I'm planning a trip in early June that would be entering mid-day Thurs, leaving mid-day Sunday. Any recommendations on interesting routes that could be covered in that short duration with minimal portaging? (My girlfriend had ankle surgery this winter so longer portages will be difficult to manage).

East or West side?

I'm open to either side.

Take a look at these options:

Entry 38 - Sawbill Lake. Stay on Alton, Sawbill or Kelso. Very short easy portages here. There are plenty of waters to paddle here on day trips. Northeast to the north end of Sawbill Lake. Northwest through the Kelso River and visit the Viking Dolman. West to Beth Lake. East to the Fire Lakes (Smoke, Burnt, Flame).

Entry 39 - Baker Lake. North to Jack or Weird Lake. Easy portages. Beautiful paddle along narrow river like lakes. Good wildlife sighting chances. Visit the abandoned mine at the north end of the Kelly/Jack portage.

Entry 54 - Seagull Lake
One portage to Alpine Lake. This in a burn area. If that is not your cup of tea, then ignore the rest. Camp on Alpine Lake. There are day-trip chances to the west to Jasper, Kingfisher, and Ogishkemuncie. And to the north through Red Rock Lake and Red Rock Bay on Saganaga Lake.

Entry 14 - Little Indian Sioux North - Travel north to the Pauness Lakes and camp there. Visit the Devil's Cascade and Loon Lake to the west. Depending on the ankle you can day-trip to the Shell Lakes.

Another option off the Gunflint Trail with very short, easy portages is East Bearskin, EP #64. The portages - take the south one out of East Bearskin to Alder - are short and easy all the way out to Crystal. This is an out and back route unless you want to take the long portage (with quite some elevation gain) from Canoe to Pine. It might be a day trip option for you though. Stay on Alder, Canoe, Pierz, or Crystal. The last two are dead-end lakes without through traffic.

We take teams of men up to Seagull every year. Some don't leave Seagull. The others basecamp on Seagull and portage in to Alpine and the other lakes to fish and explore.

quote Michwall2: "Take a look at these options:


Entry 38 - Sawbill Lake. Stay on Alton, Sawbill or Kelso. Very short easy portages here. There are plenty of waters to paddle here on day trips. Northeast to the north end of Sawbill Lake. Northwest through the Kelso River and visit the Viking Dolman. West to Beth Lake. East to the Fire Lakes (Smoke, Burnt, Flame).


Entry 39 - Baker Lake. North to Jack or Weird Lake. Easy portages. Beautiful paddle along narrow river like lakes. Good wildlife sighting chances. Visit the abandoned mine at the north end of the Kelly/Jack portage.


Entry 54 - Seagull Lake
One portage to Alpine Lake. This in a burn area. If that is not your cup of tea, then ignore the rest. Camp on Alpine Lake. There are day-trip chances to the west to Jasper, Kingfisher, and Ogishkemuncie. And to the north through Red Rock Lake and Red Rock Bay on Saganaga Lake.


Entry 14 - Little Indian Sioux North - Travel north to the Pauness Lakes and camp there. Visit the Devil's Cascade and Loon Lake to the west. Depending on the ankle you can day-trip to the Shell Lakes."

+1 on EP39 Baker Lake. Very nice route.

Enter at Moose Lake then head to Ensign which is just a hop, skip, and jump from Splash. You could even take a tow from an outfitter on Moose to Splash. It doesn't get much easier than that.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

I've done Seagull to Ogish before and Moose to Ensign. Definitely enjoy those lakes. I'll have to take a look at EP 38 and 39, those look interesting too!

Try East Bearskin to Crocodile. Easy paddle of about 2 miles with only 1 portage to a very quiet lake with no through traffic. Good fishing for walleyes and perch with no northerns. Scenic side trip up into the Vegetable lakes is a fun afternoon of exploring. Good chance of a moose sighting in that area.

