My dad and I are planning a canoe trip around Labor Day to the Jean/Quetico Lakes area of the park. I'm wondering what the water levels and portages are like, especially on the smaller rivers and creeks because of the drought conditions we are currently in. We may plan on doing some of the small lakes in that region as well.

Any advice for experienced canoeist on what routes, lakes, rivers, creeks, or portages, to avoid or not due to the drought? How about Bear Pelt creek or the big portage? How about the creeks and portages around Red Pine and Your Lake, Bent Pine Lake areas?

Thanks everyone for your observations from being there this year or from having been there in previous years, especially when water is love or any special things to avoid or special or extra pretty places to make sure we go to. We have been to the Quetico many times, but parts of this route we haven’t been to or haven’t been to in years.

Thanks so much for the info. I'm looking forward to hearing what people have to say. It will be very helpful for our trip. Thanks.

While I responded to your post on the Planning forum, I'll also point out that on the "Burn on Oliphant?" thread here, a post suggests that water levels are ~1 foot below normal.

TZ

We went in on 8/4 -8/12 and attempted a loop from Quetico through Jean to Sturgeon to Bentpine to Badwater and back to Quetico.
Beaverhouse Creek was low but manageable on the way out. We did the long portage on the way back
Jean Creek was fine.

Bentpine Creek was a bit tricky but manageable. First two portages were good.
Coming into the last portage it gets too shallow and we had to walk the boat. We thought we were in for a mess and actually scouted landing maybe 15 rods shy of the portage. But it turns out you can walk the shallows there quite easily. There was a crazy amount of bark on the bottom, left over from logging, I suppose. So we didn't sink into beaver muck and it totally was do-able.
Bentpine Lake was quiet and lovely.

But trying to get from Bentpine up to Your and then Badwater...we didn't make it.
Trail Creek between Trail Lake and Little Pine was the problem. Coming from the south, about 15 rods in, there's a low mud dam. And on the other side it's really narrow and really shallow. My bow partner checked i out and concluded it was too shallow to float the boat and too soft to line. (but not before she did a lovely sink, slip, pirouette and flop into the muck)

We considered bushwhacking ourselves a portage. But it's burn on both sides and looks like a person would take a beating. And the McKenzie map shows that on the Little Pine end of the bushwhack the shoreline is swamp.

I was game to try it but I wasn't going to push my partner into it.
Someone with more determination might have made either the creek or the bushwhack. We're in our 60's and I was recovering from 2 surgeries and my wife/canoe partner is awesome but doesn't enjoy suffering as much as I do :)
Anyway, after Trail we weren't going to trust the Bentpine Lake/Claire Creek route so we returned the way we came.

If you go that way, I'd love hear about whether you make it through. Good luck!

BTW, once we left Burntside Lake, we saw one party in 4 days. Saw nary a soul on the west end of Sturgeon, and we paddled 4 miles east to the nice island campsites. I wonder if the burn in the middle of the lake is keeping people away.
Looked like there had been one other party on the Bentpine portages in the last few weeks.
And watch for the family of otters on Trail Lake that feeds in the channel south of the island as you portage in from the east.

Beaverhouse creek was very low yesterday. We didn’t even try paddling it on our way out. Took the longer portage route out to the main lake for the first time ever. Been there about 6 times and never had to do that before. Might be similar in other areas you are headed to.

Justinlinnel1: "Beaverhouse creek was very low yesterday. We didn’t even try paddling it on our way out. Took the longer portage route out to the main lake for the first time ever. Been there about 6 times and never had to do that before. Might be similar in other areas you are headed to. "

It was not navigable by at least mid-late July 2021. No problem paddling straight up the Quetico River to the portage to Quetico Lake either at that time. No memorable current at all.