flights from Grand Marais to Isle Royale.

Early last week the park agreed to a short term, one or two-year trial basis, to contract with Houghton-based Isle Royale Seaplanes. The business already has a contract with the Park Service, and that will now expand to provide air taxi service from the Cook County Airport to Isle Royale.

The company initially had intentions to use the Cook County Seaplane Base at Devil Track Lake near Grand Marais. However, Jon Rector, the owner of Isle Royale Seaplanes, told WTIP that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is investigating the spread of Eurasian milfoil in Devil Track Lake. The Park Service did not want the seaplane shuttle service landing in a lake with invasive species, which is why the plane will now land exclusively at the Cook County Airport when providing rides to Isle Royale. The planes used by Rector and his business are amphibious, meaning they can arrive and depart from either land or water.

From its Michigan base of operations and now from the Cook County Airport, the company will land at various spots on the island including Windigo and Rock Harbor using a Cessna 206.

WTIP’s Joe Friedrichs spoke with Jon Rector, the owner of Isle Royale Seaplanes, about his agreement with the National Park Service and the Cook County Airport.