I took several pics on the portage from the Stanton Bay parking lot to PIckerel Lake. Overall, a pretty easy, relatively flat 100 rod portage with a combination of boardwalk and trail with some rocky sections on each end thrown in for good measure.

The pic with the red canoe is just off the parking lot at the beginning of the portage. A short, rocky downhill to start the portage. Pretty flat until you get to the last 50-60 yards or so, then it's just stepping on (and over) rocks in the trail down to the water. Nice view of Stanton Bay and the waters of Pickerel Lake.

I think that portage, with all of its "modern conveniences" is actually outside of the park boundary.

I was last there in July of 2020. The Pickerel end was a full on beach.

Argo: "I think that portage, with all of its "modern conveniences" is actually outside of the park boundary."

If I remember correctly, there is a small sign about halfway through the portage that marks the park boundary.

Jackfish: "

Argo: "I think that portage, with all of its "modern conveniences" is actually outside of the park boundary."

If I remember correctly, there is a small sign about halfway through the portage that marks the park boundary."

Just so.

The end isn't a beach, but a pretty easy end to a portage. Used it many times.

Thanks for the photos after the periodic threads discussing this portage.

Ahhhhh….. memories

Thank you!

Great info. How was the road when you were there? I would still love to enter this way at some point, but am very leary of taking my car.

Rick, unless you’re a resident of Canada, you cannot park there overnight. It’s best to take a shuttle in from one of the outfitters. The road is, indeed, rough, and you could do it in a car, but it’s probably best to have a pickup or SUV to go in.

yes i am a canadian.
i have a mitsubish outlander. i am sure the vehicle would go through just about anything if i chose to, but i have no idea if this road is wide enough to avoid scratching the heck out of it from over hanging trees etc. or it is the size of a typical two lane road.
i am also concerned about how "rough" it is. these vehicles come with no spare tire. so i would be leery of travelling that far off the highway without a spare.
road conditions can be subjective. to some people any gravel road (even if well maintained) is considered a rough road.
while other rough roads (i have been on a few) might be so bad you have to crawl along at 5km/hr going over tree roots, large rocks, and deep pot holes etc.
we are looking at doing a shuttle but as you know that can get quite expensive seeing as we need to stay over night in order to be able to use their shuttle.
just trying to decide if the cost is worth avoiding any possible major damage to the vehicle and/or getting stranded out there.

Your Outlander will be fine, and the road is in no way overgrown.

I'd even drive someone else's Prius to Stanton Bay. :-)

haha

I'm thinking about going in this way in the 2nd half of June. I need to track down an outfitter that is close to this entry, but that shouldn't be difficult. I'll report back after I go. Thanks for the pics, Jackfish. I saw photos from a group that went in 2014. There was a sandy beach that year at the put-in. It's interesting to see how that has all changed over time.
'

that would be awesome thx.
you can contact barry at camp quetico if you like. they are very close by the stanton bay road.
just remember, in case you were not aware, you must be a canadian citizen to leave your vehicle parked at the stanton bay entry.
if you were looking at using a shuttle service from an outfitter, you need to purchase some of their other services in order to do that. you cannot just buy the shuttle service. i am unsure what the minimum amount is that you would need to spent with them to be able to book a shuttle.

rick00001967: "that would be awesome thx.
you can contact barry at camp quetico if you like. they are very close by the stanton bay road.
just remember, in case you were not aware, you must be a canadian citizen to leave your vehicle parked at the stanton bay entry.
if you were looking at using a shuttle service from an outfitter, you need to purchase some of their other services in order to do that. you cannot just buy the shuttle service. i am unsure what the minimum amount is that you would need to spent with them to be able to book a shuttle."

I did it in a rented Hyundai Sonata with a canoe on top. You just have to drive slowly in some spots. Your car will be fine.

Jackfish: "

Argo: "I think that portage, with all of its "modern conveniences" is actually outside of the park boundary."

If I remember correctly, there is a small sign about halfway through the portage that marks the park boundary."

You do remember correctly.

Bill

rick00001967: "
if you were looking at using a shuttle service from an outfitter, you need to purchase some of their other services in order to do that. you cannot just buy the shuttle service. i am unsure what the minimum amount is that you would need to spent with them to be able to book a shuttle."

Curious what else folks might be able to share about outfitters and shuttles for Stanton Bay. We're thinking of going in at Stanton Bay on May 11 (ice allowing.) Considering coming out at Beaverhouse about a week later. We're American so we would need someone to drop us at Stanton while we somehow leave our vehicle at Beaverhouse? Not sure how it would work best.

Would an outfitter do that? I'd assumed so but your comment that "you cannot just buy the shuttle" has me wondering.

We will probably be looking for lodging the night before so perhaps an outfitter would put us up and that would count towards "minimum amount"?

Back in '15 we put in and took out at Stanton Bay using Doug Chapman of Canadian Quetico Outfitters. I don't recall that we bought any other services from him. But I wonder if he's still in business.

Appreciate any knowledge anyone has.

desertcanoe: "Curious what else folks might be able to share about outfitters and shuttles for Stanton Bay. We're thinking of going in at Stanton Bay on May 11 (ice allowing.) Considering coming out at Beaverhouse about a week later. We're American so we would need someone to drop us at Stanton while we somehow leave our vehicle at Beaverhouse? Not sure how it would work best.

Would an outfitter do that? I'd assumed so but your comment that "you cannot just buy the shuttle" has me wondering.

