BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
March 10 2026
Entry Point 30 - Lake One
Lake One entry point allows overnight paddle only. This entry point is supported by Kawishiwi Ranger Station near the city of Ely, MN. The distance from ranger station to entry point is 21 miles. Access is a canoe landing at Lake One.
Number of Permits per Day: 13
Elevation: 1230 feet
Latitude: 47.9391
Longitude: -91.4792
My son Remy and I, and my friend Keith and his son Charlie put our canoes into Lake one at 9:30 Monday morning after dropping off a car at the Snowbank Lake landing. Lake One can be tricky to navigate. On our way to Lake Two we turned East too early and ended up paddling about a mile out of our way into a dead-end bay before we realized our mistake. We blamed the fact that Lake One was split between Fisher Maps #10 and #4 for our error. If the entire lake had been visible at once on a single map, we would not have made the wrong turn. Once we got back on course we portaged the 30 rods into a pond and then portaged the 40 rods into Lake Two. The weather was nice, and there was a bit of a tail wind out of the West. We stopped for lunch on the shore of Lake Two. After lunch we canoed through the North end of Lake Three and into Lake Four. We stopped for the night at a campsite on the West shore of Lake Four, just North of the channel heading toward Hudson Lake. We had to battle swarms of mosquitoes as we set up the tents. We then had a nice refreshing swim. Because we had brought steaks along for the first night, we didn't go fishing.
On Tuesday morning we had a bacon and eggs breakfast then packed up camp and headed out in our canoes. As we canoed past our campsite, we realized that Remy & I had left our hammocks pitched between trees. We landed again and quickly packed them up. Once again we had beautiful weather. We paddled East and completed 3 short portages before entering Hudson Lake. The 105 rod portage into Lake Insula was exhausting! Lake Insula is a large gorgeous lake broken up by multiple islands and penninsulas. We had lunch at a campsite on a large island just East of Hudson Lake. It felt like we had a tail wind as we were heading East, and then as we turned North it seemed like the wind shifted and was at our backs once again. We navigated Lake Insula flawlessly and camped for the night on the island just West of Williamson Island. After setting up the tents and a refreshing swim, Remy & I got back into the canoe and tried to catch some fish. We had no luck! At 9PM that night, just as we were going to bed, a thunderstorm rolled through. That night I was awakened several times by the loud croaking of bullfrogs from the shallows around our island. What noisy neighbors!
By Wednesday morning the weather had cleared, but the wind was now coming from the Northwest, pretty much in our faces. We paddled to the North end of Lake Insula and tackled the largest portage of our trip. The 180 rod walk to Kiana Lake actually seemed easier than the 105 rod carry into Lake Insula. We headed onward into Thomas Lake where we really started feeling the headwind. We finally made it to the campsite just Northeast of the portage into Thomas Pond in time for lunch. After lunch we proceeded across Thomas Pond and into Thomas Creek after hiking across the famous Kekekabic Trail. We managed to easily run the rapids in Thomas Creek and avoid the 2 short portages. We camped for the night on Hatchet Lake at the northern campsite. It was cool and windy, so we didn't swim. There was lots of threatening weather going by to the North of us, but we stayed dry. After supper we canoed back to Thomas Creek to fish and look for moose. No luck on either count, but we did see a beaver swimmming.
The weather was nice again Thursday morning, but the wind was out of the West which was the direction we were heading. We portaged into Ima Lake and canoed across it. Before portaging into Jordan Lake, we watched a bald eagle sitting in a tree get harrassed repeatedly by a seagull. The narrow channel leading into Jordan Lake is quite beautiful. It is narrow like a river with big rock outcroppings. We paddled across Jordan, Cattyman, Adventure, and Jitterbug Lakes. We found the Eastern campsite on Ahsub Lake taken, so we camped at the Western campsite which had a great place for swimming in front of it. There was a very brave loon in front of the campsite who didn't seem to mind if we got close to it. We tried our luck at fishing, but only caught 1 smallmouth which was too small to eat. Between 5:00 and 7:30 that evening we saw a number of canoes heading across Ahsub Lake from Disappointment Lake to Jitterbug Lake. We weren't sure where they were planning to camp, but it was getting late.
On Friday we awoke again to good weather. We paddled the length of Disappointment Lake and portaged into to Parent Lake and then on to Snowbank Lake. It was July 4th, and as we entered Snowbank Lake the sounfd of firecrackers reminded us we weren't in the wilderness anaymore. After a brief splash war on our way across Snowbank, we made it to the landing and our car was still there. What a great trip!
