My wife and I are planning a June 2019 trip with our 10 year old son and 6 year old daughter, neither have been to the BWCA but have been on many hiking, backpacking, and camping trips. My wife and I like to take harder routes and go for isolation on trips but not with the kids on their 1st trip. We will be going for 4-5 days with a Monday entry from the Ely side.

I am looking at a few different routes, would love some feedback or alternate suggestions:

1) EP27 Snowbank Lake to Disappointment Lake - base-camp on Disappointment with day trips to side lakes. My biggest concern is trying to find a campsite on Disappointment, from what I have read you can often not find a single open site, after that options are limited traveling with kids.

2) EP23 Mudro Lake to Horse Lake - base-camp on Horse Lake and possibly split with some time on Fourtown Lake. Create a loop going in on Tin Can Mike Lake and out through Fourtown Lake.

3) Kawishiwi Triangle Area - I have never explored this area but heard many good things. Are there some good options for EP/Routes with kids?

4) Any other recommendations? I'd like to keep the paddling short or at least avoid large lake crossings, portages aren't too big an issue as we pack light. Kids will want to swim, fish, & explore rather than spend all day traveling to a location. No way to avoid the crowds with this methodology, just want to be able to find a campsite without too many issues.

Also I should note we will have our daughter in the canoe with us and my son will be in his kayak.

I like option #2, you could day trip to Basswood Falls from Horse. There are also small loops that you could make if you don't want to base camp. In June sometimes the black flies are still around.

aruthenb: "3) Kawishiwi Triangle Area - I have never explored this area but heard many good things. Are there some good options for EP/Routes with kids?"

This whole area can be explored in a long weekend. Having 4-5 days to do so would make it even more kid friendly.

I think you are on the right track. I would be concerned about your son soloing in a kayak if the wind/waves come up. Are you able to have him jump in your canoe and tow the kayak if needed?

AmarilloJim: "I think you are on the right track. I would be concerned about your son soloing in a kayak if the wind/waves come up. Are you able to have him jump in your canoe and tow the kayak if needed?"

Thanks for the concern, yes he would be able to jump in and sit on a portage pack if required. He has been solo kayaking for 3 years now, we live in South Carolina so luckily he gets year round experience with us!

Remember that June is prime mosquito and tick season. That makes portaging a tad more challenging, or a lot more challenging. Depending on when in June you go the water can still be quite cold.
Two other options: Lakes One, Two, etc. The portages are extremely short and flat. There are also an abundance of campsites on the lakes with lots of area and other lakes to explore. My first trips with my kids when they were little was to Lake One. They liked hanging out and exploring way more than the paddle and portage aspect of the trip. We stayed on Lake One the first two years, which meant a short paddle and then just explored other lakes and streams from there. Loved those trips.
You could do the same thing on Slim Lake. A short and flat portage to the lake with a very easy paddle to a campsite and then a few adjacent lakes to explore.
Good luck wherever you go. Bring bug spray!

The Kawishiwi Triangle would be my first recomendation of your list for canoe travel. That said, if hiking is high on everyone's list (based on the kids list of past experience) Snowbank and Disappointment have easy access to good hiking trails.

I have taken my 10 and 9 year old sons a couple times. They love going in 23 Horse River up through LBF then back through the small lakes out of Crooked Lake Friday Bay. With being your first trip and with a young son I am assuming you will all double portage.
Note:
My sons are very fit and have a high capacity for pain, I stretched them mentally on the trip. That being said I will tell you that if you make it to the top bottom side of LBF you will be doing well. Both of our trips we camped on either the second or third sight past the falls.

If you backpack with them they will love this...we also do a fair bit of backpacking. They should be up for the trip. There are two wonderful sights in Friday Bay. The little island site is not much to brag about though. The granite sight and what we call the deep cliff site are great for us. The "Granite Cliff" site has more shelter in the event of a storm. I can tell you more on the trip if you PM me.

Consider going in Lake 1 EP and go south instead... Less traffic, wind not a factor.

dr bob

There’s a couple of nice sites on Clear Lake in the Kawish triangle. I took my girls when they were quite young. Also, some nice sites on the river. Breaking it up makes it more of a trip. It’s a nice way to start. Bugs will likely be an issue wherever you go.

The winds can be a serious issue crossing Snowbank to Disappointment.

Kawishiwi triangle seems like a good choice. No big open water, lots of variety, easy to extend to Gabbros if you are so inclined. Easy portage's also.

Snowbank can be rough if wind kicks up and you're in Disappointment pretty quick. And it does fill up.

I've done all 3 of those areas... Snowbank w a group, Mudro and Kawishiwi Triangle solo.

I've done many trips with each of my daughters and if I was given those 3 options for taking them on a trip my choice would be
1. Kawishiwi Triangle..... you can get to this area from multiple E.P. s
or
2. Mudro
Snowbank wouldn't even get a consideration. The small water request in your o.p. takes this one out and Snowbank can be very nasty on a windy day. Also, Snowbank is one of the only areas that I've been to that I do not have a desire to repeat.

