Namakan Lake can be accessed through the gateway communities of either Kabetogama Lake, Ash River or Crane Lake. Namakan Lake is 16 miles long and 25,130 acres in size. It has 146 miles of shoreline, a maximum width of 7 miles, and a maximum depth of 150 ft. The park encompasses 12,323 acres of Namakan Lake. The name Namakan figures prominently in history. Name’ or Nah-mee means sturgeon in the Ojibwe language.  

Namakan Lake provides great boating, camping, paddling, and fishing opportunities.  

Get out on the lake: 

• Voyageurs National Park offers boat tours. Reservations can be made online or by calling recreation.gov at 877-444-6777. 

• There are commercial services in the park that offer private boat tours, fishing charters, canoe rentals, etc. Namakan Lake can be accessed by paddling or boating through either Kabetogama Lake or from Crane Lake into Sand Point Lake. 

• In the winter there are snowmobile trails in the area. Please check the current winter trail conditions for updates.  

Camping Details: 

• All Frontcountry campsites are water-based, require a permit, and can only be accessed by boat. Frontcountry campsites are directly accessible by boat. 

• 42 campsites on Namakan Lake. 

• Reservations required. Reservations can be made online or by calling by calling recreation.gov at 877-444-6777.