BWCA Entry Point, Route, and Trip Report Blog
July 13 2025
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!
2 weeks of Freedom
by Chilly
Trip Report
Entry Date:
May 14, 2011
Entry Point:
Moose Lake
Exit Point:
Snowbank Lake (27)
Number of Days:
15
Group Size:
2
Trip Introduction:
Day 1 of 15
Saturday, May 14, 2011 
Day 2 of 15
Sunday, May 15, 2011 
Day 3 of 15
Monday, May 16, 2011 
Day 1 of 7
Tuesday, May 17, 2011 
Day 1 of 7
Wednesday, May 18, 2011 
Day 2 of 7
Thursday, May 19, 2011 
Day 5 of 7
Woke up with my arms numb. Turns out the tent pad wasn't as flat as I'd initially thought, and all the blood was in my upper body. Outside a duck quacked right next to the tent. I took that as my cue to get up. Fished a little right off the site, and caught a couple of smallmouth. One had some of the most handsome color I'd ever seen. We broke camp and set off toward Ogish. The portage from Jasper to Kingfisher is short and easy, with a wide sandy landing at each end. After a short paddle down Kingfisher we portaged to Ogish. I nearly lost the canoe at the top of the portage when the wind caught the bow and whipped it away from me. The put in from the portage was murder, at the top of a rapids into a howling wind. It was very tough going. Another group of young guys were paddling steady with us most of the way, and I was glad to see we were all struggling. The lake looked more like a river. With some difficulty we made it to the open section on the southwest end of the lake, only to find it boiling with whitecaps. I wasn't interested in capsizing, not to mention we were bone tired of fighting the wind. Canoe trips are supposed to be fun, right? The fire spared most of Ogish, with tree cover returning about a third of the way down the lake. The trees were in good shape from there west on our route. We made camp just before it started to pour rain again. Ate a little, hung the food pack. It was around that time, staring up into trees in the cold rain, with it running down my face and into the back of my jacket that I decided bear canisters would be an excellent investment. We called it a night.
Day 2 of 7
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Day 3 of 7
Sunday, May 22, 2011 
Day 7 of 7
Monday, May 23, 2011
Day 8 of 7
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 
Day 9 of 7
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 
Day 11 of 7
Thursday, May 26, 2011 
Day 13 of 7
Friday, May 27, 2011 
Day 17 of 7
Saturday, May 28, 2011 
Before I could ask, Smitty's answered the only question I had after 2 weeks by saying "Well, the Twins still suck"
Before I could ask, Smitty's answered the only question I had after 2 weeks by saying "Well, the Twins still suck"
discuss this trip report (4 comments) - last post on March 17, 2010