I had to cancel my planned trip in late May to Homer Lake due to a series of unfortunate events. I'm starting to feel like getting out tripping again, and have some time off work coming up in early July, so on a whim I took a look at the permits and was surprised how many are available for a number of different EPs.

Around where I live pretty much everyone who boats or paddles is on the water around the 4th if the weather isn't terrible, so I assumed the BW would be similar, but given the number of permits still available I'm wondering if that might not be the case.

How crowded is the BW typically around the 4th, especially in an area that usually doesn't get as much traffic like Homer? I wouldn't expect solitude, but I don't want to struggle to find open sites either.

I may be wrong but, I believe "Schweady" keeps track of that stuff and claims that traditionally visitor numbers are down around the 4th of July holiday.

Ironically, I'm currently putting together a trip report from our trip to Homer Lake in late May. :)

Over the years, I've talked with outfitters and historically the week of the 4th is a little slow. Like you said, you see people at "home" out on the water, family barbecues, going to hometown fireworks, etc. The whole covid mess may have changed this somewhat, but things may be returning to normal and the week may be slower. I'm counting on it and putting in Sunday the 2nd at Missing Link.

I have always done vacations starting right after the 4th. Always less crowded no matter where I went. My opinion folks tie up lots of permits for 3 or 4 days over the 4th and even though all permits or used there are fewer folks on any given day. If that makes since.

Over the years I have noticed that there is a lull in the number of permits booked around the 4th of July. I assume this is because people are doing so many other things over the 4th that they do their bwca trip another time. Many of my trips have been booked less than 3 weeks before I go so I’ve done a lot of permit browsing each year and I have always noticed more available permits around the 4th. I noticed that same thing this year when the Spice Lake fire started and I was thinking ahead about the chance of possibly needing to reschedule.

Homer is a very quiet area and I be enjoyed 2 trips there. One of those trips I didn’t see anyone else over 3 days and I camped on both Pipe and Vern.

Thanks, guys. Not sure if I'll pull the trigger on it or not, but this info gives me more confidence that crowds wouldn't necessarily be a huge problem. Crowds of bugs, on the other hand...maybe, judging from the bug reports lol.

I usually go that week because it is a paid holiday for me and I can save my PTO. It is a much quieter week than most in the summer in my experience. This year I am working the 4th so will be the second week in July that I go. Makes me slightly nervous but since we go remote it shouldn't be a problem.

One year I was out on a solo over the 4th of July holiday (it was a weekend plus Monday the 5th). As I paddled out from a lake I had seen no one on in 2 days and still continued to see no one as I approached Sawbill Lake, I started to wonder if there had been an apocalypse. In general, every year since the pandemic, things have been getting quieter and quieter up there.

I am wondering if the Homer to Brule area has been getting more popular. Did a midweek trip there in June at the height of bugs and starting at Homer everything was full except the last site before Brule. The next day two groups passed my camp wondering if I maybe was leaving, I was reorganizing some things and it may have looked that way, but they had to head to Brule looking for a site. I have been on Juno a few times in the past to get out of the wind on Brule and have never seen anyone camped there before.

jsmithxc: "I am wondering if the Homer to Brule area has been getting more popular. Did a midweek trip there in June at the height of bugs and starting at Homer everything was full except the last site before Brule. The next day two groups passed my camp wondering if I maybe was leaving, I was reorganizing some things and it may have looked that way, but they had to head to Brule looking for a site. I have been on Juno a few times in the past to get out of the wind on Brule and have never seen anyone camped there before."

Might be coincidence but, I think you may be right?

We were there @ the end of May and thankfully got the last site on Juno. Can't say for sure what Pipe lake was like but, I know we ran across at least one group that was there.

Last year I didn't go on to rec.gov right away thinking I'll get a permit for Homer easy and they were all gone around my perspective date. Put the trip off until this year.

I have taken a few 4th of July trips and I never had a problem getting a campsite or a permit.

Here's an incredibly small sample that bears out the annual pattern:

Number of daily OP permits available across the wilderness as of tonight:
Mon June 26 - 59
Mon July 3 - 73
Mon July 10 - 53

Not a huge bump, but it's there. Every. Year.