Hi all,
Appreciate all the advice I’ve received and great content I’ve read on here over the years.

Have a trip next week into some areas we haven’t been yet and have a few questions for those who know:

- outside of McKenzie bay,
(Been there many times) what areas are the best to stay on kawnipi?
Specifically trying to assess the Rose Island area vs northern kawnipi)

- if you had to choose between a night on McDougall and Russell what would you chose? Have heard mixed things about Russell re: fishing and crowds on here and from others who have been.

- anyone have experience paddling from Sturgeon Narrows to Stanton Bay in a day? Planning app says 6 hours via the Duex which should have plenty of water, but looking to validate that timeline

I’d probably camp Keats, McDougall, or Chatterton. Russell is nice though and has a lot of really good campsites though. Personally the island campsite on Keats below the falls is an epic campsite. My son stayed in that site last year.

As you get further north on Kawnipi you kind of run out of nicer campsites. I’m having the same dilemma since I want to stay in falls chain. Then move north hopefully depending on weather far north on Kawnipi the next day.

We stayed in the Narrows south of the fast water coming out at Russsell coming from Stanton Bay and that was a pretty long first day. I single portaged and that was 18 miles that day by the Garmin track. It’s doable though especially if you mean the narrow at the north end of Sturgeon. Obviously weather always gets the final say in what’s possible and not possible.

Ryan

There is a nice, dramatic (elevated with different tiers of level ground) site on the north end of Kawnipi on the north shore of the northern narrows leading to the bay that holds the portage to Montgomery. Camp better suited to smaller group. The dramatic nature of the site does mean that solid toilet duties require a bit of a scramble.

Or go and stay at the elevated site on Montgomery and check out the pictograph below the site. Or, if you are up for a bushwack of about an hour, go see the most remote pictograph that is located up the Montgomery Creek.

Gaidin53: "I’d probably camp Keats, McDougall, or Chatterton. Russell is nice though and has a lot of really good campsites though. Personally the island campsite on Keats below the falls is an epic campsite. My son stayed in that site last year.


As you get further north on Kawnipi you kind of run out of nicer campsites. I’m having the same dilemma since I want to stay in falls chain. Then move north hopefully depending on weather far north on Kawnipi the next day.


We stayed in the Narrows south of the fast water coming out at Russsell coming from Stanton Bay and that was a pretty long first day. I single portaged and that was 18 miles that day by the Garmin track. It’s doable though especially if you mean the narrow at the north end of Sturgeon. Obviously weather always gets the final say in what’s possible and not possible.


Ryan"

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply!

I was actually thinking of the narrows by where Russell flows out into Sturgeon.

If needed we could stay on the north end of sturgeon

Banksiana: "There is a nice, dramatic (elevated with different tiers of level ground) site on the north end of Kawnipi on the north shore of the northern narrows leading to the bay that holds the portage to Montgomery. Camp better suited to smaller group. The dramatic nature of the site does mean that solid toilet duties require a bit of a scramble."

We will have four so this site could work. Or the Montgomery one mentioned below.


Have any experience with the island site near Rose Island?
We may have some real big wind a few days so looking into some protected areas and that area looked decent.

I believe there are four or five island sites around Rose Island. Where are you considering?

I’d lean towards the Montgomery site with the pictograph. Had meant to stay in this site but we ended up in the narrows one on the north end of Kawnipi I have rated as a 3* site. We didn’t love that campsite but some people really like it.

Ryan

sns: "I believe there are four or five island sites around Rose Island. Where are you considering?"

South of the island. Right near the channel. There appears to be a nice island site right by channel.

I'm still not positive which one you mean, but best guess is the middle-south one, rather than either of the two to the SW. About a km west of what I'd call the main channel of the lake.

If so, have not stayed there but can provide a photo from last year when we paddled by.

I would camp the last day at the north end of Sturgeon. There are a few good sites there and it is five hours to Stanton from there but allow for 7 or 8 hours if you have a pick up scheduled. You can have a nice long lunch or lay on a rock if you are ahead of schedule and if Pickerel is rough you have time to get across as safely as possible.

Johnh: "I would camp the last day at the north end of Sturgeon. There are a few good sites there and it is five hours to Stanton from there but allow for 7 or 8 hours if you have a pick up scheduled. You can have a nice long lunch or lay on a rock if you are ahead of schedule and if Pickerel is rough you have time to get across as safely as possible."

Thanks for this! Had a very rough paddle across pickerel to Stanton today for the pickup. Big SSE wind

I am glad you made it. That crossing always looms as a potential difficulty on the last day heading to Stanton. We also had a SSE wind last month when we were coming out. There is a lot of potential for big waves on Pickerel.