The last four trips to the BW in July I have been on have been like this: Sunday we head for the interior of BW trying to put as much distance between our entry as possible. Monday, we go further in. At this time, campsites are at most, 50% occupied. As Tues, Wed, and Thurs go by, all lakes have at least a few sites open. Then on Friday as we start back, anxiety levels build as near in lakes are totally full or like this year, we get lucky and get an entry lake campsite our last night.
It seemed back in the 80's and 90's those further in lakes had just as much chance of being fully occupied as the entry lakes. Is it more basecamping, less trekking? Last year we left a nearly deserted Wednesday Bay on Friday to find Fourtown, Horse, Tin Can, Sandpit, and Mudro campsites totally occupied. We left the entry point at 7 pm for our car a day early in frustration.

I don't know, but back when kevlar canoes weren't a dime a dozen, one would think there would've been more near-entry basecamping going on. My experience has been that lakes near the entry point are much busier than those farther in, for what it's worth. Looking forward to others' opinions.

Usage of the BWCAW is actually down from years ago I believe so there should be more camps available?

My casual observation has been similar...I think, I emphasize think because I don't have stats to back it up, is that people are not doing as long of trips. 15-20 years ago if you went to the BWCAW it was a week or more now I see many trip reports at 5 days or less. You just can't get as deep in 4-5 days. Heck I've been doing that more. I don't have the time to take off or be away form home so I settle for 5 day trip while 8-9 days used to be my norm.

Base camping could be up as well, I get it compared to a camp ground an easy BWCAW camp is still better...if you can get one that is.

T

Wasn't there a usage chart posted here recently that showed usage up a little from 4 or 5 years ago? Iirc it did start a slight decline in 2008 or 2009 - reflecting economy imho - and a slight upwards turn 4-5 years ago.

I notice a lot of the same on my Sept trips, often going days without seeing anyone when I'm beyond a day's travel. I think more people go on short trips (long weekend type) then when weather is good. It will often be busy near entries around weekends, especially if really good weather, but almost empty in the interior and mid-week.

I think there were some stats that said - there are more of us "older" campers and we tend to base camp more and have less emphasis on making miles.

Certain areas are way busier than others, Ely side seems way more crowded, I go further east and early and later in the year and that makes a big difference also.

I took my first canoe trip 42 years ago, and I've really noticed an increase in the number of base campers and people who camp on the first lake in. Even in the Quetico. Like Grandma L said, age is a factor, but I've seen plenty of young people set up one lake in too. I guess people just want to go camping and not canoeing.

I section hiked the SHT a few years ago, and noticed that a lot of people seem to treat the campsites on the trail the same way. Walk in and set up a base camp, and then day hike from there.

I guess I'm glad people still want to get out there and enjoy it.

quote billconner: "Wasn't there a usage chart posted here recently that showed usage up a little from 4 or 5 years ago? Iirc it did start a slight decline in 2008 or 2009 - reflecting economy imho - and a slight upwards turn 4-5 years ago."

I found a few studies online about usage, certainly not the end all...

Looks like BWCAW usage peaked in 2003, then declined 14% between 2003 and 2009 ----then another downturn From 2009 to 2014 usage dropped another 14% then up slightly in 2015.

Not as bad as Quetico though, they are 35-50 % less use than the 90's (no one knows for sure they stopped publishing stats after 2007 as far as I can find) That is an amazingly large drop!

According to the FS statistics users are older and traveling less into the interior of all wilderness areas. I was wrong about number of days for a permit, that has not really changed.

T

Grandma is right I think. I am one who cannot do the longer loop trips any more and usually basecamp within a short days trip from the entry point. We try to get an out of way camp site, but people like us do clog the sites others might like for a last night stay.

I saw more grey hair on my last trip than I saw at my last high school class reunion, I think more of us are base camping and just not physically able to do the portages we used to do. I just didn't see the numbers of younger trippers that I used to see.

My experience is similar, the interior that is at least two days from the access points is empty but near the access points is crowded when it is still nice on the weekends. 2 years ago we were coming out in very late September from the Ely side and Dissappointment Lake was filled. Last year it had gotten cold and rainy and coming out the first weekend in October through Seagull we hardly saw anyone from Knife to the access point on Seagull.

I remember too on a long trip I ended up on Duncan one night. Got the last possible site. Noisy? Wow, lot of young families with little kids.

We saw a similar pattern this past weekend. Entered fairly early last Friday at Lizz Lake via Poplar, made good time through Caribou, Horseshoe and down to Gaskin, and all the campsites on those lakes were full except one on Gaskin (which we took.) The next morning we took the portage to Winchell and saw at least half the campsites open, and claimed a good one. In retrospect I wish we would have gone to Winchell the first day but we were concerned about seeing all the sites full, so we grabbed the empty one on Gaskin.

