I'll be in Grand Marais, MN next August and would like to do a fly-in/paddle out in Quetico. Possibly to Kawnipi, Agnes or McEwen. Are Quetico fly-ins allowed? Do they land only at certain lakes? Who do I contact to get rates? Will appreciate any help you can offer. Thanks.

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Came up on a Google search using your exact wording. All seem to be out of Ely side though.

id never fly in to quetico, too easy to access driving/paddling and not real remote. woodland caribou? YES!

The classic Quetico fly-in is to fly to Clay Lake just outside the park on the east side, then take the Greenwood "River" ("River" is in quotes because it's really a small stream) and the Wawiag River (a real river) to Kawa Bay of Kawnipi Lake. From there you can paddle back to Ely (Prairie Portage and Moose Lake) or the Gunflint (Cache Bay). Pretty much any outfitter in Ely could probably set that up for you - check Voyageur North, Spirit of the Wilderness or Piragis, among others. I'd guess you could arrange it with outfitters on the Gunflint too but don't know them or their seaplane capabilities as well.

The only concern with this trip is that in late summer the Greenwood "River" can have very little water - it just depends on the year. When we did it one August it was fine, but others have encountered a couple miles of muck between Clay Lake and the Wawiag River that time of year. You might discuss with the outfitters how to deal with the situation if it's looking like that might be a problem as your trip approaches. Also, a call to Quetico headquarters in Atikokan right now at the planning stage could help, because in the past at times they have allowed flights to land inside the park on Mack Lake when Greenwood River is not passable - but I think they might have ended that policy, not sure. So call them and discuss, they are very nice.

Otherwise, in general you can't fly into Quetico itself. There are a couple fly-in permits to lakes on the periphery, but what's the point of that - you can get there without flying in. Also the Lac la Croix First Nation Guides are allowed to fly in with clients to a specific lake or lakes each year, it seems like it's usually Poohbah, but I think that's for a fly-in-and-out fishing trip with a guide, not an option to just fly in to start you own trip. If you were interested in that, though, call the park headquarters for more info.

quote kanoes: "id never fly in to quetico, too easy to access driving/paddling and not real remote. woodland caribou? YES!"

I tend to agree with kanoes. Unlike Woodland-Caribou and/or Wabakimi, there's plenty of easier, cheaper alternatives for access to Quetico.

Nevertheless, prior to a Quetico solo trip in 2013, I also considered a fly-in from Atikokan. I had talked to Jim at Canoe Canada about the possibilities. I intended to be flown to King's Point on Basswood Lake with my solo canoe and gear and then paddle back to the Nym Lake launch.

Jim suggested that I talk to Atikokan Aero directly, due to the fact I had my own canoe and equipment and didn't need his outfitting services. Jim said the cost for the flight and car spotting at Nym Lake would be approx. $700.00! (Per Jim at Canoe Canada, Atikokan Aero would also provide car spotting.)

Atikokan Aero

Hans Solo

We did a fly in canoe out trip in late July 2014. Canadian Border outfitters arranged the logistics. We were picked up in Ely at Shagawa and flown to another outfitter on La Croix. They put us on a power boat (super fast) and dropped us off at Brewer Rapids.
We then canoed across the interior of the park and then down to Prarie Portage. Was it worth it? That is hard to say. We did have a spectacular trip and seeing topography from the air was really cool.

There is some stress involved and that is weather. It does not take much to keep a sea plane at base. We were supposed to fly out of Shagawa at 9:00am. Looked like an absolutely beautiful day, but plane would not land due to low ceiling. We finally departed around noon and got to our start point at 2pm. I would have been really bummed if we missed a day of paddling due to low clouds.

Another option would have been to put in at crane lake and have Anderson Outfitters power boat ya to Brewer Rapids. I would guess a lot cheaper. Only about a 2 hour boat ride.

T

quote Ho Ho: "The classic Quetico fly-in is to fly to Clay Lake just outside the park on the east side, then take the Greenwood "River" ("River" is in quotes because it's really a small stream) and the Wawiag River (a real river) to Kawa Bay of Kawnipi Lake. From there you can paddle back to Ely (Prairie Portage and Moose Lake) or the Gunflint (Cache Bay). "

Did the this trip with my best buddies this summer. Flew in from Grand Marais to clay lake. LONG first day!!!

Almost 19 miles but well worth it. It was fun to see the land from the air. Excellent fishing and great time with great friends. Way we saw it was once and a lifetime experience.

It would be interesting to see the cost and time comparison of a fly in to say Beaverhouse or LLC for a trip back to Gunflint. Not an inexpensive shuttle and half a day or more I'd suspect. I'm still pondering Lake of the Woods to Grand Portage and maybe I should look at flying.

As moose664788 says, flying in is an amazing once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience, it really is incredible to see the country from the air. It's expensive and I haven't done it since that first trip, but for certain trips and routes, it is worth it. Maybe I'll make it a twice-in-a-lifetime experience some day.

