Another park that’s hard to reach and therefore not very crowded. It consists of a number of islands and it requires some sort of a water vehicle to see it.
![Early morning mist over water on the way to the park](http://s-c-photography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/6R8C9917.jpg)
We started at Rainy Lake Visitor Center where we got on a free canoe tour provided by NPS. Thanks NPS! The water was calm-ish, but a slight breeze picked up as we were crossing the bay, which made it more challenging to row. I sure got a good arm workout. We canoed through some wild rice fields and learned about the historical gold mining and beaver pelting times of the area.
![Free canoe tour from NPS](http://s-c-photography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/6R8C9964.jpg)
![Beaver lodge, but no beavers](http://s-c-photography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/6R8C9948.jpg)
![Canoeing through wild rice](http://s-c-photography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/6R8C9959_mix.jpg)
Going south, at the Lake Kabetogama Visitor Center, we took a narrated boat tour to Ellsworth Rock Gardens. It was the very last garden tour offered this season. The ranger pointed out lots of eagles on the way.
![Ellsworth Rock Garden](http://s-c-photography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/6R8C0013.jpg)
![Ellsworth Rock Garden](http://s-c-photography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/6R8C0027.jpg)
![Friendly ranger telling us about the park](http://s-c-photography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/6R8C9975.jpg)
![The storm is coming](http://s-c-photography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/6R8C9980.jpg)
Finally, at the last visitor center at Ash River, we did a couple of short hikes, which wrapped up our trip.
![This could be a good sunset spot.](http://s-c-photography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/6R8C0047.jpg)
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