Hello all,

myself and 5 friends are trying to plan a 4 day bwca trip in early august and it seems like this entry point would be great for the 6 of us since it is pretty close to Ely and we don't have a good vehicle to transport canoes long distances (we are using a beat up mazda 626 to strap the canoes to). We are using two 3 person canoes on the trip. Couple questions for y'all
-Has anyone strapped canoes to an undersized car and have any pointers?
-Any recommendations on good campsites for EP 24?
-What route would you recommend for EP24 for a 4 day trip?

Thanks

We've also strapped an 18' Wenonah Champlain to the top of my wife's 2007 Prius and drove to Algonquin. I'm not claiming that it was a good idea, but it is possible :).

You will get better suggestions that I can provide but it will depend largely on what type of trip you and your friends are looking for in 4 days. You could make Ella Hall, Hoist or BW Falls area in a day. Lots of good campsites in any of those directions. If fishing will be a focus and/or traveling to explore new waters, you may want a centralized basecamp. Post up a few more details about the intent of the trip for more specific advice. You might also want to consider a tow with Packsack as I think that they are the only ones who tow on that entry and that will savve you a half day of paddling in the BW falls direction.

HighnDry: " "

Can you tell me what the bar spread is on that arrangement? (Front-to-back distance between bars) Yakima is telling me that the 25 inch spread on my 2018 Toyota Highlander is 5 inches short of the recommended minimum for topping a 17 ft canoe.

If you mean you're going to put the two canoes on the one car, you'll need crossbars longer than their combined width . . .

We have made the trip from the cities many times with a quetico 18.5' with foam blocks on the roof of a Honda Accord. Two side by side will open up a whole different can of worms. With that many guys pay the Outfitter to haul the canoes and split the cost. From Fall lake the site just above Basswood falls makes a good basecamp....

schweady: "

HighnDry: " "

Can you tell me what the bar spread is on that arrangement? (Front-to-back distance between bars) Yakima is telling me that the 25 inch spread on my 2018 Toyota Highlander is 5 inches short of the recommended minimum for topping a 17 ft canoe.
"

32". I don't have the car anymore but the racks worked well. When I transport more than one canoe on my CRV, I use my 66" bars with 1 x 3s zip-tied to the rack.

nooneuno: "We have made the trip from the cities many times with a quetico 18.5' with foam blocks on the roof of a Honda Accord. Two side by side will open up a whole different can of worms. With that many guys pay the Outfitter to haul the canoes and split the cost. From Fall lake the site just above Basswood falls makes a good basecamp...."

x2 we use outfitter to transport us and gear and canoes to and from EP depending on where we start and end. Don't let your vehicle choose your EP

Maybe you could try 4 foam blocks and 2 - 7 foot 2x2 inch pieces of wood for the rack for two canoes? Strap it down through the door openings.

I used to drive my canoe a 1000 miles one way strapped down on top of my Mustang 5.0 convertible back in the day :) No rack required...... Fastest canoe on the interstate.....LOL

4 days is not a lot of time. I would either head to Basswood river and falls and come back the same way or head up by U.S. point and then head back. I would definitely try to get out of the motor zone as fast as I could and stay out of the motor zone for as long as I could until my return back to Fall lake.

I agree that it would be good to get north of the motor zone although I have camped in Pipestone Bay and did find the boats offensive. They are generally going through in the morning and then back out in the late afternoon. There are many nice campsites in that area. The Maps & Entry Points page on this web site has good ratings for many of the campsites.

Does anyone know where the motor zone is after entering from EP 24?

Also it looks like we will have an outfitter transport our canoes for us so strapping information is no longer needed.

It appears that our choices for entry points comes down to EP 24-Fall Lake and EP 25-Moose Lake. Does anyone have a preference for one over the other? We will primarily be exploring via canoe and fishing is not a priority. I know both have motor zones but I am unsure where they start/end. Any information would be appreciated.

-OP

I know from entry #24 - Fall Lake, Newton Lake, Pipestone bay, and Jackfish bay are all motor zones. Along with Back bay and Hoist bay to connect to the eastern portion of Basswood lake.

If you're looking at the map, just north of where Pipestone bay meets Jackfish bay, there's a narrow section where it connects to Basswood lake. Right at that narrow section is the where the motor zone ends.

From entry point #25, I've not gone through it, but I know the motor zone ends at the north side of Washington Island on Basswood lake, so it would be safe to assume anything on the path from there to Moose lake would be motor zones.

QueticoMike: "I used to drive my canoe a 1000 miles one way strapped down on top of my Mustang 5.0 convertible back in the day :) No rack required...... Fastest canoe on the interstate.....LOL."

I used to have an old topless jeep with oversized wheels and an undersized engine: I'd tie the canoe right up on the roll bars and would actually get better gas mileage with it on.

Does a 3 cylinder geo metro count as undersized? :)

Flip a coin between the entry points, just pick one, and go.

However, I will say that we enjoyed Packsack outfitters for our entry 24.

For an out and back type trip, suggest you go up to the Basswood Falls area. Maybe even catch a tow either on the way up or the way back to the end of the motor zone to shorten your paddle. For a point to point trip, I think you could probably put in at Fall and then come out at Mudro and still spend some quality time up at the falls.

JD