I'd like to take three teenagers, all with canoeing experience, to the boundary waters late this summer. I was there once almost 40 years ago but haven't been back since, and I really don't know how to identify a good route. Any suggestions on how I can do that? Any suggestions for a good 6-8 day trip?

Might be good to start with the Robert Beymer guide books. Two titles, one for the Western BWCA, one for the Eastern area. Also, many of the area's outfitters have web sites which have suggested routes and highlighted maps.

If you have a region in mind, contact one of the many reputable outfitters. They will happily help with route planning even if you have your own equipment.

That's good to know. We do have our own equipment, so we won't be renting canoes. In any case, thanks for the good suggestions.

I have an idea; ask here! List what you're looking for (solitude, fishing, photography, minimal portages, waterfalls, loop, base camp, etc.) and list when you're planning on going and get the advice from the experienced trippers here.

A quick note though, if you haven't secured a permit yet, be aware that some entry points might be unavailable so you might want to start here:

. Permit availability search

Do a search for what permit availability is for the time you're looking at and go from there

Here are two very basic questions: 1. Is it possible at this late date to get a permit for a weekday entry near the Labor Day weekend, which I understand is one of the busiest times of the year? 2. West or east? How do I choose? I'm coming from Chicago.

It is definitely possible to get a permit for that time frame. Go to the website I posted and then search on the left for "Type of permit" = overnight paddle; "entry point" = "any" and then put your entry date using a range. The search result will show all of the entry points with availability.

You've come to the right place. Read threads, ask questions, do searches based on what you are looking for and you'll quickly determine a few routes that look interesting. Then you'll have to make sure the entry permits are available for the date you want to go. recreation.gov link for BW Permits

Welcome to the board, and enjoy the wealth of information on this site. The site, and the helpful people made planning my first trip a lot easier!

As to East or West, it depends on which side of the coin you like. They're both great and neither side will offer much in the way of travel time savings. I've been to both but tend to favor the West (Ely) side.

List your goals for the trip in order of preference...solitude, fishing, wildlife, sightseeing / pictos, less portages, etc. You'll get lots of good suggestions.

I guess we're looking for solitude but interesting places, too. We're not allergic to other people but we'd like to avoid crowds. 6-7 days. Portaging is OK. We don't love it, but we're not afraid of it. Loops are nice. I'm hoping we can enter mid week to make the permitting easier. Probably the last week of August or first week of September. (September starts on a Friday this year. Probably starting that week or next.)

You *might* have a shorter drive to Ely than up the shore to outfitters/entries on either the Sawbill or Gunflint Trails, but it's sort of a toss-up.
My thoughts:
* first, look over maps, either here or on the reservation site that Jiimaan linked or google other online sites, and familiarize yourself with the entry point locations and the names of some of the first lakes in those areas
* check the permit opportunities still available on that reservations site, following those easy instructions listed above, to narrow your list of entries and dates
* since I am most familiar with the western side, I will suggest that you call Voyageur North Outfitters in Ely (or, take your pick of other outfitters), talk to Lynn (or any of the nice folks that answer) about your dates and desires, and I guarantee that you'll get some top-notch suggestions

Daniel Pauly's book "Exploring the Boundary Waters is also a nice guidebook, which covers all areas in one volume.

I agree there's not much difference for you travel wise from Duluth between the east and west. Nice trips can be had in all areas. Going northeast along the North Shore is a nice drive. You can go to Ely via Rt. 2 north out of Two Harbors in about the same time as going north from Duluth

I think entering mid-week before Labor Day and exiting after would be good timing. If seeing pictographs would be a big draw, the best ones are on the Ely side on LLC and there are also some on Crooked Lake/Basswood River.

I'd check permit availability for whatever dates are possible for you and not spend time researching any that do not have an available permit that fits your time. How long of a loop would be reasonable for your group?

many of the outfitter websites have route suggestion sections.....some even with maps

quote boonie: "Daniel Pauly's book "Exploring the Boundary Waters is also a nice guidebook, which covers all areas in one volume.
"

I like that book, also

One thing to be aware of, the big motor lakes usually get hit pretty hard, permit wise, on the Friday before Labor Day. That's sorta interesting because any other day of the season you can probably go up there blind and get a permit on the spot. Anyway, just something to think about.

EP 69. It's under rated. East pike, west pike, pine should all be fairly quiet even around labor day. My favorite area of the bwcaw besides Long island lake.

A few years back at one of the shops in Ely I picked up the Fisher map that covers the entire park plus Quetico. It was intended as a keepsake to be framed and hung but turned out to do wonders for trip planning. I always had a difficult time scavenging decent resolution maps online for route plotting but this gives me a good overview and once I kind of zero in on an area of interest, I can then do more thorough research. Best of luck on your trip!

quote overland: "Here are two very basic questions: 1. Is it possible at this late date to get a permit for a weekday entry near the Labor Day weekend, which I understand is one of the busiest times of the year? 2. West or east? How do I choose? I'm coming from Chicago."

There is still availability for most entries on T/W/Th before Labor Day, although some of that availability is limited and may go fast. A little less availability on F with the same caveat. There is generally greater availability on the east - Sawbill Trail out of Tofte, Gunflint Trail out of Grand Marais, although I was surprised to find that's not so true of the Arrowhead Trail entries.

If fishing is not the main reason you are there (I don't know anything useful about that) and I knew how many miles you would travel - and whether you plan to single or double portage - I could make some suggestions.

We'll fish but that's not a big factor. We plan on doing single portages. We can do maybe 8-10 miles a day, but we don't have to do a lot of miles. I'm not quite sure about distance.

All good suggestion.
Are you using an outfitter? If so give them a call and they will help you plan according to your needs and permit availability.

