Planning my first trip to the Boundary Waters. Looking for recommendations on routes and outfitters (just renting canoe and paddles and getting drop-off/pick-up). Not new to overnight paddles, just to the area. I'll be fishing, but the other three are going for the scenery and wildlife. Hoping my brother sees his first moose!

Thanks in advance for pointing me in the right direction!
Rick

Do you want to go out of Ely, or Grand Marais area?

I think Ely, but I'm not set in stone. I'm just beginning my research. Are the routes along Grand Marais remote or developed with housing, etc?

rickhoag2018: "I think Ely, but I'm not set in stone. I'm just beginning my research. Are the routes along Grand Marais remote or developed with housing, etc? "

There is no development of any kind in the BWCA . Both areas offer entry points that will offer solitude and beauty.

We absolutely loved our first trip into the BWCA - Mudro EP

Check out the link to read more.

we highly recommend Steve Nelson from Spirit of the Wilderness. I think he's the most outgoing of the outfitters.

VNO is another close favourite followed by Canadian Waters.

MN_Lindsey: "We absolutely loved our first trip into the BWCA - Mudro EP


Check out the link to read more.

we highly recommend Steve Nelson from Spirit of the Wilderness. I think he's the most outgoing of the outfitters.

VNO is another close favourite followed by Canadian Waters."

You can’t go wrong with mudro. So many possibilities for loop or basecamping.
Sawbill is also pretty nice for similar reasons. I did not use an outfitter at either place so I can’t comment on that but we did stay at the voyager north bunkhouse and it was nice.

rickhoag, your response to the Ely vs Grand Marais question makes me wonder if you have a clear understanding of what the BWCA is...and isn't. Once you enter the BWCA from any entry point there are absolutely no amenities or facilities, or permanent structures of any kind. Many of the lakes offer designated campsites that you must stay at and they have only a fire grate, a wilderness latrine back in the woods and usually a couple open/flat spots for tents. Ask away if you have any questions about the area, the experience, equipment, etc. There are no dumb questions.

Outfitters will drop you off and pick you up, sometimes for a charge but this is not absolutely necessary. Most of them will mount the canoe on your vehicle for you if you rent from them and you can drive directly to the entry point yourself. If you are doing a point to point trip and are entering and exiting at two different spots then you may need to be either dropped off or picked up by an outfitter. Otherwise generally not necessary unless you only have one vehicle and they cannot load both canoes on it. There are options for leaving right from an outfitters dock or shoreline if you rent from them which certainly has advantages, if you happen to like a route available from their location.

Theoretically you could see a moose anywhere in the BWCA but there are areas that seem to have a greater frequency of seeing moose and they offer routes with good scenery and fishing too. Two that come to mind are entry #39 Baker Lake and #47 Lizz Lake. Both offer pretty moderate portages and small to mid sized lakes which is also a good idea for first timers, but are known for frequent moose sightings too.

There are so many entry and trip options and many of us have our favorites for different reasons. If you can give us more info on the type of trip you want or what is important to you we may be able to better make a case to you about specific routes.

Lindylair covered a lot, but you may not yet be aware of all the special regulations, such as the requirement to have a quota permit for entry. Permits are limited and fill up quickly for some entries and dates. Permit reservations begin Jan . 30th this year.

Check the planning tab above for some information and if you have more questions then, just ask. The outfitter will be a big help with planning your first trip.

The three EP's mentioned already are good options for you.

This is fantastic. I was not expecting so many responses! I will look into the EP's you all have recommended! Lindylair, I assumed it would be pretty similar to the northern woods of Maine like the Allagash and Penobscot Rivers, but with more portages. It always seemed to me that larger lakes had a higher likelihood to get developed, and I didn't know that BCWA included Lake Superior.

The most pressing question I have right now is how quickly do those permits go? Looking to go as a group of 4 in the second week of September. If I don't look to get a permit until a month from now will I be out of luck?

rickhoag2018: "... and I didn't know that BCWA included Lake Superior."