We will probably be looking for lodging the night before so perhaps an outfitter would put us up and that would count towards "minimum amount"? "

I would suggest calling Indiaonta Resort or Seine River Lodge. Indiaonta is on Flanders Road just north of Hwy 11 where you would turn south to Beaverhouse so it's pretty close. Seine River Lodge is about 10 miles further east (toward Atikokan), but they have the advantage of having a little craft brewery called Quetico Brewing.

Since you are looking to stay overnight, I'm sure one of them would accomodate you and follow you into the Beaverhouse parking lot to drop your vehicle the night before you go in, then shuttle you to Stanton Bay in the morning. Of course, fees will be involved.

Report back with what you find out. I'm sure it will be helpful information for others looking to do something similar.

FYI, I called Indionta a couple years ago looking for overnight lodging and transport to Beaverhouse. They are completely out of the canoe support business.

desertcanoe: "

rick00001967: "
if you were looking at using a shuttle service from an outfitter, you need to purchase some of their other services in order to do that. you cannot just buy the shuttle service. i am unsure what the minimum amount is that you would need to spent with them to be able to book a shuttle."

Curious what else folks might be able to share about outfitters and shuttles for Stanton Bay. We're thinking of going in at Stanton Bay on May 11 (ice allowing.) Considering coming out at Beaverhouse about a week later. We're American so we would need someone to drop us at Stanton while we somehow leave our vehicle at Beaverhouse? Not sure how it would work best.

Would an outfitter do that? I'd assumed so but your comment that "you cannot just buy the shuttle" has me wondering.

We will probably be looking for lodging the night before so perhaps an outfitter would put us up and that would count towards "minimum amount"?

Back in '15 we put in and took out at Stanton Bay using Doug Chapman of Canadian Quetico Outfitters. I don't recall that we bought any other services from him. But I wonder if he's still in business.

Appreciate any knowledge anyone has. "

as far as i know doug is still around. he was one of my math teachers in high school. lol
you are correct that if you stay over night with an outfitter they can provide a shuttle service.
you might wanna consider dropping the car at stanton instead, continue with the shuttle to beaver, and exit at stanton where your car will be waiting.

My conversation with the Canoe Canada folks a couple of days ago clarified that I would need to rent a canoe with them and stay in their bunkhouse to get the shuttle service. It was explained to me that government rules would require them to obtain a taxi license to just do shuttles. Apparently that would add too much expense at their end with the cost of permits and insurance for a taxi service. It's a bit beyond me to expand further on those provincial rules. Maybe others can explain it better. Anyway that's what Canoe Canada told me :)

"as far as i know doug is still around. he was one of my math teachers in high school. lol"

That's excellent. I got the impression he's got a lot of stories.

Branches Seine River Lodge has provided a couple shuttles for me to Stanton Bay, once from Beaverhouse in 2002, and once from Nym Lake in 2016. On both occasions I left my vehicle at those parking lots where they picked me up for the shuttle. There was never any talk about buying or renting extra stuff from them, they just asked about the when and the where and it was done. I have stayed at one of their cabins once and rented some canoe gear, but that was a completely separate trip.

Mark

mkdixon: "Branches Seine River Lodge has provided a couple shuttles for me to Stanton Bay, once from Beaverhouse in 2002, and once from Nym Lake in 2016. On both occasions I left my vehicle at those parking lots where they picked me up for the shuttle. There was never any talk about buying or renting extra stuff from them, they just asked about the when and the where and it was done. I have stayed at one of their cabins once and rented some canoe gear, but that was a completely separate trip.

Mark"

How long ago was this? I can confirm multiple outfitters have told me they can no longer provide "shuttle only" services. something to do with either insurance or licensing. They can only do it if you are using other services (i.e. renting gear, a room, etc.).

I am unsure what the minimum spend is in order to qualify. It may be different for each outfitter. I believe one told me even if I rented one food barrel they could do it. I think someone wrote on here that other outfitters need much more.

If Seine River did it for you recently, perhaps their situation is different. I will be going there soon and can ask the owner directly.

desertcanoe: " "as far as i know doug is still around. he was one of my math teachers in high school. lol"

That's excellent. I got the impression he's got a lot of stories."

Doug is still in operation. I'm renting a canoe from him in June.

I've heard that he has stopped providing shuttle services. I think it had something to do with the cost of insurance to transport guests.

DD

rick00001967: "

mkdixon: "Branches Seine River Lodge has provided a couple shuttles for me to Stanton Bay, once from Beaverhouse in 2002, and once from Nym Lake in 2016. On both occasions I left my vehicle at those parking lots where they picked me up for the shuttle. There was never any talk about buying or renting extra stuff from them, they just asked about the when and the where and it was done. I have stayed at one of their cabins once and rented some canoe gear, but that was a completely separate trip.

Mark"

How long ago was this? I can confirm multiple outfitters have told me they can no longer provide "shuttle only" services. something to do with either insurance or licensing. They can only do it if you are using other services (i.e. renting gear, a room, etc.).

I am unsure what the minimum spend is in order to qualify. It may be different for each outfitter. I believe one told me even if I rented one food barrel they could do it. I think someone wrote on here that other outfitters need much more.

If Seine River did it for you recently, perhaps their situation is different. I will be going there soon and can ask the owner directly.
"

ok so i just got back from branches seine river lodge yesterday.

i can tell you that the owner has confirmed they can and will still provide shuttle services even if you do not purchase any other services from them just as mkdixon has posted.

this goes against what i have been told by other outfitters in the area. i cannot explain why.

the owner did also confirm as i thought that the road into stanton bay can be very bad depending on the time of year and the weather conditions. so pls take caution if driving in there. it is about an 8 mile walk to get back to the highway.

she also said they were working to improve their web site at the moment but i believe the 2024 pricing is up.