On our way back, we planned to head up from Winchell through Omega, Hanson etc. to Meeds and camp our last night on Meeds, but again everything was full and we ended up heading home a night early.

I guess next year we will just try to go farther the first day and hopefully not see as many people. I still don't know what to do about the final day--with our group we like to camp near our exit point our last night so we can get out early and drive back on our last day, but if all the campsites are going to be full that's not a viable strategy.

smit2174..... what a difference a few days makes. We spent a few days at the end of July at a cabin on Poplar at the Trail Center and did a daytrip on Monday, July 31 entering at Lizz and going through Caribou to Swamp and back out to Poplar from there. I was shocked that only 2 sites on Caribou were occupied that day. I was expecting to see it full. We spent a couple of hours on Caribou fishing, swimming, and exploring open campsites with the kids.

I'm with you that I also like to camp the last night close to the E.P. so I can get out early the last day, shower, get a good meal, and drive home. My last 2 solo trips have been in early May before the fishing opener so I haven't had to worry about that. In August there is a good chance you won't find a campsite close to the EP on the last night and I'm always worried about that on my daddy/daughter trips during the summer.

ducks-

Do you think there are more people just doing weekends, especially at popular entries with easily reached destinations? It sometimes seems that way to me. It's sometimes really busy at entry lakes around weekends even at the end of Sept. if the weather is good. It's often much quitter during the week, especially in Sept.

And there are entries that aren't that popular, which aren't very busy at all most of the time it seems, if you want to do that Smit.

ducks--that's interesting to hear. I guess it was the weekend that made it so busy. I'd love to do a trip with this group starting on a Monday or Tuesday but it's so much easier with everyone's work schedules to stretch it over a long weekend. And August always seems to be the month that works for everyone. One of my buddies is a teacher so there's no way we could do a May or September trip.

boonie--which entry points would you recommend as less trafficked, more off the beaten path? I had been trying to plan easier trips (less big lakes and less portaging) with this group as several were inexperienced when we started, and I'm sure that increases the crowds at those entry points. I think we can handle a medium-level challenging route next year. If you have anything that fits the bill, please let me know!

Yes boonie.... I agree. And Lizz is one of those areas very popular w/ people for short basecamp trips. Mike and Carl at Rockwood told me that they get a lot of customers that end up not finding a site on Horseshoe/Caribou.

Even in Sept./Oct. if you get a nice forecast people will head up last minute for the weekend and because it's only a couple of nights they do not go far in. I've done this myself....... I went to Sawbill 3 years in row in late Sept/early Oct. for weekenders. The 2 years it was nice weather the parking lot was full and there were people everywhere on Sawbill, and the year it was bad weather there were only a handful of cars in the parking lot and we only saw 2 other canoes.

smit 2174.. having a teacher in the group does keep you to summer trips especially if you want to do a longer one. I'm one of them ;) For now my kids' busy schedules keep me from being able to do a long trip in the summer anyways so what I do is use my 2 personal days to make a long weekend in May for my solo. Last year I entered at Morgan and exited at Lizz and only saw 2 people over 4 days. This year I went out of Mudro (one of the busiest areas) and only saw 8 people over 4 days and I saw all of them the last 2 days when I got back closer to the EP. I drive up Friday night, enter Sat. and exit on Tuesday. When the kids were younger my wife and I would do August trips so we would enter on a Monday which helped a lot.

Look for entry points with 1 or 2 permits per day. For example Bower Trout. This year for my daddy/daughter trip with my 9 yo we went Memorial Day weekend entering at Bower Trout and camped on Swan and didn't see many people. The first 2 people we saw were when we got to Swan and they left the next morning so we had Swan to ourselves for 2 days. On our way out the last day we only saw 1 canoe.

I get why it's happening. We older trippers just can't get as far because age related limitations, and then those younger who have ridiculous schedules who can't get away from the job for a whole week and the boss can't understand why they can't be connected by email or text for JIC work emergencies even when they are "on vacation".
I know that in the future on certain routes, we will have to plan to exit later in the day because our starting point for our last day will have to be further in the interior. The upside of this is the interior lakes should be less crowded with better fishing as the fish won't be as lure smart.

I started canoe tripping in my teens (with a girls camp).

I was about 60 when the reality struck me (I am sometimes a slow learner). All the lakes have rocks, trees (burnt or not), water, loons, most even have fish. So, why are we carrying all this stuff and working so hard to see what we have seen on trips over the last 40 some years.