It really doesn’t. Although some consider the Boundary Waters to include the lake region along the international border between International Falls, Ely, and Grand Portage, and to include the Quetico region of Ontario, the BWCAW is a specially regulated portion of Superior National Forest with a specific borderline as specified by law.

Some Entry points are more popular than others and can go very quickly. You can begin to reserve permits at the end of this month. To guarantee your choice it is better to reserve when the reservation period opens.

As you've seen, lots of info already. You will not see a structure or any "development" once you enter the actual BWCA. Ely and Grand Marais (and Tofte and others) are towns outside the park that offer the most services and business with the park visitors in mind and usually the last gas station, hotel, or other amenity before you get to the various park entry points. (some outfitters are on entry lakes or otherwise outside those towns too)

You said you'll be the only one fishing, what species are you most wanting to catch? A lake trout trip will likely take you to different places than a walleye trip for example. (some exceptions) Small lakes, big lakes, rivers, waterfalls, pictographs.....what else do you prefer? That will narrow down options. You can pretty much find an outfitter somewhere that will rent you canoes and help haul them to/from any entry point.

There are a lot of 5-day routes, but it depends on how far you want to travel and how you feel about long or difficult portages. There are several other entries that would have nice trips for you depending on the answers, especially if you are willing to do a shuttle (seems like you would since you were going to pay for pick-up/drop-off).

Yes, expecting to do a shuttle. We're flying in so logistically we'll be relying on the outfitters for our canoe and shuttling for pickup & drop off. Expecting to do a short portage or two, but don't want to be doing over a quarter mile.

Cyclones, thanks for bring up the pictographs! I didn't even know that was a part of BWCA. I'll be looking more into that, would be great to see them. I brought up that I'd be the only one fishing because I'd like to for a trip focused on the scenery, wildlife, and (now that I know of them) pictographs. However... if there's a couple routes that fit this and one of them happens be a killer fishing spot, that's the trip for us! I'd like to take a crack at pike. Got started on a fly rod while I lived in Colorado and would love to see one of them on the fly (know that I'll need mostly new gear... not exactly the 20" rainbows from the Rocky Mountains).

You all rock. Thanks for all the advice so far! Looking into trip reports for some of the EP's you've brought up. Very thankful that you've given me a place to start looking!

rickhoag2018: "Yes, expecting to do a shuttle. We're flying in so logistically we'll be relying on the outfitters for our canoe and shuttling for pickup & drop off. Expecting to do a short portage or two, but don't want to be doing over a quarter mile. "

Rick, it sounds like you aren't looking for a route so much as an easy entry to a lake you can basecamp on for the duration with some daytrips. The one or two short portages less than a quarter mile will limit your choices. One of the large entry lakes, possibly with a tow, would be your best option. Something like Moose Lake out of the Ely area or Saganaga/Seagull off the end of the Gunflint.

I assume you're flying into Duluth and renting a car . . . ? Ely would be closer if driving time is limited, but the drive up the North Shore of Lake Superior to Grand Marais is very nice if you have the time. It's about another hour from Grand Marais out to the end of the Gunflint Trail on Saganaga. The Sawbill Trail out of Tofte is a little shorter and Sawbill Lake would be an option. You could also enter on Brule Lake and base there.

A paddle across Poplar Lake off the Gunflint Trail and a couple of short portages will put you on Caribou Lake and another will put you on Horseshoe Lake with lots of good day trip options and a good chance of seeing moose.

A note on portaging - most of us "double portage", which means we carry everything over the portage in two loads. Typically a pair in a tandem canoe will have 4 loads - the canoe and three packs. Two are carried over, then a walk back for the other two. So you'd walk a 1/4 mile (80 rods) portage 3X.

