Hey all!

I have never been to the "Q" before and looking at a possible trip next summer. I love culture and history and just wondering which pictographs you would recommend if you were planning a trip next summer. Thanks all!

You want to see the most? Or the best?

I would like to see the best and if they are relatively close together open to multiple sites. Thanks!

My favorite site is on the east shore of Darkwater Lake. Those at Warrior Hill are wonderful, too. Agnes has pictographs that are less spectacular, but there are many of them located at several sites. The Basswood River site is very nice.

We started one year at Warrior Hill, travelled through Argo to Darkwater, meandered across Brent, and made our way South and east along the Basswood River to exit the Q at Prairie Portage. We saw lots of pictographs.

The Darkwater pictos are pretty clear as far as pictographs go. There are some pretty faint pictos on Agnes as well. Quite a few others around as well, of course.

Any preference on entry points, length of trip or anything else? That can help dictate which pictos people recommend.

The best ones I have seen there are on the west wall of the Basswood River in the narrower section about a half hour below Lower Basswood Falls and on the rock wall at the SW shore of Darky Lake. Both are best seen from a canoe and are not high up. I was not impressed by the faint ones on Agnes and Quetico Lakes.

I'll second Darkwater as perhaps the nicest pictos I've seen. I also like the petroglyphs (rock carvings) on Agnes as they are so unique. There is speculation that they are depicting barren ground caribou, which is very cool to think about.

Many of the major sites have been mentioned in the comments above. One additional lake that has several is Quetico Lake. There are several individual pitcos spread along the lake along with the mural pictured below.

dd

I'm with dd on this - Quetico Lake - 3 (or 4?) sites along one stretch. And a great corner of the Q for lots of reasons.

The two best (in my opinion) are already mentioned: Darky and Quetico Lake.

The ones on Quetico Lake could be accessed on a daytrip. Very easy to get to with tons of camps in the area. Darky is a little trickier, either accessed via a fun (and expensive) tow across LLC or via long paddle from PP.

In terms of a "group" of pictos, a loop through Shade, Agnes, Keewatin, Payne, and Trant would let you see many different ones. None are as impressive as those on Darky or Quetico, but combined they are pretty cool.

The largest and one of the best sites is on LLC north of Warrior Hill. If you take the tow from Crane, your driver will take you to them if you ask.

Other top sites are the two locations on Darky and the Basswood River below Lower Basswood Falls. A nice remote quest is Montgomery.

Side note... Does anyone know where I can find information on the history of the pictographs? Who made them and when?

Google them. There’s books out there. Truth is, no one knows for sure. They might have been done by space aliens.

Vega: "Side note... Does anyone know where I can find information on the history of the pictographs? Who made them and when? "

This book magic on the rocks. Not the Q but bwca

Thanks all! I appreciate the collective wisdom! It gives me a few solid options for the summer. Again, thanks so much!

Friends of Quetico have a "store" on line and most items are available at least at PP ranger station, I think all. A nice publication on the pictographs of Quetico, among other publications.

Not the Q, but if you are traveling up via Michigan and the Soo, you may want to stop at the Agawa Rock:
Agawa Rock is a sacred site. Please respect and preserve the pictographs. Do not touch the paintings.
!!Caution is advised when venturing onto this rock ledge due to its slope and the unpredictable nature of Lake Superior and its wave action!!
Agawa Rock Pictographs Trail
Length: 0.5 km (0.3 mi) loop
Hiking Time: ½ - 1 hour
Difficulty: Moderate, with steep rocky sections.
Note: The pictographs can only be viewed when Lake Superior is calm.
Open: May 18 to September 21, 2018

We try to bring new people to Quetico every year and if at all possible we make this stop as an introduction. Fascinating place.