BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
November 01 2026
Entry Point 12 - Little Vermilion Lake
Little Vermilion Lake (Crane Lake) entry point allows overnight paddle or motor (Unlimited max). This entry point is supported by La Croix Ranger Station near the city of Cook, MN. The distance from ranger station to entry point is 45 miles. Enter from Crane Lake. Note: Not the entry point to use for Trout Lake (#1)
Number of Permits per Day: 6
Elevation: 1150 feet
Latitude: 48.2995
Longitude: -92.4268
Little Vermilion Lake - 12
Number of Permits per Day: 6
Elevation: 1150 feet
Latitude: 48.2995
Longitude: -92.4268
Little Vermilion Lake - 12
Horse/Friday Bay/Fourtown Loop
by campNgirl
Trip Report
Entry Date:
June 04, 2013
Entry Point:
Mudro Lake (restricted--no camping on Horse Lake)
Number of Days:
7
Group Size:
2
Trip Introduction:
I've been planning trips for 9 years and have taken on a new
canoe partner just 3 years ago. He's done amazingly well as my
stern paddler and has allowed me to challenge ourselves with
distance a little more.
Day 3 of 7
Tuesday, June 17, 2025 MARK: After last nights miserable thunderstorm that lasted over 4 hours. We woke up to a very wet camp. Fire was hard to keep going so we had oatmeal and peanut butter/honey wraps with coffee and tea. We left camp at 8:30 am packed up and headed back toward the Basswood River. We had a kind of easy travel day going from the pictographs to just below Upper Basswood Falls. We set up camp around 2pm. Lily and I went fishing for about a hour and a half. It was windy, however Lily caught 2 small mouth bass and a big pike. Montana cleaned then and we had dried beef and brown gravy with fresh fish for dinner. It is now nearing 8pm. I just did dishes and set up our tent. Montana and Lily are out fishing now. The water looks like a mirror. Lily and Montana returned to camp. Lily caught 2 pike, a walleye, and a nice small mouth. A bald eagle has been sitting in a tree across the water from camp for over an hour. The eagle is in Canada and we are in the USA with a beautiful view of the Basswood River.
LILY: We didn't get wet from last nights storm which was good! Sleep decent. Dad scared the crap out of me because he woke up a readjusted and I thought it was an animal outside of the tent. He said that I did the same to him. I had tea, pb+honey wrap, and oatmeal for breakfast. Wasn't my favorite. It took like 2 hours to pack up camp and leave. We left around 8:30am and slowly headed back toward Fall Lake. Had 3 decent portages today. They weren't to bad. We have our camp today set up across from our last portage of the day which is right beside a waterfall and like 10 minutes from our next portage in the morning which is the "1 miler" from hell. Once we got some stuff done at camp me and Dad headed out to fish near camp. I caught 2 small mouth and a pike. After I caught the first 2 i strung them to keep for dinner. A big pike kept coming up and eating on them and trying to pull them down. It was crazy watching pike attack them. We had the fish and dried beef and gravy for dinner. The fish was good, the beef and gravy...not so much. Super salty. After dinner me and Montana went back out and fished some more. A pike snapped my line on the second cast. :(
MONTANA: At a slower pace on the way out. More enjoyable. The only one who has but any thing on the table it the youngest and a women. I am not telling that story when I get home. After four days I am ready to STAY!
Day 8 of 7
Wednesday, June 05, 2013 The Table Rock campsite didn't have the greatest selection of tent pads however the 2 we found offered very soft sleeping arrangements. After a great nights sleep we woke to another beautiful day with glassy waters. We enjoy a leisurely breakfast, pack and head off to Friday Bay. A nice day of paddling without any portages. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday Bays offered great paddling and we were thankful for such fantastic weather. We camp on the north/western most island campsite. I had read good things about this site but was not impressed as we approached. Still tired from our previous day's paddling we decide to make this home and trust the reviews. After exploring/cleaning up the site from previous BW pigs we had ourselves a fantastic campsite. We enjoyed the trails on this site as well as everything else. Many suitable tent pads, we choose the 2 with the best views. We made a good choice on pushing for this site and were rewarded. This will be a 2 day lay over. 
Day 12 of 7
Thursday, June 06, 2013 A lazy morning and a lazy day, not a bug in site. We enjoy doing just about nothing and take in all that we can. I was greeted in the afternoon by some rude canoeists. People should remember that their voices carry on the water and maybe leave their cocky/mean attitudes in the city. While relaxing on the shoreline I overhear a couple passing canoes who happen to have some choice words for my canoe party. Funny thing is they don't even know me. lol Our second evening out we both had a real treat, the Northern Lights. In all my years I have never seen them, it was a fantastic light show and a late night. 
Day 15 of 7
Friday, June 07, 2013 Today our plan is to head south and stay on Fairy Lake. Again we wake to near glassy waters, if anything we happen to have a tail wind. We paddle south through Pappose, Niki, Wagosh and then hit one mother of a portage. I enjoy portaging however this one tested my belief. At 328 rods and double portaging we end up hiking a good 3 miles. It wasn't a difficult portage but long. After this one we were ready for camp on Fairy. Through Gun Lake and into Fairy we went. There are 2 camps on Fairy one did not look so great and the second was taken. We opted to leave Fairy and carry on to Boot. Boot seemed like a nice lake but at this point in our voyage we took the lazy route and decided to push on to Fourtown and spend our last 3 nights there. 
Day 17 of 5
Saturday, June 08, 2013 Exhausted we puledl into our site on Fourtown quite late. The southern portion of the lake on the eastern shore hasa set of 3 sites, we took the middle site as all others were occupied. After spending the previous nights in relative seclusion we were disappointed by all the traffic but on such a lake it's to be expected. The moment we hit shore we were attacked by mosquitoes. What a miserable welcome to an exhausted duo. We hit the sack tired and hungry but not willing to sit with the bugs. 
Day 20 of 5
Sunday, June 09, 2013 We wake to a beautiful sun shine day. The weather our entire trip has been fantastic. Slightly over cast and in the 70's. Today is warmer with lots of sun. No skeeters when we wake, seems it's a night time bonus. We make our camp a home and set ourselves up for a lazy day. We paddle to what I believe are the remains of an old resort and enjoy the day hiking the site. A great day. We hiked to the top of the highest point we could find and were treated to a beautiful view of Fourtown. 
Day 22 of 5
Monday, June 10, 2013 We wake early after a wet night. Turns out I need a new tent, guess mine has seen better days. The waters are glassy again, as if to say it's a travel day. Fourtown to Mudro is uneventful however I have a strong dislike for the final portage from Fourtown into Mudro. It was an amazing trip with out of this word fantastic weather. My plans to head north on the Horse to take advantage of the current and head south on the lakes was a great idea. We found out after our trip of the drowning on Basswood. That explains the helicopter traffic we heard while on Friday bay. My heart goes out to the family. It was a good reminder for me about complacency. I consider myself a safe canoeist however I admit I toyed with running some of the rapids, thank God I listened to my gut. The waters are a force that need to be respected. Travel safe and have fun. 
I'm already dreaming of my next trip.
I'm already dreaming of my next trip.
discuss this trip report (8 comments) - last post on June 17, 2014