I've never done it, but I believe some have used Slim Lake entry; you might want to look into a little.

Thank you everyone for the great advice and experiences!

We are planning to head into the Kawishiwi triangle area based on all the feedback. It seems best for exploring and staying off big lakes. We probably won't travel the whole loop unless weather is phenomenal that week, but do plan to base camp and make lots of day trips. What is recommended for the best entry point?

EP 30 - Lake One (obviously the easiest entry with no portage but biggest crowds)
EP 31 - Farm Lake
EP 32 - South Kawishiwi
EP 33 - Little Gabbro

Thanks again everyone!!!

Here's a trip that started at Farm Lake. Trip report

TuscaroraBorealis: "Here's a trip that started at Farm Lake. Trip report "

Thanks for sharing, looks like a great option to head from Farm Lake. Very nice trip report, can't wait to explore ourselves!

I would recommend Lake One. I've done it from both Farm and Lake Lne and Farm is big enough and oriented so wind can be tough - or was the day I came out through Farm.

I have not used the other two eps. Medium portgages from Gabbros.

You could do a lot worse than basing at the island in the south end of Clear. I think you could daytrip - longday - the entire triangle from there.

I like hitting the Kawishiwi Triangle area from South Kawishiwi River EP 32. That's where I entered and exited when I did my solo trip.

Before doing my solo entering from EP 32 I had done daytrips from Lake One into the river and from EP 32. I had also done a camping trip entering at Little Gabbro.

The stretch of the river from EP 32 to the area of the Triangle near Clear lake has been a lot less busy in my experiences than Lake One to the river and Little Gabbro to the river.

A nice thing about entering at either EP32 or EP 33 is that their parking lots are only about a mile apart so if you enter at one you could easily exit at the other and then walk to get your vehicle.

Happy New Year!

Thanks everyone for all the invaluable information . After all the comments and reviewing trip reports, I think we will plan to head in at EP32 South Kawishiwi River. It is a short portage to get on the river, only two permits per day, a good selection of campsites, and lots of areas to explore.

If we have a good week of weather we will probably tackle the triangle route. If the weather is poor we will base camp and just enjoy some exploring and fishing.

Thanks again and we wish everyone the best in their 2019 trip planning!

aruthenb: "Thank you everyone for the great advice and experiences!


We are planning to head into the Kawishiwi triangle area based on all the feedback. It seems best for exploring and staying off big lakes. We probably won't travel the whole loop unless weather is phenomenal that week, but do plan to base camp and make lots of day trips. What is recommended for the best entry point?


EP 30 - Lake One (obviously the easiest entry with no portage but biggest crowds)
EP 31 - Farm Lake
EP 32 - South Kawishiwi
EP 33 - Little Gabbro


Thanks again everyone!!!"

********************************
When you reserve your permit, remember that EP 30 allows you to either paddle/camp in the Lake 1-4 etc area as well as camping on the Kawishiwi River. The #30F permit has a restriction of no camping on the river.

Just an FYI so you don't end up not being able to do the Triangle (which I think is a great idea and your kayaking son will like it too.

Hey Andrew! I remember watching your Stuart River video from your anniversary trip! I would recommend the Kawishiwi Triangle as there is lots to explore without too much portaging and most of it is nice calm water, the fishing is great too especially in June if you plan to wet a line. If you went the Horse route, you’d have the option of checking out Lower Basswood Falls, but that would be a long side trip, especially if you had to bring the kayak. There’s a few unmarked portages on the Horse River so it’s kore work than it appears on the map. I’ve never been to Disappointment so I can’t speak to that loop.

Good luck planning the trip! Let the fun begin.

Paddle On,

Tony

I took my kids when they were 6-8-10 up Little Indian Sioux North.

I highly recommend the bug suites for the kids. I didn't have them the first trip and I heard about the bugs. The second trip I had them and they loved them.

The Boundary Waters is a great place to take your kids and have a great time exploring the wilderness.

There are several great recommendations for trips above. I certainly think that Disappointment lake would be a good destination, as would the Lake One area, or Little Indian Sioux going north.

I would add a bit of caution around the kayak, and would certainly influence where I would go on a trip. Kayaks do not portage well, and depending on the type of kayak can be quite heavy. In addition, asking a ten year old to paddle and navigate the potential of high winds could be a challenge.

I don't have any really good suggestions for other alternatives not knowing your paddling experience. You could look at renting a 3 person canoe (Wenonah MN 3 or similar), and putting both your ten and six year old on the seat. But when you add gear for 4 people, that could be a really tight fit. I took my daughters when they were about the same age, and had both sit in the middle of my 18' champlaign and it worked well for us.

If you are committed to taking the kayak, i would look at areas that have minimal portages and probably try to stay with portages that are under 50 rods or so. Lake One and the kawishiwi triangle area i think would do well for you.