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March 18 2024

Entry Point 35 - Isabella Lake

Isabella Lake entry point allows overnight paddle only. This entry point is supported by Tofte Ranger Station near the city of Isabella, MN. The distance from ranger station to entry point is 21 miles. Access is a 35-rod portage to Isabella Lake.

Number of Permits per Day: 2
Elevation: 1595 feet
Latitude: 47.8009
Longitude: -91.3034
Isabella Lake - 35

Isabella Lake via Isabella River to Little Gabbro Lake

by pmomalley
Trip Report

Entry Date: August 28, 2017
Entry Point: Isabella Lake
Exit Point: Little Gabbro Lake (33)
Number of Days: 6
Group Size: 2

Trip Introduction:
It was a 5 night / 6 day trip.

Day 1 of 6


Monday, August 28, 2017

We stayed at Lake Isabella the first night. That was nice. Pretty easy portage to get into the lake. Most of the lake has burnt out trees but the sites are pretty good. We had a very nice site on the far side of the lake, the farthest to the right of the portage I think. 

 



Day 2 of 6


Tuesday, August 29, 2017

On Tuesday we make our way to Quadga Lake. We were going to stay at Rice Lake but were told there's no way to get there as it's full of rice! Weird. 

It's a bit of a hike to Quadga. It took us 7.5 hours. I would not recommend going to Quadga. There are only 2 legit sites there. Completely burnt out there.  If we had to do over, we would skip Quadga and stay at a very nice campsite on the river. It's probably 30-60 minutes downriver from Quadga. The problem is there's not many sites on the river. That one after Quadga was really the only good one we saw.  If you're going to go from Isabella to Bald Eagle, give yourself enough time. 

The portage to get out of Quadga is quite a bit down there. It's really hard to see because everything looks the same with the burnout trees. Get close to the coast and you'll eventually find it. :) 

 



Day 3 of 6


Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Had a nice trip to Bald Eagle. Stayed at the second camp site there. It was super nice. The first one is kinda on the river that is going into the lake. If you can make it, and it's open, the second camp site is really nice.

 



Day 4 of 6


Thursday, August 31, 2017

Went to the other end of Bald Eagle and stayed at the one camp site closest to the point going into Little Gabbro. It was very nice. Has a great look over the lake and no mosquitoes and it's on a bluff and is windy. Tent setup is OK. We stayed there two nights. It was especially nice not to have bugs.

 



Day 5 of 6


Friday, September 01, 2017

Same site...

 



Day 6 of 6


Saturday, September 02, 2017

Took us 2 and 1/2 hours to get to the Little Gabbro portage. Against the wind the whole time. It was a hard paddle. Not sure if the wind blows that way often. If so, give yourself enough time to get to that portage.  It's a long, long portage... 200 Rods. Not too steep though.

 


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