Number of Permits per Day: 13
Elevation: 1230 feet
Latitude: 47.9391
Longitude: -91.4792
My son Remy and I, and my friend Keith and his son Charlie put our canoes into Lake one at 9:30 Monday morning after dropping off a car at the Snowbank Lake landing. Lake One can be tricky to navigate. On our way to Lake Two we turned East too early and ended up paddling about a mile out of our way into a dead-end bay before we realized our mistake. We blamed the fact that Lake One was split between Fisher Maps #10 and #4 for our error. If the entire lake had been visible at once on a single map, we would not have made the wrong turn. Once we got back on course we portaged the 30 rods into a pond and then portaged the 40 rods into Lake Two. The weather was nice, and there was a bit of a tail wind out of the West. We stopped for lunch on the shore of Lake Two. After lunch we canoed through the North end of Lake Three and into Lake Four. We stopped for the night at a campsite on the West shore of Lake Four, just North of the channel heading toward Hudson Lake. We had to battle swarms of mosquitoes as we set up the tents. We then had a nice refreshing swim. Because we had brought steaks along for the first night, we didn't go fishing.
On Tuesday morning we had a bacon and eggs breakfast then packed up camp and headed out in our canoes. As we canoed past our campsite, we realized that Remy & I had left our hammocks pitched between trees. We landed again and quickly packed them up. Once again we had beautiful weather. We paddled East and completed 3 short portages before entering Hudson Lake. The 105 rod portage into Lake Insula was exhausting! Lake Insula is a large gorgeous lake broken up by multiple islands and penninsulas. We had lunch at a campsite on a large island just East of Hudson Lake. It felt like we had a tail wind as we were heading East, and then as we turned North it seemed like the wind shifted and was at our backs once again. We navigated Lake Insula flawlessly and camped for the night on the island just West of Williamson Island. After setting up the tents and a refreshing swim, Remy & I got back into the canoe and tried to catch some fish. We had no luck! At 9PM that night, just as we were going to bed, a thunderstorm rolled through. That night I was awakened several times by the loud croaking of bullfrogs from the shallows around our island. What noisy neighbors!
By Wednesday morning the weather had cleared, but the wind was now coming from the Northwest, pretty much in our faces. We paddled to the North end of Lake Insula and tackled the largest portage of our trip. The 180 rod walk to Kiana Lake actually seemed easier than the 105 rod carry into Lake Insula. We headed onward into Thomas Lake where we really started feeling the headwind. We finally made it to the campsite just Northeast of the portage into Thomas Pond in time for lunch. After lunch we proceeded across Thomas Pond and into Thomas Creek after hiking across the famous Kekekabic Trail. We managed to easily run the rapids in Thomas Creek and avoid the 2 short portages. We camped for the night on Hatchet Lake at the northern campsite. It was cool and windy, so we didn't swim. There was lots of threatening weather going by to the North of us, but we stayed dry. After supper we canoed back to Thomas Creek to fish and look for moose. No luck on either count, but we did see a beaver swimmming.
The weather was nice again Thursday morning, but the wind was out of the West which was the direction we were heading. We portaged into Ima Lake and canoed across it. Before portaging into Jordan Lake, we watched a bald eagle sitting in a tree get harrassed repeatedly by a seagull. The narrow channel leading into Jordan Lake is quite beautiful. It is narrow like a river with big rock outcroppings. We paddled across Jordan, Cattyman, Adventure, and Jitterbug Lakes. We found the Eastern campsite on Ahsub Lake taken, so we camped at the Western campsite which had a great place for swimming in front of it. There was a very brave loon in front of the campsite who didn't seem to mind if we got close to it. We tried our luck at fishing, but only caught 1 smallmouth which was too small to eat. Between 5:00 and 7:30 that evening we saw a number of canoes heading across Ahsub Lake from Disappointment Lake to Jitterbug Lake. We weren't sure where they were planning to camp, but it was getting late.
On Friday we awoke again to good weather. We paddled the length of Disappointment Lake and portaged into to Parent Lake and then on to Snowbank Lake. It was July 4th, and as we entered Snowbank Lake the sounfd of firecrackers reminded us we weren't in the wilderness anaymore. After a brief splash war on our way across Snowbank, we made it to the landing and our car was still there. What a great trip!
