A little background..

My cousins, brother and I do an annual trip to the BWCA. The most recent years we have been to Ensign Lake (we didn't like Ensign too much in retrospect) once and Knife Lake three times (twice in the South Arm).

For what we like to do, it is hard for us to imagine a lake better than Knife, so leaving it has turned into a bit of a discussion. I would prefer to explore new areas and we are becoming too familiar with the lake.

On other trips to the BWCA, I have been to a few different lakes (Kawishiwi, Polly, Malberg), and liked what Knife had to offer much more (clearer water, more cliffy, more sandy than muddy).

So my question is, does anyone know of a lake similar to Knife but in a different area that could be new to us? Some criteria that is important for us:

-Cliffs to jump off of.
-Clearer water (as opposed to the tea-colored water in some areas).
-An attraction/site worth exploring to (e.g. Eddy Falls was this for us last year).
-Good Fishing.
-Nice sites.

Thanks~

Kekekabic comes to mind, esp for cliff jumping
ALso try the lakes E of Gunflint along the Canadian border-- South,Rose, Mountain and Moose.
My .02

Welcome to the site. One of the best features is search, see above just below the flying moose and a little to the right. Enter "cliff jumping" and read lots of posts over the years giving good places to jump and some good advice about being safe in the wilderness.
Your trips do not involve a lot of portaging, is that an issue? The rocks on Wisini are well known sites (just south of Kekekabic) and Kekekabic has some great camp sites and known for fishing. Portaging brings its rewards.

Kekekabic was the first thing to pop into head too.

Ester, which means you can still see/spend time on Knife. Nice sandy beach, exploring, cliff to climb with possible overlook, and good fishing not too far away. Nice clear water. Click the little diary under my messageboard handle and look for "Happy 75th Birthday" trip report, day 3 has pictures and description of a day trip we did on that lake.

Thanks for all these great responses... it sounds like the Knife area still has plenty of Lakes around it to explore so maybe we will stay in this area. Also thanks for the search bar tip. Wisini and Kekekabic look awesome after some research.

Also SaganagaJoe thanks for referring me to that journal... very cool story. Makes me want to bring a journal on my next trip. I usually film ours but writing holds little details/meditations of the trip that I see value in.

Which side do you go in from? If you go in from Moose lake switch it up by going in on the gunflint.

Theres an idea. We have previously been entering from Moose, I think it is entry point 25, but could be wrong. Another thing to look into.

Cherry lake and the route getting there has everything you are looking for, day trip up to Lunar and lake of the clouds to see some cool off the beaten path lakes.

I recommend starting the trip with a tow to American point on sag and either getting picked up there or making your way down to Seagull and exiting there.

You'll enjoy the ride up the gunflint. Kind of like Ely on steroids. As far as a tow to American Point , to each is own. I think part of the allure to the Sag.area is canoeing on the big beautiful body of water.
Granted you're going to want to get an early start before mother nature starts to blow. Canoeing on sag.when the water is glass is breathtaking.makes a nice troll for Lakers and eyes. Definitely troll from American Point to the first postage.
If I remember right it's only a small 20rod postage then monument postage 80 rods, I believe.
Then a sand wedge portage to get into north arm of the knife.

Not like the 2 long vera portables or the 7 pain in ass Birch lake way.

quote NickKnifeLake: "Theres an idea. We have previously been entering from Moose, I think it is entry point 25, but could be wrong. Another thing to look into. "

EP 54 (Seagull) or 55 (Saganaga) would fit your bill. I can recommend a great outfitter there too. And like yogi said Saganaga is a great lake, probably my favorite. Sag to Ottertrack to Ester would be a great route for you guys.

Or otherwise do Seagull-Alpine-Jasper-Ogish-Annie-Jenny-Eddy-Ponds-Kekekabic. And you'd just be one portage from SAK that way too, from Eddy. Some good fishing on this route in Alpine and Kingfisher. If you click that little journal under my messageboard handle and check out "A Good Time With A Good Friend" you can see where to go.