I'm going to urge you to reconsider your views and resistance to portage's. It is simply part of the BWCAW experience. While I like to try to keep the average number of portages to maybe 5 or 6 a day, a 10 or 12 portage day doesn't deter me, though many of those will be shorter or much shorter than 1/4 mile. Limiting it to one or two inevitably will prevent you from some of the solitude many of us cherish. Also few or no portage's usually means bigger water, which is a different problem.

I didn't notice when in the season you were tripping. I avoid some entries and areas depending on when.

Look into Mudro entry point to the pictographs north of basswood falls. The portages are not that bad to Horse Lake. You could camp on Horse if you are not up to canoeing the river and getting to Basswood. A long day trip could get you to the pictographs and back to Horse. Would be a full day. I would suggest though to try and camp near basswood falls. The fishing would be much better as well. That area is very very nice.

Rick, look into the books by Robert Beymer. The top two on this page at Amazon are a great starting point for learning about routes and such. The West book covers Ely entries and the East book is more Grand Marais/Gunflint Trail.

Each book has detailed routes from each entry point.

The trip I would recommend is enter at Mudro then go north to Fourtown Lk. From there you make a loop either clockwise or counter. I went north through the Moosecamp River and camped on the west side of Moosecamp Lk. Lots of solitude here and I even got to see a bull and a cow moose. I went the third week in Sept. 2007 and the Bull was making a lot of noise calling the cow.

You then go throgh Fairy and Boot Lakes back to Fourtown and out to Mudro. This is a great route for 5 nights. I did up a trip report you can read if you decide to do this. Moose Camp Solo

So after talking to a few outfitters, I'm thinking I'll do an out and back from EP 16 and shoot for taking two days to get to Lac La Croix, spending a layover day exploring there. Seems like there's a lot see see there (pictographs, falls, fishing). Then take two days to come back.

I like having the out and back because it will let us shorten the trip if we want.

How does that sound? Any input?

That is a very nice route on the Moose River to LLC. You can easily make it to LLC's Boulder Bay in one day, about 5-6 hours of travel if you double portage. I would recommend the two shorter portages from Agnes to LLC. The camp site just NE of the portage into Boulder bay is a big nice spot with nice tent pads and landing and is in a nice protected little bay. If that one isn't available the ones in and around Tiger bay are nice too. And some real good fishing in the area. Then you could shoot up and see Warrior hill, pictographs and try to grab a site in or near Fishsteak Narrow. Troll or drift thru the narrows for some great walleye fishing. It will take you one long or two short days to get back to EP from the narrows. Or just base camp in Boulder Bay/ Tiger Bay area. Just bear in mind that LLC is a big lake and can be prone to big wave conditions. If base camping get a fairly early start exploring the main body of the lake like the pictographs as it usually gets windier as the day progresses. Boulder and Tiger bays are a lot more protected from windy conditions. Have a great trip! You will love the area

That is a good trip - you'll enjoy it. It was my first entry. Yes, an out-and-back route makes it easy to know when you're half way :). That keeps it simple for the first trip.

Two trips to consider if you really want to see that moose:

1. Entry 38 - Sawbill Lake - Frost Lake -
Day 1 - Sawbill to Cherokee Lake - Day 2 Cherokee to Frost Lake - Day 3 Layover - Day 4 - Frost to Cherokee - Day 5 Cherokee to Sawbill. Yep, This route has longer portages. But Frost Lake seems to have more than a fair chance of moose sightings. (Sawbill Outfitters (at the entry) is the nearest outfitter to this entry.)

2. Entry 47 - Lizz Lake Entry - Poplar Lake to Horseshoe Lake - Right now this is kind of moose central in the BW - Day 1 - Poplar Lake to Horseshoe Lake. Day 2 - day trip to Winchell Lake. Day 3 day trip to Kiskadinna Lake. Day 4 Day trip to Vista Lake. Day 5 Horseshoe to Poplar via Lizz Lake. This route has the short portages you are looking for. The scenery on Vista and Winchell are good. And th moose sightings on Horseshoe and Gaskin are numerous. Several good outfitters in the area, but Rockwood is right on Poplar Lake.