Try East Bearskin to Crocodile. Easy paddle of about 2 miles with only 1 portage to a very quiet lake with no through traffic. Good fishing for walleyes and perch with no northerns. Scenic side trip up into the Vegetable lakes is a fun afternoon of exploring. Good chance of a moose sighting in that area.

Brule to Cones or Brule to South Temperance. Those two are some of my favorites but they require paddling on Brule which is a big lake so weather is a concern. You could always stay on or go back to Brule and explore the large lake. Echo is good for walleye as well.

just because a portage is short doesn't mean it's easy. hopefully your gal is doing her PT for the ankle. the portages have rocks, boulders, tree roots.... all at odd angles and sometimes slick or underwater. encourage her to take her time and not carry too much weight that adds pressure to the ankle. Good supportive footwear will be a must.

quote jamotrade: "Try East Bearskin to Crocodile. Easy paddle of about 2 miles with only 1 portage to a very quiet lake with no through traffic. Good fishing for walleyes and perch with no northerns. Scenic side trip up into the Vegetable lakes is a fun afternoon of exploring. Good chance of a moose sighting in that area."

I don't think I would want to take the portage from East Bearskin to Crocodile while still recovering from ankle surgery. Portage isn't that long but there's lots of ups, downs, rocks and mud. I will agree with the fishing though. Walleye is plentiful and the perch are tanks in that lake!

If the ankle is that tender yet at the time of your trip, I would stick to the Sawbill/Alton/Kelso area. There is plenty of water to paddle for daytime excursions. All of the portages here are short, wide and smooth. Even if you have to do all the carrying (triple or quad portage?), it would not mean a great loss of time.

Entrances and exits from the canoe can still be somewhat problematic. (Rocky, uneven foot placement) I would assume you would be available to help stabilize the canoe and your friend to protect the ankle. Hiking poles may be another way to have more stability while on foot (on portages and in camp). Will the ankle be able to get wet? In a walking boot?

quote Mocha: "just because a portage is short doesn't mean it's easy. hopefully your gal is doing her PT for the ankle. the portages have rocks, boulders, tree roots.... all at odd angles and sometimes slick or underwater. encourage her to take her time and not carry too much weight that adds pressure to the ankle. Good supportive footwear will be a must."

A good hiking stick will provide a lot of stability.

I have found that when you get past 60, the time at base camp, around the fire, and just fishing becomes far more enjoyable then portages. Our groups use to portage in 6 or more portages to get as far in as possible, paddling a LONG first day and last day. After several years of the multiple portage trips, which took up a full day each way, we polled our guys (we take 10 to 18 up every year) and they voted unanimous for no portage to base camp trips. The last 3 years we have been on Seagull. We camp at the south end of the lake. Those that like to explore then portage empty canoes and daypacks into Alpine and the other lakes. Those that like to hang out and fish stay on Seagull. The upside of this is that we can bring real food and better cooking gear.

quote Michwall2: "If the ankle is that tender yet at the time of your trip, I would stick to the Sawbill/Alton/Kelso area. There is plenty of water to paddle for daytime excursions. All of the portages here are short, wide and smooth. Even if you have to do all the carrying (triple or quad portage?), it would not mean a great loss of time.


Entrances and exits from the canoe can still be somewhat problematic. (Rocky, uneven foot placement) I would assume you would be available to help stabilize the canoe and your friend to protect the ankle. Hiking poles may be another way to have more stability while on foot (on portages and in camp). Will the ankle be able to get wet? In a walking boot?"

We'll definitely be careful about entering / exiting the canoe and all of the slippery, rocky, uneven areas we encounter. She had the surgery earlier this winter so hopefully it will be pretty strong by June (she's been doing her PT and improving each day). The hiking stick is a good idea. I've got a few sets of trekking poles that should do the trick!

My suggestion would be a Brule Lake base camp or move the camp once from one end to the other. There are a bunch of beautiful day trips to do in different directions from Brule. Doing those portages with only canoe and lunch gives you a chance to try out that ankle without a typical portage load. Brule is no motor and a very nice lake.

Ankles take a lot of strain if you slip or misstep. Better to ease into rugged activity.