So we have wanted to get back to Sagnagons for years and with Covid and all that, it has been closed and now they are saying remote border crossing may stay closed for some time. We have entered through Cache Bay the previous three trips.

Driving up from Indiana, where is the closest entry point to the east, to get to Sagnagons and the falls chain/Kawnipi? We already have a 13 hr drive to get to Sag in the BW but not sure how much farther it would be to get back to the Q.

I know we would have to drive across the border and then head over, but I'm just not sure how to enter. I looked it up online but am not getting anywhere. We have all our own gear so do not NEED an outfitter.

Thanks for any info you can share.

Likely Dawson Campground on French Lake. That's if you're single portaging and aren't afraid of two 3km+ portages to get you to Mackenzie Lake.

Again, if you're single portaging you could paddler Pickerel to the B-chain and do a couple of 1.2km+ portages from Fern to Alice.

Double portaging changes everything. In that case you may just want to Paddle down through Doré to upper-Sturgeon to Russell.

Stanton Bay would be a better entry point for the latter two but it's not an option since you're not using an outfitter and shuttle.

Regardless of your park entry point, it looks like your border crossing will be at International Falls.

Argo hit on most of the points. In choosing to go to Saganagons, you almost couldn't pick a destination lake further from a northern entry point. It's unfortunate that Cache Bay and PP are both closed, but that's what we're dealing with right now. What would normally be a one day paddle from the end of the Gunflint is now a longer drive and a multi-day paddle just to get there.

With that said, if you want to enter Canada at Int'l Falls, you'll need to be vaccinated. Each person on the trip will need a current passport, all information related to Covid testing, etc. entered in the ArriveCAN app on your phone and (as I type this) a negative Covid test within 72 hours.

Crossing the border isn't as easy as it once was, but it's doable if you follow the procedures. Getting to Saganagons will probably be the bigger challenge. Unless you can stretch out your trip a few more days, it might be worth considering a different northern entry destination this time around. It's not like you don't have a long list of great options entering at Beaverhouse, Nym, Stanton Bay or Dawson Trail.

(NOTE: Argo alluded to it above, but you'll need a Canadian outfitter to drop you off at Stanton Bay. No parking by non-Canadians allowed. Not sure why.)

When you leave the Quetico Park, since you have paid for your departure day, go east, then down the North Shore. It will add an hour to your driving time, is more scenic, and you have already paid entry to view Kakabeka Falls with your Quetico fee on that day. Well worth the time and right on the road.

Yeah, this is what I thought. Just plain difficult.

We also double portage.

This is more of a problem for next year I guess. We have a mid June trip planned in the BW but were hoping to get to the Q mid July. Doesnt look like it. Hope they open it back up next year.

I really wonder what they will do about Cache Bay moving forward. Not having that EP really must reduce their Q usage/income. Maybe that is what they want.

Thanks for your time.

The issue with those from-the-US EPs is that they are staffed by Ontario Parks employees. The Covid rules for entry are an immigration/border issue and can’t really be managed by park staff. RABC took care of the by water border crossing from the US in the past but throw in the Covid border rules and the works get pretty gummed up. BTW….I believe Ontario (pls chk CA gov site to confirm) will now accept a neg. rapid test (not the at home variety) within one day of arriving at a land border.

Marshall, I'd encourage you to drive the extra three hours and enter from the north. Lots of great paddling and route opportunities up there. Atikokan, as a town, isn't much to brag about, but they're good people and you'll see another area of the world, not to mention, the park.

Jackfish: "Marshall, I'd encourage you to drive the extra three hours and enter from the north. Lots of great paddling and route opportunities up there. Atikokan, as a town, isn't much to brag about, but they're good people and you'll see another area of the world, not to mention, the park."

+1
Lots of great lakes in the northern half. New experiences are always good.

Jackfish: "Marshall, I'd encourage you to drive the extra three hours and enter from the north. Lots of great paddling and route opportunities up there. Atikokan, as a town, isn't much to brag about, but they're good people and you'll see another area of the world, not to mention, the park."

Also +1. Why not embrace the north?

But if you must get down to the border, consider a fly-in trip. Talk to Canoe Canada. If those border points are still closed, you'll have immediate solitude in the southern half of the park.

By the way, I don't have any intel on what is going on with those border stations, but I don't think the RABC is the issue. The RABC has broader application than the Quetico corridor. I have no doubt it will return. And at the rate Covid restrictions are being relaxed, mid July sounds reasonable. In my opinion the real issue is whether the park (province) decides to re-open those stations. Of course they must wait for the RABC from the federal government first. But after that the puck is in their end of the rink.

Apart from the park wanting to balance out usage and generate profit (even that is questionable given the extravagant costs to operate those outposts vs the ones in the north), I'm not sure what else would motivate them to reopen. And I can pretty much assure you there is no-one north of the border lobbying on your behalf as all of the financial benefits of the old model accrue to American interests. That is, the park "may" benefit from these outposts but related businesses in that part of Ontario lose.

Anyway, I said I have no intel. It's all conjecture on my part. And if life is to return to normal, maybe everything just returns to pre-Covid conditions. But the park has had two (and maybe three) years of closure in the south and a huge forest fire that will impair travel for years in that region of the park to consider. I think if I was anxious to paddle to Quetico from the USA, I would direct my focus to lobbying the park and let the RABC take care of itself.

Too bad you can't park a car in the US and shuttle to a north entry. No reason you can't exit through Cache Bay.

Check out how these guys did it.

Quetico, falls chain access

Kudos to these guys for thinking outside the box and finding an unconventional access into that part of the park. Looking at Google Earth it looks like they may have turned south off of Hwy. 11 about 55 miles E of Atikokan onto a logging road (Rd. 802 on the map) and traveled SSW about 30 miles and accessed Bemar Creek that took them westward into Bemar Lake and then Saganagons.

schucanoe: "Kudos to these guys for thinking outside the box and finding an unconventional access into that part of the park. Looking at Google Earth it looks like they may have turned south off of Hwy. 11 about 55 miles E of Atikokan onto a logging road (Rd. 802 on the map) and traveled SSW about 30 miles and accessed Bemar Creek that took them westward into Bemar Lake and then Saganagons. "

Maybe, though they imply that they did an unnecessary 3 hour round trip from TB to French Lake to get their permits...so they might have gone in further east.

They are Canadian and live up off of Lake Superior from what I can tell. They still had to deal with getting the permit from the ranger office at French lake. If I remember correctly his buddy did that the day before the trip. Then then had to do some serious finagling driving back down and accessing the park from the Southeast but still in Canada on Logging roads. They then bushwhacked into Saganagons lake.

I bet it was amazing being in that area the Falls chain and Kawnipi with nobody coming in from the American side.

Ryan

LarryS48: "Check out how these guys did it.


Quetico, falls chain access "

Too funny...I was watching a video from FishermanBoyle and his wife who were on Saganagons at the same time. They remarked about seeing two guys who said the found a way in from the east of the lake. FishermanBoyle was a bit confused.

I noticed that as well and wondered if it was Kevin Outdoors that they had run into. Neither mentioned it though in either of the videos. Waiting for Fisherman Boyle to drop his next video. I forget how far north they got now in the last video.

That huge treble in his buddies foot on night one gave me nightmares! Totally reinforced for me to never ever walk around camp barefoot. That could have totally ended that trip if it hadn’t come out so easy!

Ryan

billconner: "Too bad you can't park a car in the US and shuttle to a north entry. No reason you can't exit through Cache Bay."

Bill, this could be done. If they can find someone to shuttle their vehicle and have the money to pay them, this would work. Time consuming and expensive, but do-able.