BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
May 05 2024
Entry Point 16 - Moose/Portage River (North of Echo Trail)
Moose/Portage River (north) entry point allows overnight paddle only. This entry point is supported by La Croix Ranger Station near the city of Ely, MN. The distance from ranger station to entry point is 27 miles. Access is a 160-rod portage heading North from the Echo Trail.
Number of Permits per Day: 5
Elevation: 1348 feet
Latitude: 48.1230
Longitude: -92.0991
A favorite route offering many trip options and memorable things to see including;
World Class fishing for all four BWCA Species
Pictographs
Soaring granite hills and cliffs
Small lakes
Small rivers
Tumbling rapids and waterfalls
Wildlife, including Moose
Vistas from high points across the region if you're willing to climb. Rating Easy to Moderate. Day One. Get to EP16 off of the Echo Trail early. The initial portage is long, but well worn and smooth, sloping gently downgrade to the launch area. Load your canoe and head North. You'll be paddling with the slight current on this narrow winding river. The water is clear and make sure to tell the bowperson to watch for looming rocks!
Number of Permits per Day: 5
Elevation: 1348 feet
Latitude: 48.1230
Longitude: -92.0991
A favorite route offering many trip options and memorable things to see including;
World Class fishing for all four BWCA Species
Pictographs
Soaring granite hills and cliffs
Small lakes
Small rivers
Tumbling rapids and waterfalls
Wildlife, including Moose
Vistas from high points across the region if you're willing to climb. Rating Easy to Moderate. Day One. Get to EP16 off of the Echo Trail early. The initial portage is long, but well worn and smooth, sloping gently downgrade to the launch area. Load your canoe and head North. You'll be paddling with the slight current on this narrow winding river. The water is clear and make sure to tell the bowperson to watch for looming rocks!
Slim Lake
by birdonbats
Trip Report
Entry Date:
September 06, 2021
Entry Point:
Slim Lake
Exit Point:
Slim Lake (6)
Number of Days:
4
Group Size:
2
Trip Introduction:
I wanted to take my son fishing for his 24th birthday.
Report
I wanted to take my son fishing for his 24th birthday. Unfortunately, I was late in reserving and there were not too many Ely entry points available to me. So I chose Slim Entry #6. I knew we would fish it hard so I figured we would be okay...right? We put in about 40 man hours of fishing and caught 24 small smallmouth. We'd never seen anything like it. Not one of decent size and not any other species. We kept and ate the largest 3 and threw the rest back. These three just were enough for one wonderful dinner. We had the entire lake to ourselves and did not see another soul the entire time...which we really liked. The lake is larger than I was expecting and actually very pretty. We stayed at campsite #2 and while the view is great, the site could use a few more logs around to sit on and set things on. Saw loons and beavers swim in front of us several times. We set up our tent in one of the pads deeper in the woods and then we looked up and decided if there was some strong wind, that dead tree could potentially fall on us, so we decided to play it safe and move to a different pad. Good thing we did. It stormed in the middle of the night and the tree came crashing down. A large branch would have certainly damaged the tent and certainly would have injured us. Phew...there's a good reminder for the rest of you to check out your sites carefully! I'm sure there is sophomoric humor in that on the back of the latrine was "#2". Ha! Our weather was sporadic and goofy. Rain when it was sunny, then nice, then stormy. All over the map. We did manage to see a beautiful full rainbow just before the deluge. I'd recommend Slim for beginners or folks who just don't want to portage. As my son said..." It was a great trip...too bad the fishing wasn't very good".
discuss this trip report (2 comments) - last post on September 18, 2021