I am planning to take my first group trip to the BWCA. I have canoed before and have plenty of camping experience. A group of 4-6 of us will be going up in late May.

Wondering if anyone has any good advice for a that time of year. Which side to go with, lakes that may be better for fishing early, outfitters to use, etc. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I have read some threads already about weather and bugs.

Welcome to bwca.com!

Better lake trout lakes on the east side. The large border lakes are usually the safest bet for fishing success.

Answering a few questions will help you get more succinct responses. What type of fish do you want to catch? What are some of the other goals of the trip? Campsite preferences, big/small lake, solitude, scenery/non burn zone, hiking/exploration options etc.

We love fishing for lakers. With it being the first trip we don’t want big challenges. It will likely be a 3-4 day trip. Some hiking to stay warm would be a good idea I think. We don’t really care about being completely away from people or groups. No real expectations for a camp site other than nothing super challenging. Average amount of sites to choose from.

Try and get a Clearwater EP#62 permit and than head for Mountain Lake (one portage away) and camp there. Could still be decent shore fishing for lakers.

FYI: Clearwater permits are tough to come by so, You'll probably want to grab it ASAP

Sea Gull Lake EP #54 would also be a good option.

Homer to Vern Lake, grab one of the two nice campsites there. daytrip to Juno or a must see daytrip up the Vern River for good fishing and nice scenery. Move to Juno if Vern is full or you want a change, very pretty long narrow lake with very good fishing. Retrace back to Homer to head out or head up to Brule for some different scenery and a 1.5mile or so walk back to the car at Homer. Great area and usually pretty quiet.

Trip report if you are interested:


Homer to Vern

Lizz Lake entry, popular entry but most go south to Horseshoe and further on. Head west instead to Meeds Lake with 3 good campsites and excellent fishing. Quiet lake, probably not the most scenic up there but pretty darn nice, Smallie and walleye fishing is good. 2 island campsites available. Daytrip options. Something different.

Baker Lake to South Temperance, one of the prettiest lakes in the BWCA. Good fishing possibilities. Grab the NW campsite if you want solitude. High possibility of seeing Moose on this trip. Can make South Temperance in a day or make it two days, Kelly and Jack are both cool lakes too. Abandoned gold mine at end of portage from Kelly to Jack for you to check out if you are interested. Another tip report...

Baker to South Temperance

Have fun, let us know what you decide.

Hi, Cory

I was in a similar situation a few years ago! I'm from California and really wanted to do a canoe trip in the BWCA. Since then I've been back twice for a couple 7-8 day trips and am planning another one this June. It really is one of the coolest places!

One question is if you plan on renting a canoe/gear? We did this (through Piragis in Ely) since we were flying out and it made things much easier. Figuring that out will also help you plan out a route since you'll have some idea of how much weight you'll be carrying and thus how much portaging you'll want to do. Depending on what and if you use an outfitter, they may also be able to provide route planning help.

Another thing to consider is what kind of trip you want to take. Do you want to travel everyday or would you rather base camp (where you camp at one site the entire time)? For a 3-4 day trip this latter option could be a good, especially because it ensures that you leave yourself a bit of a time buffer in your route. This buffer can be important in case the weather prohibits you from paddling one day. I've tried to avoid planning routes that require me to paddle a long way everyday. This way I never get stuck HAVING to paddle in unsafe conditions.

I've only tripped on the west side so my experience is far more limited than others on this site, but with that being said I think that the west side has some really cool short trip options.

One such is through EP 16. You could go up through Nina Moose into Agnes and base camp on Agens. From Agens you could spend a day exploring either (1) north into Boulder Bay (which has great fishing) or (2) west into Oyster Lake. Then you could turn around and follow your tracks out.

Another option is to try for EP 14. You could make a little loop up through the Pauness lakes into Loon Lake and then back down through Heritage and Shell back into Pauness.

Finally, I would strongly encourage you to check out the map on this website! It makes route planning way easier as all the campsites and portages are marked and include ratings, reviews and stats.

Hope you have an amazing trip!

Link to maps section