Heading up the Gunflint Trail on Saturday. Getting a tow to American Point then paddling into the Ottertrack area. Any suggestions on where to go if the Ottertrack campsites are full. Best just to keep paddling into SAK? Afraid by the afternoon we might be heading into some considerable wind by then. Primarily going to fish for Smallmouth and walleyes.
Thanks for any help

try out rabbit or gijijiki. both have "nice" portages to get to them, maybe just shoot for them anyway.

I did this paddle a few years ago. With an early tow to American Point we were on the west end of Ottertrack before one. All the campsites on the lake were open. If you are planning to stay on Ottertrack the east campsite is very nice. We stayed on one of the sites on the west end and they all appears to be decent sites. I doubt you will find the lake full.

I think you will find an open site. I love that lake.

I wouldn't expect it to be full, either. I like that lake but it's sort of a gateway, not really a destination for many people. If you stay there and fish, remember the north side is Canada.

We camped on the eastern site for two days last year and really enjoyed it. We wanted to be closer to Benny's island for a daytrip and to have a shorter paddle to American Point to meet our tow on the final morning. We headed there on a Thursday morning in mid July and the site was open.

It was a little busy morning and late afternoon on the water... people coming and going from Knife. But the site is raised up from the water so it didn't seem that busy and because it's the only site on the eastern end of the lake, it was quiet the rest of the day. No other sites near us.

I'd keep going to knife. That portage into Gijikiki is ridiculous.

By the way, about 3-4 weeks ago there was a dead bear floating between two of the three clustered campsites on the same west shore of ottertrack. I suppose wind direction could have floated him another direction or he's since been devoured by the wildlife, but that floater was pretty nasty and I'm not sure I'd plan to camp next to him.

Ate himself to death on walleye huh? I can sympathize.

Ottertrack has 3 good sites on it near the Ottertrack to Knife portage. And there is another site on the Knife lake side that is also nice. In more than a decade of going through this area I have never seen all of the sites full at the same time.