I have a late June trip up to SAK via Saganaga, including a cheater tow up to American Point. My plan is to spend a couple nights at Cherry Lake and a couple at Toe Lake, so we’ll have some seclusion but also easy access to SAK for fishing. I haven’t been on this route before and I’m looking for opinions on whether Toe is worth it or if it would be better to camp at a SAK site instead? From what I’ve read here Cherry is a no-brainer so if we can snag one of the two sites there we will.

I entered Cherry from Amoeber and Topaz. Both seemed like a quiet area. Perhaps consider a few nights on Cherry and then go west through Amoeber then into SAK via the portage in the westernmost bay of Amoeber and the small out of the way bays. The wind on SAK could dictate which way you want to travel...

Saw a bear and cubs in those small bays.

Plus side is you will go through several lakes you wouldn't otherwise have and see the west area of SAK. And avoiding having to do the Cherry>Hanson portage twice. For some reason Amoeber>Knife out of that west bay seemed like a slow climb then a steady downhill and not a tough portage at all.

You can't go wrong anywhere in that area. You say BWCA, I think of that area.

Cherry is an amazingly beautiful lake. Go there if you can.

I read about good bass fishing on Toe in a report once. Looks like a nice place to be alone.

The portage from (south) Knife to Amoeber involves a good bit of elevation change and is not to be underestimated (with respect, Exo). My friend and I hit it around 1pm and it took the wind out of our sails for 15 minutes after we finished. The second time was definitely worse. But the trip is absolutely worth it. Note that I am I am talking about portage from the southeast Knife area and and not the northwest area, which is actually "Little Knife". The portage is on the WEST side of that shallow bay area. My Garmin maps and PP have it marked properly, but my Fisher map has it on the east side. From what I can tell, there WAS a longer portage there, but it is so infrequently traveled that it has been lost. Take the shorter portage on the west side.


Seriously though, Cherry is amazing. If you can get either campsite, do it. Both are fantastic. I will get back to this lake some day for sure. Here is my trip report.

Nuts, and I double portaged it solo. It just doesnt stick out to me. Perhaps because it was the beginning of the day. Of course, the Q'S Yum Yum portages werent that bad either. The worst, probably Boulder to Cap. That one kinda sucked.

Cherry Lake should be avoided at all cost. There are bears galore, fire ants, swarms of mosquitos, and no fish. Did I mention the heaps of garbage and the worst camp sites in all BWCA. HEHEHE

But if you're still determined to go and you stay at the SWern camp site, Hike due north(up and right) from the latrine for some good views up top. The first 200 ft or so is pretty thick but clears up nicely after that. Leave a rock on the cairn if you find it. Enjoy your trip.

Exo: "I entered Cherry from Amoeber and Topaz. Both seemed like a quiet area. Perhaps consider a few nights on Cherry and then go west through Amoeber then into SAK via the portage in the westernmost bay of Amoeber and the small out of the way bays. The wind on SAK could dictate which way you want to travel...


Saw a bear and cubs in those small bays.


Plus side is you will go through several lakes you wouldn't otherwise have and see the west area of SAK. And avoiding having to do the Cherry>Hanson portage twice. For some reason Amoeber>Knife out of that west bay seemed like a slow climb then a steady downhill and not a tough portage at all.


You can't go wrong anywhere in that area. You say BWCA, I think of that area."

How does the Hanson to Cherry portage compare to the Pine to Canoe portage? IF they're similar in difficulty, I'll go the longer route and enter Cherry from the west instead of from Hanson.

How does the Hanson to Cherry portage compare to the Pine to Canoe portage? IF they're similar in difficulty, I'll go the longer route and enter Cherry from the west instead of from Hanson."

I haven't done the Pine to Canoe portage before. I did the Hanson to Cherry portage on a day trip about 7 years ago. If memory serves me correctly, the portage has a fairly big, steep hill. I don't remember the footing being bad or the area being much rockier than average. Then again, it's been 7 years :)

The Pine to canoe portage has three steep segments - basically up 100 feet and down 50, repeat 3 times, and then a very final downhill segment. Basically about 460 rods of mostly uphill and downhill legs. Not for the timid!

Exo: "Nuts, and I double portaged it solo. It just doesnt stick out to me. Perhaps because it was the beginning of the day. Of course, the Q'S Yum Yum portages werent that bad either. The worst, probably Boulder to Cap. That one kinda sucked."

Cap to Boulder wasn't bad . . . glad I wasn't going the other way. :)

In all my years traveling border country. And almost 10 years on this site I don’t know what SAK means.
Tom

tumblehome: "In all my years traveling border country. And almost 10 years on this site I don’t know what SAK means.
Tom"

SAK = South Arm of Knife Lake

The north portage to Amoeber is really short, biggest problem is not falling down because it's pretty steep. Go to the site maps and read the fishing comments on Toe, a couple of them are pretty interesting. If things go bad the camp on Topaz isn't as bad as it's reputation, latrine is wide open but not a lot of traffic. Also, for some reason there's a bunch of little Largemouth Bass in Topaz, not sure what that's about but we caught several from camp.

i've never been to Cherry but have been in toe lake many times as i've done 15 openers in that south back bay of SAK .

just the one campsite , very nice and cozy but mainly a 1 tent site with a rock wall back round, but i'm sure 2 tents would work . 2 easy portages in or out , , 1 is 5Rds dont get much easier, that i'm aware of LOL.
beautiful little lake with some character . good number of pike , most run #3-#5 mainly because the smaller ones hit you first , but make no mistake there are some very descent pike in there #15+ there is some nice cabbage weed right out in front of camp , but doesnt drop off a real lot maybe 12' ?
the smallies , toe has some of the most beautiful smallies we,ve ever caught , awesome strips. , shoreline with even a small amount of wood , work it but keep a distance and be quite , and take your time these fish never hear noise's , pic of some toe lake smallies and my top 2 smally lures in the wood , most of the smallies we caught are in that #3-12 range but pretty ;) , respectable fish . and with all the trips i've done in the SAK , i have never caught a largemouth bass , BUT they are in Toe lake also .
let me know if you decide on toe ;)
mine and my son's pic are in toe lake , ed's pics were at camp in the SAK

Those are some beauties, shock! Jeez, I might just have to make another trip through Knife and stop through Toe for a day or two... as if you need to *make* me want to go back through Knife again. :)

I have to say Cherry, as that was my first time canoe tripping and the first BWCA trip 9 years ago. Lit a fire in my blood that still burning ;) Trip report