The trips I still do with kids mostly move every day and get deeper into the BWCA - the kids get too board just reading, napping and other casual activities. So we move to keep them out of trouble, engaged and having that sense of adventure.

Now that they are young adults in the work force, they have trouble getting time away and those short trips close to the entry points or using a tow are our best option.

So why are the close in entry lakes so busy - age, physical restriction and available travel time

Leaving in the PM does make for a less expensive overnight when you stay in a bunkhouse. The downside to that for us is a quite long day if traveling to KC or St. Louis.

smit-

I think August may be the busiest time. I checked permit availability for today (8/9) and was surprised at the number of entries that had no availability, even ones I would have thought would. There are quite a few that have no available permits and it's a Wednesday. It's instructive, try it yourself. I was surprised for example to find the Missing Link entry unavailable for 4 days in a row! That's some solid portaging to get to Tuscarora, which is a nice lake that I have never found crowded, but I rarely find them overly crowded in late Sept. Except that one time coming into Kelso and Sawbill - a circus! And last fall I was surprised to find Sagus full when I got there!

A lot may depend on your group and whether you have to go on a weekend or could enter mid-week/exit mid-week, how far you can travel in a day, what portaging is too much/too difficult, etc.

Obviously the farther you travel from an entry and/or the more long or difficult portages you do, the more the crowd thins out. Go through Sawbill and across the Lujenida-Zenith portage and things quiet down quickly.

I was going to suggest things like Bower Trout, Brant, Ram, Morgan, Meeds, Skipper, Missing Link, Cross Bay, but even some of them are full now. Of course many don't have many permits per day and more limited travel options.

Kawishiwi Lake can be busy up to Polly Lake, which is 8 miles double portaging, about a half day (4 hours). Malberg (12 miles) is reachable in a couple more and sometimes a little busy, but once beyond that it's a lot quieter. But if you are limited to time (like 4 days), it's hard to get very far away, even if you travel hard because then you have to turn around and come right back.

Maybe going earlier in the summer is an option . . .

I think GrandmaL hits a lot of it on the head - a whole bunch of people with limited options, all trying to do the same thing at the same time. The more you can avoid that, the better your options., and the less the crowd.

I recall that at least at one point in time campsite occupation on Ogishkemuncie Lake was limited to 3 days. Perhaps that requirement should apply to all campsites. One could still base camp to an extent. But also sites would be freed up as folks shuffled to new locations during which someone paddling out from the interior might have a chance at a site.

I'm not anti-base camping as the older I get the more appeal it has versus packing up and moving every day. But the C in BWCA stands for canoeing not camping suggesting the emphasis should be on traveling by canoe not occupying the same campsite for up to two weeks as the regulations now allow.

Just a thought.

If this trend towards shorter travel trips clogging up frontcountry campsites is real (and I believe it is), it only makes sense that SNF adjust their management of the resource (i.e., permit quotas).

I've said it before and will say it again - institute some sort of frontcountry/backcountry system like they do in certain national parks. At the very least, there should be a way for a party to indicate they intend to do limited travel and basecamp on a frontcountry lake, and get a permit that's specific to that area.

At 65 I like travelling and just hope I can keep doing it for at least 10 years. I do like camping last night close to ep so hope any restricted permits account for that. The problem I see with a more complex permit system is there is not enough manpower to enforce the current regulations, so more are bound to not be enforced.

The fish to a lot of issues we discuss that could use improvement is probably a fee structure more like the Quetico. $8 or 16 per person for a trip of unlimited length is never going to cover the cost to properly manage the BWCA.

I respect the SNF hierarchy for keeping a maximum freedom policy regarding frontcountry/backcountry. Compared to other wilderness areas, freedom of use is high in BW, sometimes to even obvious detriment of BW(live bait invasives introduction)(axe use on live trees in campsites). That may have to be adjusted.
Those that can still travel in BW without difficulty may wish to think about the relative greater solitude options and fishing opportunities in the interior to help voluntarily disperse visitor use.

With use patterns changing to accommodate shorter trips and closer in base camping for those who no longer can do the longer portages and days we as users may want to make some adjustments. Boonie makes a good observation about using the reservation site. I have regularly looked at use patterns on the reservation site to plan how far to go the first day and what to expect coming back. I also chat with the ranger at check in and outfitters if available to assess what kinds of parties have been going in or will be at my exit. Avoiding weekends and the busy season have also helped. I have found myself having to go farther than expected to find a site and that stress can ruin a trip. Reading these posts has helped me plan even better to avoid the crowds.

For those of you who want more government regulation in the BW, be careful of what you ask for because you might get it. The people who make the regulations are in Washington, probably don't camp and have no idea where the boundary waters are other than northern Minnesota.