Hello,

We'll be going in the gunflint this year -- winter camping. Always gone in thru Ely, so trying to get a sense of what Sea Gull lake is like in winter months.

Is there an ice road like Snowbank?
Can snowmobiles travel on Sea Gull?
If we were to camp on Sea Gull, any recommendations to get to a quiet spot?

Thanks!

Also...

If you all have suggestions for a better lake/chain of lakes to do up the Gunflint, I'm all ears!

Thanks!

We went in mid March last year. Zero snow on the ice but some in the woods yet. Made for fast travel. We saw a few snow mobiles parked at the boundary, day fishing. Lots of trucks driving around from Blankenberg landing in the motor zone. That i s were we put in at and headed west to the mass of islands by the Palisades. There was some open water around some pinch points and I'll mark them for you when I'm not on my laptop. We stayed in a cove by the island campsite slightly SW from the palisades. It was nice and protected but if the winds were just right we would have gotten pounded.

Right out from the cove depths were 40-110 feet. There were a few otehr people day tripping but we were the only party camping. It was crazy windy and cold, -10 to -20 windchill. Sitting on a bucket wasn't much fun but tip ups worked ok. It was a great lake to camp on and we will be going back this March. This time I tink we will enter from the access closer to the trails end camp ground and shave a little time off our trek in and out.


What time of year are you planning on going? There was about 26 inches of ice when we went.

Thanks for the info!

We're thinking of going January 25-29.

Thanks for the suggestions. We'd be interested in seeing the "open water" pinchpoints on a map if you get around to it. otherwise thanks for the headsup and the writeup!

Erik

He is a pic from Tuscarora Outfitters last March. The X with the arrow pointing to it was wide open when we went and we had to go up and around at the campsite. Other than that the ice was good. The other X's were areas that had potential to be bad ice and the black line was Tuscarora's preferred route when the ice was bad or open water.

He also said the route out of Seagull river was sketchy after a thaw in Feb last year. I'd make a few calls before heading up and see if someone up there has a last minute update. It was a pretty straight shot from Blankenberg Landing and good solid ice which is worth a little extra distance to trek.

Have a great trip!

Cedarleaf, I don't have any experience on Seagull (yet) but plan on getting there at some point. I have however done several other trips in the East. Here are some pictures from a great trip we did last year (Late Dec 2016) originating at entry point 69 John Lake.

Photo Set

Another great trip is Bearskin > Duncan > Rose > South and beyond and back.

No matter where you end up, have fun!

Thanks for sharing your pictures WildDog great stuff. Did you guys cold camp or do you take a hot tent with you? How many days did that trip take you?

Looks like you had to do a few detours. What spots were they at?

This was a quick trip, just a 3 day, 2 night. While I do have a hot tent setup, this was a cold camp trip to maximize travel time, we like to put in the miles skiing and covering ground - no fishing on this one. Ice was great but the narrows as usual and as expected had some thin to no ice but no deal breakers - the worst of it on this trip was getting to John from the entry point and then again getting from Pine to McFarland, but not bad at all - its just part of it.

Thank you all! This is awesome information!

Love this helpful messageboard!

Happy camping everyone!

quote WildDog: "Cedarleaf, I don't have any experience on Seagull (yet) but plan on getting there at some point. I have however done several other trips in the East. Here are some pictures from a great trip we did last year (Late Dec 2016) originating at entry point 69 John Lake.


Photo Set


Another great trip is Bearskin > Duncan > Rose > South and beyond and back.


No matter where you end up, have fun!"

Well look at that it's Mr. Storkamp! (love all the races he/you put on!--)
Thanks for the awesome photos and I'll post a trip report, whereever we go...

Cedarleaf, I cannot hide anywhere?! Have a great trip / trips this Winter. It is the best time of year.

Seagull is a great place to winter camp and fish.
There are some snowmobiles in the motorized zone, almost no vehicles and easy access at Seagull boat landing where you can park and leave from. A good quiet cozy place would be the area close to the peninsula just east of Myles Island, If I remember right it isn't burned there and out of the main travel path. I didn't experience open water in any of the pinch points while I was there but I did experience slush in those areas marked particularly by the palisades. You won't get a woodsy feel on most of Seagull as it has burned but you will catch fish and get a unique winter experience.
Good luck!

P.S. - Thanks for putting on all those distance trail runs! I will always remember what the guy on the bus heading out of Lutsen told us before the race- "It's going to be hot today and many of you won't finish this race. Be glad that you can attempt this race as most won't and some will never be able to try." I finished and it was a great race. Thanks!