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March 19 2024

Entry Point 16 - Moose/Portage River (North of Echo Trail)

Moose/Portage River (north) entry point allows overnight paddle only. This entry point is supported by La Croix Ranger Station near the city of Ely, MN. The distance from ranger station to entry point is 27 miles. Access is a 160-rod portage heading North from the Echo Trail.

Number of Permits per Day: 5
Elevation: 1348 feet
Latitude: 48.1230
Longitude: -92.0991
A favorite route offering many trip options and memorable things to see including;

World Class fishing for all four BWCA Species
Pictographs
Soaring granite hills and cliffs
Small lakes
Small rivers
Tumbling rapids and waterfalls
Wildlife, including Moose
Vistas from high points across the region if you're willing to climb. Rating Easy to Moderate. Day One. Get to EP16 off of the Echo Trail early. The initial portage is long, but well worn and smooth, sloping gently downgrade to the launch area. Load your canoe and head North. You'll be paddling with the slight current on this narrow winding river. The water is clear and make sure to tell the bowperson to watch for looming rocks!

Bill and Rob 2008 Moose River Trip

by jenrobsdad
Trip Report

Entry Date: May 08, 2008
Entry Point: Moose/Portage River (north)
Number of Days: 3
Group Size: 2

Trip Introduction:
I have taken this trip with the whole family for years and thought it was time for a father and son trip. It was fun, and could not have done it without my son Rob! He carried the canoe over most of the portages!

Day 1 of 3


Thursday, May 08, 2008

We arrived in Ely around 5:30 PM and rented our canoe. We stopped for the night and woke up around 3AM to leave for EP 16. We arrived around 4:30AM and started portaging in the dark. Finally put in around 5:00. The current on the Moose was very strong allowing us to make great time. We managed to two trip our portages and arrived on Lake Agnes around mid morning. We found a nice site on the northern part of the lake and settled in to eat and make camp. We took a short nap and when we woke Rob had gone down to shore and then called to me asking if I had seen the canoe. It was evening and we could not see the shoreline very well. We were very concerned. It was a tough night for us to sleep.

 



Day 2 of 3


Friday, May 09, 2008

We awoke around mid morning and Rob asked me if I wanted to join him for a walk around the shoreline. I poked my head out and said yeah we better try to find our canoe. As he walked down to the shore, he thought he spotted a yellow canoe across the bay. I thought there was a campsite there. We walked around the shore to the canoe, and to our relief it was our canoe. The rest of the day went so much easier than the previous night.

We fished a little in the afternoon. We had forgotten about fishing opener being the next day and was fishing for Walleye when the Forest guys came to check our permit. They warned us about fishing for Walleye, and at that point I had a bite. I reeled in a good size Walleye and it got away just as I was trying to get it out of the water. That was one fish that I was glad got away since the Forest Service guys were still there. I took a lot of night pictures while Rob sawed wood for a nice fire. We stayed up later and drank hot chocolate and talked.

 



Day 3 of 3


Saturday, May 10, 2008

I talked Rob into leaving a day early since it looked misty out, and I did not want to go home with muddy portages and crowds. We left out site around 2:00PM and since we had to paddle against the current made lousy time. It had started raining heavier by the time we made the first portage on Nina Moose River. The portages got very muddy and I had mud up to my thighs on one portage. We finally got to the Moose River and the current was stronger than anytime I had ever gone up. We finally arrived back at the end of the EP portage around 8:05PM and the only way to unload was to go 20 feet from the established trail. It looked like several others had done the same thing. As we were taking out second load and the canoe it started to snow quite heavily. By the time we mounted the canoe several inches of snow had to be brushed off the car. We had snow all the way into Ely and just past Cloquet it stopped.

 


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