I'm looking for advice on planning a trip through the Misquah Hills.
Any advice on an entry point, lakes, specific portages or campsites?

Trip length should be approximately a week, looking for decent fishing and lots of scenic bluffs.

Also if there are any good hiking hills or waterfalls to check out.

is this in the morgan, ram and bower trout areas?

quote Mocha: "is this in the morgan, ram and bower trout areas?"

I believe so. I suppose a person could start at Ram and make their way over to Winchell then head on down to Brulé and out through Bower Trout.

As far as I know, this is the area between the North and South branches of the Brule River. (South of Winchell and north of Brule Lakes, with the closest entry points being EPs 41 to 45) I think Lima Mountain is technically one of the Misquah Hills. I haven’t heard of any trails to any vistas, and haven’t been there myself, but the only waterfalls I’ve heard of in that area is off the portage from Brule Bay of Brule Lake to Vernon Lake.

You could enter at Brule (41) and then go up to Winchell to get to the north side of the Misquah Hills. I haven't done it but there is supposedly a way up on top of the cliffs on the south shoreline of Winchell. Check out the map section and explore winchell. I think someone posted info on the map about where to find the trail up the cliffs.

Otherwise you could go in and to the south of the Hills like already mentioned. However, I'm not aware of any real routes taking you through the hills themselves. That would likely require a bushwhack trip, likely not an easy one at that.

The Ram-Winchell-Brule-Bower Trout loop would definitely fit all of your requirements and can easily be done in a week. Look up trip reports and campsite ratings on this site and you can get an idea what you're in for. The route could also be reversed, though I'd prefer to start off with the harder leg (the tough portages between Ram and Vista) at the start of the trip rather than the end. Either way, it's a short walk back from the exit lake to your car at the entry point - Ram and Bower Trout are only like a mile away on the road.

Yes I was thinking about entry point 41 and moving east from Winchell.

paddy3001 that looks like a good route plan I'll research that one.

It looks like there are falls and a way to the top of the cliffs on the south shore of Winchell Lake too. Here are a few of trip reports that describe some parts of that area.
Morgan Lake to Winchell area
Brule and Vernon
Brule to Winchell

Winchel is decent fishing in the spring and fall for lake trout. Gaskin better in the warmer months for warmwater species. Lots of pretty lakes in that area.

quote Speckled: "Winchel is decent fishing in the spring and fall for lake trout. Gaskin better in the warmer months for warmwater species. Lots of pretty lakes in that area."

Yes this trip will be in late May, so I fugred it would be a good time for trout fishing. Of course pannies, bass, walleyes too.

Does Lake Brule has ciscos too? Or other freshwater salmonids around this time?

quote Speckled: "Winchel is decent fishing in the spring and fall for lake trout. Gaskin better in the warmer months for warmwater species. Lots of pretty lakes in that area."

Yes this trip will be in late May, so I fugred it would be a good time for trout fishing. Of course pannies, bass, walleyes too.

Does Lake Brule has ciscos too? Or other freshwater salmonids around this time?

I have a report on a loop trip that my son and I did in 2008. We entered at Bower-Trout, made our way west to Cherokee, then east to Ram where we exited. There are plenty of hills to look at and plenty of uphill grades on the portages..... although there might be some benefit (in respect to hill climbs) by entering at Ram and doing the trip CCW. Either way would work.

Trip report

As far as camp sites....... to me, any open site is a perfect site.

quote HighPlainsDrifter: "
I have a report on a loop trip that my son and I did in 2008. We entered at Bower-Trout, made our way west to Cherokee, then east to Ram where we exited. There are plenty of hills to look at and plenty of uphill grades on the portages..... although there might be some benefit (in respect to hill climbs) by entering at Ram and doing the trip CCW. Either way would work.


As far as camp sites....... to me, any open site is a perfect site."

Here is a Trip Report from Fall of 2012

of course you do know that the Misquah lake to Little Trout Lake portage has some what of reputation.

quote tom m: "of course you do know that the Misquah lake to Little Trout Lake portage has some what of reputation."

I've done it. It deserves it.

From Winchell you can bushwack to Tremble, they used to stock rainbows there in the 60's. You can even comtinue your bushwack to whiteacre.
From Vista a hard bushwack to Bunga and or State Lake.

I like that area...I always enter into Morgan for my solo trips because, apart from Brule, the lakes in that area are small and I don't worry as much about getting windbound. I usually enter in as soon as the ice leaves, so I never get to fish.

The Morgan Lake entry isn't bad...there's the long portage in, but it's mostly flat and dry. It also allows some decent loops without having to do too much backtracking. Just my .02.

I think you should do the little trout to misquah portage to truly experience the beauty of the misquah hills.

So do I. I did that Bower Trout to Ram Lake trip. But since the OP is from 2014 I hope he managed to trod amongst the Misquah Hills by now.

I tried doing an easy trip to Lower/ Bower Trout for some August lake trout. That was maybe the worst three miles I ever found in the BWCA. Those portages were so steep the front of my canoe banged on the ground the whole way up. The back banged on the ground the whole way down.

We did find 3 lake trout in Bower Trout. All were 18"-16", from 30' feet of water with dark red flesh.

The Little Trout to Misquah portage is, I think 190 rods, up and down two hills, but the killer is, in the ‘valleys’ or low parts between hills, it is a boulder field, not a trail, so every step is from rock to rock. Literally. If the rocks are slippery, and hey, why wouldn’t they be, it is a hefty challenge. I did that one on my first BW portaging trip. Double portage. Once with the heavy food pack and again with my SpiritII. If you get through that gauntlet without taking a spill, count your blessings, then talk about it later.

You can also come in EP47 Lizz/Swamp lakes Head through Caribou, to Horseshoe, then go to Vista , you can go into Misquah lake that way and nice lakers there. Head back up through Horseshoe to Gaskin , Winchell, Omega, Henson, then back through Gaskin and up the way you came or head north out of Henson through Pillsbery, Swallow Meeds. Long portage back to Poplar or head back through caribou, Liz if you prefer shorter portage. Bluffs, good fishing, some falls, etc all on that loop. Morgan entry as listed below is over a mile and has slight ups and downs I went in there in Oct of last year. Coming through Ram while also doable as mentioned the portage from Little Trout to Misquah earns its reputation. Those are my two cents. But the route I describe puts you all around the Misquah Hills.