EP 37 to Koma/Malberg
by RoJoYo
Trip Report
Entry Date:
May 11, 2009
Entry Point:
Kawishiwi Lake
Number of Days:
7
Group Size:
5
Trip Introduction:
Earliest venture into the Bdub for me and I expected almost anything and wasn't disappointed.
Part 1 of 9
Flew into Rochester, MN with my buddy Adam to hook up with my son and two of his co-workers for our venture into the BWCA. Although it's my third trip into the Bdub it is by far my earliest entry...May 11 through May 17. My son John has hiked the SHT and had one excursion into the Bdub. His two buddies, John and Lourens both have Bdub and north woods experience. For Adam it's his first venture. [paragraph break] After the 370 miles trek from Rochester we arrive at EP 37 and set out for Polly Lake. The paddle and portage in is pretty much uneventful and we take up residence on the north end of Polly Lake.
Part 2 of 9
Our campsite on Polly is located on a bluff overlooking the lake. It accomodated all three tents but wasn't the most comfortable campsite I've ever used. On Tuesday we got up to steady showers...nothing hard or windy...just showers. John and John went fishing and had some considerable luck with some nice smallies, one walleye and some small northerns.[paragraph break]It was sure enjoyable to be waking up in the Bdub once again....the air was so clean and our breafast of steak and eggs and starbucks was extra tasty.
Part 3 of 9
Wednesday started out pretty much like Tuesday....well, maybe a bit worse. But the good news is that the fishing was very enjoyable. About mid-afternoon, since the weather cleared nicely, we decided to head north into Koma. It was a great day to pack up and travel.[paragraph break]John and Lourens were paddling John's aluminum canoe...one that he got for his high school graduation. The ol girl has served him well. On one of the portages they decided to run the rapids and that canoe really served them well. Having Kevlar rentals, the rest of us portaged ours.[paragraph break]The campsite on Koma was excellent and although one fella had told me that Koma wasn't a very pretty lake...in my humble opinion it was an outstanding lake.
Part 4 of 9
On Thursday morning we were greeted with snow. The snow started around five in the morning and continued off and on throughout the morning. We all enjoyed a hearty breakfast and we hunkered down around the fire to wait out the snow...all except my son John who just had to get out and fish.[paragraph break]The day cleared in the afternoon and the contrast from the morning snow was a real treat.
Part 5 of 9
Friday morning the wind really kicked up and Koma had some considerable whitecaps...but still, all in all, it was a beautiful morning in the Bdub. We ventured through the high winds on Koma and made our way to Malberg to fish the rapids at the end of the portage from Koma into Malberg.....it is a spectacular setting. We caught quite a few northerns and even more smallies...but no walleyes.
Part 6 of 9
The forest around our campsite on Koma was very thick. I saw alot of woodpeckers...one pileated. Warblers were all over the place eating alot of newly hatching bugs. There was also an abundant supply of firewood.[paragraph break]On Saturday morning we again woke to snow on what was going to be our last full day in the BWCA.
Part 7 of 9
Breakfast on Saturday morning was cooked and eaten with snow falling once again. Snow accumulated in a number of different places but it wasn't an aggravation at all...as a matter of fact it was the first time that this Kentucky boy ever made and threw a snow ball on May 16th.[paragraph break]Adam and my son John paddled over once again to Malberg fish and John was rewarded with a four and a half pound smallie....it would be the second time we had fish for dinner. I was amazed at how much meat we got off that one smallie...it was really good size.
Part 8 of 9
Sunday morning we awoke to an absolutely stunning morning. Beautiful sunrise...dead calm...water as smooth as glass and the birds were singing their hearts out.[paragraph break] We ate our last morning in the Bdub...country ham and biscuits...packed up our camp site and we were off for the paddle and portage from Koma back to Kawishiwi at EP 37.
Part 9 of 9
Sunday turned out to be a perfect travel day. Thankfully we didn't have some of the bad weather that we had had earlier in the week. I did something on the push out that I had never done in the Bdub before. Having run out of water in my Nalgene and not want to stop and filter more, I dipped down deep in the middle of Kawaschong Lake and filled my Nalgene. I drank the whole thing and thankfully there were no ill effects. I know it sure tasted great.[paragraph break]It took us just about six hours to the EP and I have to admit...I was worn out. We took our rentals back to Tofte and made our way to a local eatery and then headed back to Rochester.[paragraph break]Suffice it to say we all had a great time...esp. with no bugs!!!