BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
July 16 2025
Entry Point 37 - Kawishiwi Lake
Number of Permits per Day: 7
Elevation: 1653 feet
Latitude: 47.8390
Longitude: -91.1036
Kawishiwi Lake - 37
EP 37 to Malberg
Entry Date:
July 10, 2025
Entry Point:
Kawishiwi Lake
Number of Days:
5
Group Size:
2
Arrived to Kawishiwi lake and were paddling by noon. It’s a fairly quick paddle across Kawishiwi lake. Several campsites if interested in easy but remote area for families with kids. Saw several here doing just that. Takes about 45 - 60 minutes, for good paddlers, to get from entry to NE side of square lake where the channel to kawaschwong begins. Awesome paddle down the creek connecting square and kawaschwong. Several beaver dams (a few of which you’ll need to portage across, but not overly difficult) and beautiful scenery. From there it’s time for your first test. The portages from kawaschwong to Polly are the real deal. Be prepared to work hard and make the hike. 1/2 mile and 1/4 mile back to back. We took about 2.5 hours to get into Polly from NE corner of square lake. From there we continued across Polly and into Koma lake. Three more portages in short order after the front side of Polly really makes this trip a tough one. This took us around another hour or so. There seemed to be several good campsites on Polly but we didn’t actually stop at any to visit or scout on the way out. We stopped for a bit to eat and cool off and then got back to it so we could be to Malberg on the first day. Easy portage between Malberg and Koma. Stunning views on a clear day from waterfalls heading into Malberg. Got to our campsite on Malberg around 6pm Thursday after a little searching for what was easily the best site on the lake. (#1051) Set up camp and took it easy from there. This is a difficult trip in my opinion for those without experience and navigation capabilities to cover in one day but definitely worth the trip. Of all the BWCA trips we have done, this one was the most secluded and peaceful.
Took day trips to fishdance lake, Malberg/Koma falls, and explored the entirety of Malberg over the next three days. Portages to fishdance are a little tricky and there are TWO portages from river lake to fishdance. The second is around a small point close to the rapids/beaver dam. The second is the actual portage. Don’t miss it!
3 good sites in our opinion on Malberg and one 5 star. A few you could take if they weren’t available. Good fishing and absolutely gorgeous area. Highly recommend this trip if you’re willing to do the work of getting to Malberg.
Day trip out on the 5th morning of our trip. Started at 7:00am and were back to EP 37 shortly after noon but admittedly we took minimal breaks as we had a schedule to keep.
Amazing trip. If you like a quieter BWCA experience then i would highly recommend this route. 
