Information for Booked Guests

Arriving at Rainy Lake Houseboats, you will be greeted by friendly staff who will assist you in any way possible. A quick stop in the office to go through paperwork including the optional hull insurance, and you will be ready to board your floating home. Our knowledgeable dock staff will acquaint you with your houseboat explaining the “ins and outs” of houseboat operation. You will be shown the mechanics as well as how to use the marine radio, read charts, locate buoys and find the routes of the “Voyageur.”

After your thorough briefing, our staff will assist you in driving your houseboat out into the bay making sure you are comfortable navigating. Take over the helm and your adventure begins!

Houseboat Pre-Boarding Checklist

• Voyageurs National Park Houseboat Permits

  How to Make a VNP Houseboat Reservation on Recreation.gov

  1. Go to www.recreation.gov

  2. In the upper right, either Log In to your account or click on Sign Up to create an account.

  3. In the search bar, type “voyageurs national park houseboat permits” and click on SEARCH.

  4. Select Voyageurs National Part Houseboat Permits

  5. Select your entry date and click on Check Availability.

  6. Select the appropriate boxes for your trip dates (enter your arrival date and departure date. Click on Book Now.

  7. Make sure itinerary cost listed on the right is correct; fill out the requested information on the left. Read and agree to important information at the bottom of the page.

  8. Once complete, click on Proceed to Cart.

  9. Check that the order summary is correct and click on Proceed to Payment.

  10. Fill out payment information and click on Next.

  11. Review and confirm information and click on Continue.

  12. Your order is complete! You can print this confirmation for your records but it is not your official permit. You will receive a confirmation email shortly with additional information.

  13. Print your permit within 5 days prior to your trip & YOU MUST BRING PERMIT TO RLHB

  It is required to have this when entering the park and put in permit envelope on the rear handrail on the back of the houseboat.

  To print your permit, log into your recreation.gov account, click on the down arrow next to your name in the upper right, select My Reservations and select Print Permit for the appropriate trip.

  There is no place to print your permit once you arrive at the park.

• Minnesota Requirements

  Minnesota Requirements

  Fishing
  To fish on Rainy Lake on the American side, you must obtain your Minnesota
  Fishing License (required for those 16 and older). These can be purchased in the
  Rainy Lake Houseboats office or Minnesota DNR online license sales at
  https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/licenses/online-sales.html

• Canada Requirements

  Canada Requirements

  January 12, 2021

  Non residents are not allowed to enter Ontario waters of Rainy Lake
  at this time. We will put any change in regulations from Canada the
  moment we are 100% sure the border is reopened.

  95% of our guests do not land on Canadian shoreline, anchor or hover with another boat in Canadian water.
  The information below is for the 5% that plan on landing on Canadian shoreline. Beginning September 5, 2018, SVRS will no longer be in service and float plans will no longer be accepted. Boaters looking for a new, faster way to report their arrival and/or apply for a registered boater program may use the CBP ROAM app, available for free on the Apple App and Google Play stores. Boaters may also continue to report their arrival via designated telephone reporting numbers if desired. As part of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) comprehensive effort to improve the security of our nation’s borders while enhancing legitimate travel, CBP has launched the CBP Reporting Offsite Arrival – Mobile (ROAM) app. The only time you ever need to use the app or report to U.S. Customs Border Protection is if you have landed, anchored (does not include spot locking with an electric motor) or hovered with another vessel in Canadian water. There is no need to report if you cruise, fish, etc. without touching Canada soil. Those who land or camp on Canadian shore can report back in to the United States on Rainy Lake Houseboats CBP Roam I Pad located in the Rainy Lake Houseboat office or download the CBP Roam app from Google Play for Android phones or the APP store for iPhones before you come to Rainy Lake Houseboats. People landing in Canada do need a Remote Area Border Crossing Permit. The information for applying is found below under the Remote Area Border Crossing Permit header. RABC Permit To cross into Canadian waters, you must obtain your Remote Area Border Crossing Permit. To obtain this, you may do so by mail (recommended) or by visiting the Canadian Border Crossing Check-In building in Fort Frances. Begin the mail application here. Outdoors Card To purchase a Canadian fishing license, you must purchase an Outdoors Card. We can also pick these up for you if you contact us at least 2 weeks before your arrival. Should you choose to do so, download the Canadian License form and send it to RLH via email or mail.

  Fishing License

  Obtain a Canadian fishing license. The recommended license to purchase is an 8-Day Conservation License.
  We can also pick these up for you if you contact us at least 2 weeks before your arrival. Should you choose to do so, download the Canadian License form and send it to RLH via email or mail.

  Crown Land Camping Tags

  If you intend on mooring in Ontario you need CROWN LAND CAMPING TAGS for each person 18 years of age or older. These permits are sold on a person per night basis. They can be ordered on the Rainy Lake Houseboat form with your Ontario Fishing licenses personal information.
  *Camping tags cannot be ordered with your online license.*

Fishing Guides

We have wonderful fishing guides available to show you a wonderful time on Rainy Lake. We recommend booking your fishing guide as early as possible if you would like the guided experience.

Fishing Guide Daily Rates:

$500.00 for two people
$550.00 for three people
$600.00 for four people

---

Mooring Sites

All houseboats are required to be moored to shore from sundown to daylight. There are numerous National Park designated sites throughout the park. Additionally, there are about 150 traditional sites on Rainy Lake. All of the sites are clearly marked on the navigational charts supplied with your houseboat. If you are looking for a specific type of site, for example, a sandy beach, your briefer can provide additional suggestions.

---

Navigation Apps

Navionics Boating Marine & Lakes

A must-have for Rainy Lake! We encourage our guests to download the Navionics Boating Marine & Lake app. Download on the App Store for iPhone/iPads or Google Play for Android.

If you have the old Navionics App, log in with your email address and password on the Boating Marine & Lakes app.
If you are new, click on create an account, enter an email address, create a password and follow the directions.

---

Directions to Rainy Lake Houseboats

Directions to Rainy Lake Houseboats from International Falls:

From the corner of US Hwy 53 and Fourth Street in International Falls turn proceed 9.8 miles on Highway 11 East.
Turn left on County Road 138 (Gold Shores Drive).
Proceed 3/10 mile to County Road 102.
Turn right, travel 8/10 mile to our houseboat office.

GPS Coordinates:
N 48 36.023’
W 093 11.294’