Rainy Lake · Voyageurs · Koochiching County
Houseboating Voyageurs & the border lakes
Your cabin, your captain, the whole big lake
A houseboat is the rare way to sleep out on the water in Voyageurs National Park without hauling a tent to a remote site. You rent the boat from a local outfitter near International Falls, provision it like a floating cabin, and spend your nights moored in a quiet bay on Rainy, Kabetogama, Namakan, or Sand Point lake. Here is how the permits work, where the designated houseboat sites are, and who rents the boats.
See the houseboat sites →
How houseboating here works
Rent the boat
Houseboats come from a handful of family outfitters on the border lakes. The boat sleeps your group and carries its own galley, beds, and bathroom. You don’t need a captain’s license, but you should be comfortable handling a large, slow boat in open water and wind.
Reserve a permit
Every houseboat spending a night in the park between May 1 and October 31 needs an overnight permit, reserved ahead on Recreation.gov. Permits are sold by lake zone, not by site — so you reserve for the water you’ll travel and moor within it.
Pick your water
Rainy Lake sites sit north and east of the Falls; the Kabetogama–Namakan–Sand Point chain lies to the southeast. Your rental company and your permit zone together decide which lake you’ll explore.
Moor for the night
The park sets aside designated houseboat sites — marked spots with room to tie off — plus undesignated shoreline you may use within your zone. The map below shows the designated sites.
Permits, plainly
Any houseboat staying overnight in Voyageurs National Park from May 1 through October 31 is required to obtain an overnight permit, reserved in advance on Recreation.gov. Permits are issued by lake zone — the Rainy Lake zone or the Kabetogama–Namakan–Sand Point zone — and are not tied to a specific site, so you reserve for a zone and moor at designated or undesignated sites within it. Day use of the park needs no permit.
Reserve a houseboat permit on Recreation.gov →
The 94 designated houseboat sites
Every marked houseboat mooring site in the park. Tap a marker for the site name and its listing.
Where to rent a houseboat
Four family outfitters on the border lakes rent houseboats. Each serves a different stretch of water — pick the one nearest the lake you want to explore.
Rainy Lake Houseboats
Rainy Lake Houseboats offers a unique vacation experience on Rainy Lake!
View listing →Rainy LakeNorthernaire Houseboats
Norternaire Houseboats provides a fleet of houseboats for rental, allowing guests to explore Rainy Lake’s unique landscape within Voyageurs National Park!
View listing →Ash RiverEbel’s Houseboats
Ebel’s Voyageur Houseboats in Ash River offers a gateway to a unique water-based adventure!
View listing →Crane LakeVoyagaire Houseboats
Voyagaire Houseboats is a premier houseboat rental service located in the beautiful setting of Crane Lake, MN!
View listing →
Plan the rest of your trip
Ranger-guided boat tours
See Voyageurs by boat with a park ranger. Tours run mid-June through late September; the live dates, times, and booking are on Recreation.gov (facility 233405) or 1-877-444-6777.
Boat-tour schedule & booking →Camping around the Falls
Not renting a houseboat? Tent, RV, and boat-in campsites across the region are on the camping hub, all searchable by how you like to camp.
Camping around International Falls →Before you launch
The big water on Rainy, Kabetogama, and Namakan turns quickly. Check the lake level and the forecast before you head out.
Rainy Lake water levels →Local weather →