Does not apply today for sure. Flew into Clay a few times in the 80's, great memories! Loaded the plane at the Chippewa Inn Dock on Saganaga.
I also wonder what it cost today?

butthead

Hey, Moose. Looks like you did the trip I'm thinking about. Do you recall the name of the flight service that took you from Grand Marais to Clay? Also, curious to know if you encountered any of the muck on the Greenwood River that HO HO spoke about. Can't imagine trying to push a loaded canoe thru a couple of miles of muck...... Any camping opportunities along Greenwood and Wawiag Rivers that would shorten the first day?

Thanks to all who responded. All good info and I appreciate the various opinions!

Just to be clear, the creek is often floatable in August - it was when we were there. But I have heard reports of other trips when it was not. So you will find that different people have different experiences, however, the risk is there that water will be low in late summer. You would be able to find that out before you flew in, the question is, what you could do about it. We were not prepared for that, so fortunately, it did not happen to us! (BTW, there was a thread elsewhere on this site about a group that dismantled a beaver dam on Greenwood River to get water downstream and make it floatable - so that's one approach.)

There is a campsite on the Wawiag where a portage is marked on the maps. It looked totally usable, but when we went down the river, the mosquitos were kind of thick there, so we pressed on to Kawa Bay. It's a long day but doable, and fun assuming good conditions.

We have done two: Like above stated fly to Mack Lake then down to Kawnipi thru the Poets and out at Pickerel. Worth every penny, IMO. Second (a fly-out)one was even better...paddled from Nym down to Sturgeon, Cutty Creek to Kahshapiwi, etc. to King Point. Air Atikokan (Canoe Canada) picked us up and flew us over the park back to Atikokan.
--Goose

quote butthead: " Does not apply today for sure. Flew into Clay a few times in the 80's, great memories! Loaded the plane at the Chippewa Inn Dock on Saganaga.
I also wonder what it cost today?


butthead"

Would bet you multiply that by four or five times.

quote mutz: "

quote butthead: " Does not apply today for sure. Flew into Clay a few times in the 80's, great memories! Loaded the plane at the Chippewa Inn Dock on Saganaga.

I also wonder what it cost today?

butthead"

Would bet you multiply that by four or five times."

In addition to researching a Quetico Fly-in from Atikokan to King's Point on Basswood Lake, (as I mentioned above), I also inquired about the feasibility of a Quetico fly-in from Piragis Northwoods Outfitters in Ely. They quoted me a price for approx. $1,300.00 for just me, my solo canoe, and my gear. (The flight would originate from Shagawa Lake.)

I went on to ask them why fly-ins are so much more expensive from the U.S. versus a fly-in from a Canadian based Outfitter. (Fly-ins from Red Lake, Ontario to Woodland Caribou and/or Atikokan to Quetico cost roughly $700.00 at the time.) I was told that the fly-ins from the U.S. are more costly because the plane needs to land twice! Say what?

Apparently, when you fly-in from Ely, or some other U.S. based location, the plane is required to stop at customs first before you're flown to your drop location in Quetico.

I'm assuming flying into Canada from the U.S. would be similar to driving into Canada, so a RBAC permit would most likely not comply.

Hans Solo

Lots of changes over the decades. Our flight carried 4 travelers, 2 canoes and gear, in one trip.


Q documents, licenses, and duties paid before the flight at Cache Bay and Chippewa Inn.


We made it to Kawa Bay first day for most trips, camped on the Waywiag once after a rain delay. Also paddled the Ross/Bitchu route for afternoon arrival at Mack, so the flyin saved, in our instance, a travel day. All the early trips we were picked up (tow boat service), at Hook Island.

butthead

Yes Hansolo that price of $1'300 is exactly what our group paid (per plane) this summer. I think all the Ely outfitters use the same Canadian flight service. We had a group of 6 so we needed 2 planes and we flew out of Shagawa. This is how our trip worked. Everyone was required to have an RABC and passport. A week before our flight we had to complete a passenger manifest with passport numbers and other information. The flight service paid for the groups Quetico camping fees prior to picking us up and it was charged through to our bill at the outfitter. My understanding from the pilot was that they get permission from US customs to land at Shagawa. A US customs officer was at the dock to greet us prior to boarding. He checked each of our passports and RABC forms. It was the same guy from the Ely post that we check in with on the way out. The pilot then called in his flight plan and got permission to take off and that was it. We never pulled our credentials again.

quote Gmorgan: "A US customs officer was at the dock to greet us prior to boarding. He checked each of our passports and RABC forms. "

The US customs officer checked your Canadian RABC?

quote kanoes: "id never fly in to quetico, too easy to access driving/paddling and not real remote. woodland caribou? YES!"

agree

quote billconner: "

quote Gmorgan: "A US customs officer was at the dock to greet us prior to boarding. He checked each of our passports and RABC forms. "

The US customs officer checked your Canadian RABC? "

Yep and passport. We were a little surprised, because we did not know ahead of time that was going to happen. I don't know whether they have an agreement with Canadian Govt to check these on fly-ins or whether he was just nosy.

I believe our pickup flight at Kings Point back to Atikokan a few years ago was only $650. Canoe Canada operates "Atikokan Aero" under the same ownership and flies to it's fishing outposts. I bet you're paying more (way more) going through a middle man like Piragis. --Goose