Kabetogama, Minnesota: Ellsworth Rock Garden

Even though the rock garden is located in Voyageur Park, the park service doesn't run boats out to the island. The park service can provide you with a list from an area advertising newspaper of local resorts that can bring you to the island for a fee. We paid $20 for everyone over 12 years old in our group.

Self-guided tour pamphlets are available on the island. There's also a small donation collection slot in the metal pole by the pamphlets. The park is largely being restored by local residents and volunteers. The lake is big and can be gusty, so plan to visit on a day when it is a safe to travel by boat to the island.

The Ellsworth Rock Gardens, built between 1944 and 1965, was created by one man -- retired Chicago building contractor Jack Ellsworth (1899-1974). Ellsworth claimed to have logged over 14,000 hours of labor on his gardens (quite probably with the help of his wife). In a rare interview he gave in 1960 to the International Falls Daily Journal, Ellsworth discussed the purpose of the project with understated humility: "We love this country and wish we could spend more time here, but I just had to have something to keep me busy." Taking his cue from the existing landscape and enhancing it with built features and plantings, Ellsworth created a cohesive composition of formal elements that segued seamlessly into natural ones.

A boat trip is required to get to the garden. The park service runs a tour, or you can hire a private water taxi.