My group is headed in through Stuart River in a few weeks. What are the campsites like on Fox, Dark and Rush lake? on pp it says they're inactive campsites.

Second question, what should be on our list of stuff to check out? I've got Curtain falls on the list....Warrior hill pictos, It'd be really cool to check out that crashed biplane...is it still there? Where exactly can we find it? Dalhgren river if we are on stuart long enough. The overlook on Stuart river would also be really cool, is there a trail up to it?

Thanks for any and all information

Stuart has nice ones and Iron does, not sure if any in between, to be honest.

I think it’s Rush that has a site on the island that is awesome. Good fishing there too. I’d go back into Peterson Bay on Iron and check out Beartrap Falls, the fishing there is awesome too. Caught a 17” crappie back there a few years ago. The portage from Stu to Fox is a doozie, but other than that it’s all awesome. If you’re looking for a quick sight seeing excursion, head to the Dahlgren River portage on the west side of Stu and just walk it. Some of the oldest growth forest in the BWCA there. Some of those pines are 250+ years old. It’s amazing. Have a great trip!

Tony

Thanks for the suggestion about the old growth trees! I didn't know that and will absolutely be checking them out!! Kinda makes it hard as now I want to split our time on Iron and Stuart!

Oh, and there’s a waterfall back on that Dahlgren portage too!

If you were camping on Stewart, is Curtain Falls a reasonable day trip?

I ended up staying on Rush for 3 nights due to rain. We could have moved but were content with the site and lake. The fire grate is pretty exposed. We were still able to rig a tarp though. Tent pads are protected. I didn't check out the site on Fox. The island site on Stuart is nice. I thought the most western site on the north side of the lake was the best.

Stuart to Curtain Falls would be a looooong daytrip. I'm sure it's doable. The Stuart/Fox portage is the biggest obstacle. I'm not sure if I would want to do that twice in one day. The other portages would be easy with a light daytrip load.

Thanks for the info everyone, my group is entering Stuart EP early June and heading to Iron Lake on Day 1 and likely staying on Stuart one night on our way back down. Heard good things about Stuart and Iron as far as fishing. Good to know about the fishing on Rush as well.

anthonyp007: "I think it’s Rush that has a site on the island that is awesome. Good fishing there too. I’d go back into Peterson Bay on Iron and check out Beartrap Falls, the fishing there is awesome too. Caught a 17” crappie back there a few years ago. The portage from Stu to Fox is a doozie, but other than that it’s all awesome. If you’re looking for a quick sight seeing excursion, head to the Dahlgren River portage on the west side of Stu and just walk it. Some of the oldest growth forest in the BWCA there. Some of those pines are 250+ years old. It’s amazing. Have a great trip!


Tony"

Took the words right out of my mouth.

Rush lake is definitely the best site of those three small lakes. We did shore lunch on the island site after spending the morning fishing on Rush. You should be able to catch some walleye in there for sure. The site on rush would not be great for a larger group and the latrine is not much for privacy. Otherwise a decent site and a pretty lake with good fishing.
Definitely check out the overlook on Stuart. No official trail leading up, but you can see where people have traveled and it's an easy climb with a great payoff.
Portage from Stuart to Dahlgren is pretty with a nice little waterfall at the end.

DJWILLCO! I heard the shoutout you got on the Tumblehome podcast this week! Way to go. I like your waterfall rating criterion!

Tony

anthonyp007: "DJWILLCO! I heard the shoutout you got on the Tumblehome podcast this week! Way to go. I like your waterfall rating criterion!


Tony"

That's funny. Thanks! And here I thought my long-ass email would just annoy them. :) My only hope was to make Adam laugh, cause I love the sound of his laugh. Kind of a modified Seth Rogen thing going on with him. Hilarious.