Overland, you might edit your profile and include an e-mail so we can send you information more directly.

Out of Ely - look at a simple, "well traveled route" in Snowbank to Dissapointment,east to Jordan, Ima, - south east to Thomas, Kiana, Insula, Hudson, Lake 4, 3, 2, 1.

Echo trail - Little Indian Sioux North loop around to exit Moose River North.
Start at Little Indian Sioux, north to East Loon Bay, Little Loon, Slim, Section 3, South, Eugene, Beartracks - Thumb, Finger, Pocket out to LLC, Fish Steak Narrows - check out the pictographs on the wall of Irving Island, South thru Bolder Bay, Agnes, Nina Moose and out Moose River North.

OK, assuming you'll enter Wednesday, August 30th, give or take a day, and exit a week later, there's availability for several good options. I'm assuming you'll single portage and travel at least 5 of the days days @ 8-10 miles per day, so a total of 40-50 miles. You'll probably average about 2 - 3 mph travel speed, so about 4 hours per day. You're only traveling a half day and not every day, so you have room for weather delays and relaxation.

You want some solitude and you should get some on these trips. A couple of these trips will be more "adventurous".

Two of the entries are on the west side out of Ely, MN, and the others are off the Sawbill Trail out of Tofte, MN, or the Gunflint Trail out of Grand Marais.

On the west out of Ely, you can enter at EP #14, Little Indian Sioux North (LISN), and loop through Loon Lake, North Lake, Finger Lake, Pocket Lake, Gebeonequet Lake, Oyster, Hustler, and back out LISN. This is about 40-45 miles, 20 hours of travel. You have the option of a layover day and a trip to the pictographs on Lac la Croix (LLC).

Also out of Ely is another classic route - EP #16, Moose River North (MRN) to Agnes, Lac la Croix (LLC), Pocket, Gebe, Oyster, Agnes, out EP #16, MRN. This route is about the same miles and time, but probably a little busier. It also allows the trip to see the pictos on LLC.

Note that you can do these loops in the reverse direction also.

On the east central side, the Sawbill Trail out of Tofte, MN, has several options for you.

EP #37, Kawishiwi Lake takes you up to Polly Lake. At Polly Lake, a short easy trip would take you east across the Lady Lakes Chain - Hazel, Phoebe, Grace, Beth - to exit at Sawbill Lake. This is not a loop and would require a short shuttle between Sawbill and Kawishiwi, which you can do yourself or Sawbill Outfitters can provide you. This is a short trip - 25 -30 miles or so.

You can do a longer route from Kawishiwi to Sawbill by going northeast from Polly to Little Saganaga and then down through Mesaba to Zenith, Kelso, and Sawbill. This requires the same shuttle as the previous route and is about 40 miles.

You could turn this route into a slightly longer, more adventurous loop by heading west from Mesaba across the Louse River to Malberg Lake and exiting at #37.

You could also go straight through Polly and northwest out of Malberg Lake to Adams, Ledge, Makwa, Pan, back to Malberg and out, which would be 40 miles or so and more adventurous with good solitude.

For another shorter trip, but without as much solitude, there is availability for EP #47, Lizz Lake, off the Gunflint Trail out of Grand Marais. You could go to Horseshoe, Gaskin, Winchell, Omega, Henson, and back to Caribou and out Lizz to Poplar. This is another one of those 25-30 mile trips. A shorter, easier trip and consequently busier.

Some of these I have done in whole or part and you may find some info in my trip reports. I have done the first two trips out of Ely, but they were a long time ago - my first and second trips - and there are no trip reports. The LISN trip (2006) was one of my favorites. The MRN trip was my first and the one that hooked me on BW trips.

Most of the rest you'll find in my trip reports from the last 5 years. If you're interested in any of these, but you have any questions, just ask.

Given your group of 4 with 3 teens. You should plan to move about 8 -10 or so miles a day. That gives you a moring start -up at 6 am, breakfast and pack - on the water at about 8 am. On my trips with teens - It usually takes us about 2 hours from "morning alarm" to "paddle away". A shortish day on the water 4-6 hours depending on lunch and stops and an early into a camp site at 2-3 pm. Setup, swim (if it is still warm), fish, supper, evennig fire and bed around 10 pm. Plan to move about 2 - 2.5 mph. Loading and portages tend to keep your mph in that range.
You might practice a portage at home to get the feel for it as a group. Kids don't instinctively seem to be organized. You might talk to them about unloading at a portage and putting all their things-packs in one spot - out ot the way, moving canoes and be careful to make room of others.

I'm partial to the eastern side (the drive up the North Shore is stunning), but if you enter through Sawbill Lake (E.P. 38), you can also reach into the western side by doing, say the Lady Chain loop. Sawbill Outfitters is right at the entry point, and their website has several suggested routes that you could easily edit to create your own loop. Check it out here. The outfitter will also send you, for free, a custom map with these route suggestions. Well worth your time. And there is a very nice Forest Service campground at the entry where you could stay the night before you put in. One last thing - when you reserve your permit you can choose to pick it up at an outfitter, at no cost to you, rather than at one of the Forest Service offices, which is quite handy if you think you might not make it to the FS office before it closes for the day.

This is all excellent advice about an area in which I have only a little experience and that too long ago to remember much. More recently, we were up to Sylvania three years ago when my kids were younger. It was October and though cool the place was almost empty. We saw trumpeter swans. Last year my 19-year-old daughter and I canoed the Noatak River in Alaska--350 miles in three weeks. Interestingly, it took us and our friends about 3 hours every morning to eat, strike camp, pack the canoes, etc. Of course we sometimes lingered over breakfast. The paddling was not that hard: the river does a lot of the work for you.