Does anyone know if there is parking available/allowed at the Lac La Croix ranger station? Although I've never driven all the way to the end (aka the ranger station), I've been on that road.

-Peter

There are some old threads on this topic. Parking is available at the ranger station which is just beyond the First Nations settlement. When I was there 10-12 years ago, there was a fenced-in parking lot. This gave us a bit of concern for vehicle safety since the gate on the enclosure was not locked. But our trip was in May just before fishing opener and the ranger station was not yet open.

When we returned a week or so later, the station was open and staffed. If I were going out of there again, I would want to know if the parking area was open or closed when the station was not staffed.

We parked there last August for 21 Days while completing a large loop.

First I will say I emailed the QPP and was told it would not be a problem. That the station was staffed during the posted hours. This was not my experience.

The road was in excellent shape all the way to the Pow Wow grounds (45 miles) and on through to the LLC Ranger Station. We arrived at 9am and the sign on the door said the open hours were from 730-330 but it was locked, as was the privy, and the fenced in parking area. We unloaded our vehicle and used the dock to load our canoe. We were there about one and a half hours during which time a boat shuttle arrived delivering a group to a Quetico North van shuttle, but no sign of any staff. The shuttle driver suggested we could use a copy of our reservation as our "permit" if we had already paid online. Luckily, I had paid online and printed two copies of the reservation. So needing to cross LLC before the wind came up, we parked our vehicle off to the side on the grass, left one copy of our reservation taped to the door with a note for the ranger, and paddled off with the other copy as "proof". This caused some level of anxiety in our party because we are rule followers and we had little choice.

On our mid day return 21 days later, again the sign said they were open and no one was there. Our car was still parked under the tree with none of the damage we had worried about. While we were unloading and packing up, a couple of groups using the boat shuttle stopped by to see if they could check in and we discovered that apparently it is common knowledge with the drivers that the ranger station is intermittently staffed.

Here are some direct quotes:

"Yah, they're not here a lot"
"Plan to pay on-line and bring proof of your reservation and payment with you."
"If you need to get into 'self-outfitting' just jiggle the porch handle and you can get in. It seems locked but it's not."
" If they think a shuttle is arriving they may be around in the morning."

It was clear this entry point is not commonly used by folks who drive in. If you choose to use it I would recommend reserving and paying your fee online and bring three copies with you-one for the interior-one to leave taped to the door- and one for the dash of your car. There is plenty of parking off to the side on the grass if the fenced in area is locked. In fact, it might be a better choice. . .

That's what I got. Have a great trip.

This really, really, really surprises me given that this is THE permitting station for the entry points on the eastern edge of Lac La Croix. Regardless of whether you're driving or getting a tow from Crane or a fly-in via Campbell's, this is the permitting station.

I'll call the park when I get down to making detailed plans. Thanks for the input.

We agree.

I’ve had similar experience as wyopaddler. It’s been 10 years for me though so can’t comment on recent exereinces.

It’s was a known problem that the park was not willing to tackle unfortunately.

The Station seemed to be exclusively staffed by First Nation people. My personal experience when the staff are actually present has been great. It’s just that too often staff seem to disappear running errands…

T

timatkn: "I’ve had similar experience as wyopaddler. It’s been 10 years for me though so can’t comment on recent exereinces.


It’s was a known problem that the park was not willing to tackle unfortunately.


The Station seemed to be exclusively staffed by First Nation people. My personal experience when the staff are actually present has been great. It’s just that too often staff seem to disappear running errands…


T"

We also had a similar experience last July.