Planning next summer's trip at the end of July, looking to stay on Carp Lake as a base camp. Our group will be four boys between the ages of 10 and 14 (this will be their 1st trip), my dad in his 70s, my brother in law and me. Any advice on Carp Lake for fishing, campsites or day trips would be much appreciated. Or if there is another lake you would recommend for a group like ours. Thanks!

I think Carp is a great lake for a base camp, especially with people in your group who are on the young and the old side where you probably don't want to travel far to get in. It's easy to get to, has lots of campsites, and perhaps best of all, has portages into 7 other lakes, so you can take your pick of day trips, including a few possible loops. I don't have specific campsite or other suggestions, but don't think you'll have trouble finding a good site or finding enough outings to keep you busy. Good choice!

Carp has a nice but well used campsite on a peninsular on the East side of the lake. Good bass fishing in the lake. We spent one night there and portaged into Emerald Lake. It has been 20 years ago but I remember it as nice. I think it may be large enough for your group.

We base camp on Carp frequently. There is a very large island in the north east corner of the lake that have a very nice campsite with room for 4+ tents. It is on the southern most point of the island. It has a great sandy beach for landing. There is another campsite on a point northeast from that we also use. We have used both sites to support groups of 8. We take day trips to Crawford, Fisher, Emerald, and Sheridan for fishing.

I was planning on going up to Knife in May - if you dont have an RABC are you only allowed to paddle / fish on the US side?

You can paddle anywhere on the border lakes. You need to be aware of where you are in regards to fishing because you will need an Ontario and or a Minnesota license if you are in those locations fishing.

Been through Carp a number of tI'm especially, but have only stayed on an island site the night before put out. I guess I am wondering why Carp and not somewhere along Knife? BW is a fraction of the cost for basically the exact same location.

quote : "You can paddle anywhere on the border lakes. You need to be aware of where you are in regards to fishing because you will need an Ontario and or a Minnesota license if you are in those locations fishing."

Not entirely true. You cannot stray far from the border for any reason, even if you have a Canadian fishing license. There have been groups arrested or escorted back across the border. The two I am familiar with were in northern Crooked lake and the other in North Bay of Basswood. I was personally told by Canadian authorities that it was a a crime to knowingly stray far from the actual border. They indicated that you should at all times be aware of the border even on water. The Quetico park authorities don't seem to mind it much if you have a fishing license, but they do not enforce border laws and are not the ones to fear in that regard.