Just thought it would be interesting to know if anyone has paddleboarded the Bdub? How was it and how did you do it with your gear?

It's not that I want to do it, I'm just interested in knowing if anyone has.

Seems like it would be a nightmare to me, trying to pack, portage, deal with wind, waves, etc.

But I would be interested in hearing about someone that was adventurous to try it.

There was a discussion similar to this earlier this year. Paddle BWCA. Not sure how the plans have progressed. Read up on the dude who paddled all around Superior to get an idea of what's do-able. For an experienced paddler, there's no reason paddling the BWCA couldn't be done as well as any solo canoe paddler.

Back in the '80s, a guy hand paddled a surfboard around the BWCA. People swim it. Many different ways to move about.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should, just sayin....

Hi! I know this post was written a while back, but I felt compelled to respond!

My boyfriend and I recently returned from a 7 day SUP trip in the eastern portion of the BWCA. We paddled and portaged close to 70 miles over the course of our trip. Before we embarked I read a couple blogs that discouraged paddle boarding in the Boundary Waters, but I just have to disagree! I've been to the BWCA only once before on a canoe trip so I'm still a BWCA novice. I however found paddleboarding to be an absolutely incredible, and by no means impossible, way to enjoy this remote wilderness.

To tell you a little more about our trip there were only the two of us, each with our own SUP. Both our boards are blow up and when deflated fit into their own pack--although we only had to deflate them once during our trip. Each board came with various D rings and elastic straps on the deck to secure down gear. We both bought a couple sea to summit dry bags that ranged from 35L to 60L and one Cabela's brand dry bag, which we ended up returning afterwards because it didn't compare in quality to the others. In total we had 5 dry bags for the two of us and had plenty of extra room. We secured our equipment to our boards in various different ways throughout the trip using a combination of the elastic strapping and additional NRS straps/gigantic rubber coated twisty ties--the twisty ties were a lifesaver and by the end they were the only things we were using to secure our packs!

As for our route, our entry point into the BWCA was through South Lake, which begins with around a 11 mile paddle starting at the Gunflint Lake boat launch and a short portage from North Lake into South Lake that's around 80 rods or so. From there we planned a large loop that took us to Rat Lake, Rose Lake, Rove Lake, Watab Lake, Mountain Lake, Clearwater Lake, Deer Lake, Moon Lake, Flour Lake, Hungry Jack Lake, Bearskin Lake, Duncan Lake, and then back to Rose Lake where exited the same way we entered through Rat Lake, South Lake, North Lake, Little North Lake, Little Gunflint Lake, and Gunflint Lake. All in all we calculated we travelled between 60-70 miles with our SUPs!

We had great weather and although it was really windy a couple days we had no real trouble paddling any of the lakes. There's a lot of crap on the internet about the difficulty of taking paddleboards in the BWCA. Keep in mind most of these "nay sayers" are sitting in a canoe and have no personal experience on a paddleboard. Having now paddled the BWCA in both a canoe and on a SUP I feel compelled to share my experience and disprove the garbage that I've read.

We did a lot of portaging on this trip and I find it surprisingly easy to portage my SUP--one of our portages was 660 rods (from Rose to Rove) and that was the only time we decided to actually deflate our boards. I found SUP portaging to be lighter and much less awkward than carrying a canoe. For one thing, I didn't have to have my head inside the haul of a boat, and, in addition, I could deflate my board and throw it on my back in a moments notice. My gear also never got wet and I was never worried about it falling off my board. I had plenty of extra room on my board too. All in all, it is save to say that paddleboarding the BWCA is both possible and incredibly fun! My boyfriend and I are already looking forward to our next backcountry SUP trip!

One last note: "Haters gunna hate; players gunna play!" Whatever your mode of travel just get out there and do it!

How's fishing from a SUP? Probably be good for fly fishing.

Here ya go.

Hey Maggie,

Thanks for your post. SUPs sound like an interesting alternative to canoeing. I was wondering if you would be willing to share some more information on how SUPing compares to canoeing? I have a few specific questions and then any other thoughts you have on the subject would also be appreciated.

1. How do you think the speed of a SUP compares to a canoe?

2. How stable is a SUP? I would imagine that some 'ballast' from your gear would help to stabilize your platform and that balancing otherwise is a learned skill? How does the presence of water on the surface of the 'board' (e.g. rain/waves/draining out of pants or shoes) affect footing? Do you think a SUP could handle some decent waves and wind if a storm blows in? (Also seconding mcsweem's question about fishing .. :) ).

3. What sort of cost would somebody be looking at for an entry-level, inflatable SUP?

Aren't inflatables verboten in the BWCA?

Wow, sounds like a great trip. Would love to see some pictures. You said you had some wind ( and waves I would guess). How did the SUP handle. Did you ever just sit on top and paddle like a canoe in those conditions. I was thinking that would be a good way of deferring the wind a bit.

Thanks for the post. Would love to try it some day. Maybe my next solo.

One last question. Did you feel like it was more or less work ( becoming tired faster, legs from standing all day. Or arms) than paddling.

quote Unas10: "Aren't inflatables verboten in the BWCA?"

Never heard this and can't find any reference to such a rule. Do you have a source?

Nice to have a first-person report on using a SUP in the BWCA.

quote andym: "

quote Unas10: "Aren't inflatables verboten in the BWCA?"

Never heard this and can't find any reference to such a rule. Do you have a source?

Nice to have a first-person report on using a SUP in the BWCA."

No, I don't have a source. It just seems to me that I heard at one time that inflatable kayaks were not allowed in as a primary transportation mode.

I thought that someone more familiar with the rules than I might recollect something.

Thanks for posting this! I am currently considering a Boundary Waters trip on my sup. It is good to see someone post with experience.

Check this out. My wife has a Grey Duck Paddleboard, not the “Quetico” model though. This is the rig designed for BW paddle boarding. Easy peasy! Quetico 14 Paddleboard

I was all set for a paddle board trip but when I got to the landing there were gusts to 40mph, so I surf boarded instead

wikiwiki!