Lake Navigation Buoy and Marker Reference Guide - Voyageurs National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (2024)

FAQs

What do different color buoys mean on a lake? ›

Port-hand buoys are painted green, with green fixed or flashing lights. ■ Starboard-hand buoys are painted red, with red fixed or flashing lights. ■ Safe water buoys, also called midchannel or fairway buoys, and approach buoys are painted with red and white vertical stripes, with flashing lights.

A green can buoy means pass to the right, and a red nun buoy means pass to the left when moving upstream. A diamond shape with a "T" inside it on a buoy means "keep out." Buoys with circles are control buoys, usually indicating speed limits.

A Park of Water, Islands, and Horizons

Learn about stargazing, being a certified Dark Sky Park, the Northern Lights, and much more on the night sky at Voyageurs. Local area businesses offer guides, watercraft rentals, private boat charters, and more. Current Winter Trails Conditions.

Lateral markers are buoys and other markers that indicate the edges of safe water areas. Green colors, green lights, and odd numbers mark the edge of a channel on your port (left) side as you enter from open sea or head upstream.

All Black: This buoy marks one side of a well-defined channel. Go between it and its companion “all red” spar buoy. All Black Buoy. All Red: This buoy marks one side of a well-defined channel. Go between it and its companion “all black” spar buoy.

Safe Water Markers: These are white with red vertical stripes and indicate unobstructed water on all sides. They mark mid-channels or fairways and may be passed on either side.

BUOYS and BEACONS. On entering a channel from seaward, buoys on star board side are red with even numbers, on port side black with odd numbers. Lights on buoys on starboard side of channel are red or white, on port side white or green. Mid-channel buoys have black-and-white vertical stripes.

Numbers on buoys go up as you head upstream, or towards the head of navigation. Portside buoys use the color black instead of green. Portside buoys are numbered with odd numbers. Portside buoys may show a green reflector or light.

Swimming buoys are white buoys that mark the perimeter of a swimming area.

Approximately 150 black bears live in Voyageurs National Park. These bears symbolize the wilderness quality of northern Minnesota and can make for a memorable wildlife observation. Unfortunately, human-bear incidents can occur. While human injuries are rare, black bears can cause significant property damage.

Is Voyageurs National Park worth it? ›

This park may not be as traditionally scenic or as easy to view as others, but it is definitely unique and worth a visit. As national park junkies, we definitely wanted to visit this place. However, we couldn't find anyone in the Twin Cities who had been there although it's only 4.5-5 hours.

Louis County recently captured a cougar walking along a forest road. The video of the big cat was taken just south of Voyageurs National Park on Oct. 20 as part of the research efforts of the Voyageurs Wolf Project. It is the first cougar they have verified in years of trail camera observations.

These special-purpose buoys have orange symbols on white pillars, cans, or spars. They are used to: Give directions and information. Warn of hazards and obstructions. Mark controlled areas.

Isolated danger buoys mark a hazard surrounded by navigable water. They are black with one horizontal red band.

Emergency wreck marking buoys are used to identify new dangers or wrecks. They have blue and yellow vertical stripes and are a pillar or spar shape with a yellow cross as the top mark.