Voyageurs National Park staff is working on developing regulations for driving street legal vehicles on ice roads on park lakes/NPS file

Accessing frozen lakes in Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota by vehicle for ice fishing has been a recreational outlet longer than the park has existed. While the National Park Service long has had regulations pertaining to ice driving, it needs to update them to specify where street legal vehicles can drive on the lakes.

The problem that needs to be addressed, according to the park, is that some street legal vehicles are heading out onto ice where there are no established ice roads. The plan now under development also will consider which areas might be appropriate for overnight use, identify which vehicles are allowed on different areas of frozen lakes, and evaluate the use of ice shelters and how long they can remain in place.

"Current park management that allows dispersed use of motor vehicles on frozen lake surfaces is not consistent with federal regulations governing the operation of vehicles within national parks," park staff wrote on a release pertaining to the need for a Frozen Lake Surface Use Plan. "Federal regulations prohibit the operation of motor vehicles except on park roads, in parking areas, and on routes and areas designated for off-road motor vehicle use."

Currently, street legal vehicles have headed out onto Rainy and Kabetogama lakes in areas where there have been no NPS-maintained ice roads. Additionally, ice shelters could "be placed anywhere on frozen lake surfaces within the project area" and "all permanent ice shelters could be left in place as long as they adhere to all state regulations."

Under the proposed alternative, which has been revised following an initial public comment period, "[M]otor vehicles could be used on all NPS-established ice roads, in parking areas associated with ice roads, and the parking area associated with Kabetogama Lake’s developed shoreline."

Park crews also would create parking areas on the ice, and as many as 32 miles of ice roads could either be plowed or staked out for use under the alternative.

The draft proposal will be out for public comments beginnng May 28 and running through June 28. A link to the draft can be found on this page.