We are thinking of doing a spur of the moment trip into Trout Lake next week. I’ve never gone in there. I’m pretty sure I’ve read that you can access by launching onto Vermilion from the end of Mud Creek Road, but looking at various maps, I don’t see any confirmation that a boat launch (which I don’t need) or parking (which I do need) exists there. Looking at the satellite image it looks like maybe there is parking and put-in a bit before the end of the road on Rice Bay. Anyone know about parking to start a trip in that area? Thanks!

Moccasin Point (end of CR77) has an official public landing and parking area. It used to be a pay parking area, but not anymore. That is what we used last year.

It certainly looks possible to me. There is a public access indicated on the MN DNR map for St. Louis county: Public access map

Zooming in on Google Maps shows a small parking lot associated with the ramp and dock.

Thanks botanyguy, I was looking at the St Louis County highway map which marks some public accesses but not all of them apparently.

And thanks straighthaired also. Coming from the Ely area it’s just a much shorter drive to go up Mud Creek Road than to circle all the way around to Moccasin Point.

Haven't been down Mud Crek for awhile, but there definitely is a parking lot at Rice Bay. We have canoed from relative's beach in that area to Trout Lake. Some big water in areas but not bad. Of course, Trout Lake is big water! Pine Lake is a gem - one of my favorite BWCA lakes!! We went in down the Pine Creek which is pretty and did the portage out.

Thanks onajourney! If the forecast holds we should have calm conditions for this trip, which is an advantage of spur-of-the-moment trips - you can adjust to the weather schedule. Still undecided whether to go from Rice Bay or Moccasin Point, Rice Bay is a shorter drive but longer paddle . . .

I didn’t know you could do the creek to/from Pine Lake. Can you tell me more about that?

Ho Ho: "Thanks onajourney! If the forecast holds we should have calm conditions for this trip, which is an advantage of spur-of-the-moment trips - you can adjust to the weather schedule. Still undecided whether to go from Rice Bay or Moccasin Point, Rice Bay is a shorter drive but longer paddle . . .


I didn’t know you could do the creek to/from Pine Lake. Can you tell me more about that?"

I'll hop in here. We've always parked and launched from Moccasin Point and used the mechanical portage into Trout. There are 2 ways to get into Pine from Trout. You can paddle to the north end and take Pine Creek all the way to Pine. Winding paddle, lots of fun on a nice sunny day.

You can also take the long portage into Pine that's on the east side of Trout, not very far from the entrances into Trout. It's long, hilly, rocky, and muddy, but it's not much for paddling to get there.

Hope that helps!

Thanks, Bunker, very helpful!

Back from this two-night trip yesterday. We had great weather and it was a great trip, lots of fun and adventure packed into three days going someplace new. Trout Lake has to be one of the most underutilized EPs in the BW.

After going back and forth about whether to launch at Rice Bay (Mud Creek Road) or Moccasin Point, we decided on Rice Bay because the route looked more protected on Vermilion. The paddle from the Rice Bay parking area to the Trout Lake portage was 7.2 miles, which is kind of hefty just to get started. It's a bit like paddling up the Moose Chain to Prairie Portage, but with a lot of water-access properties along the way. It was fun to do once but I'd probably paddle from Moccasin Point or get a tow if we go again.

We camped both nights at a great site on Dunwoody Island in the southwest part of Trout. It seemed like we were the only paddlers camped on the lake (but obviously it's a huge lake so who knows). There were a number of motorboats but for the most part they were pretty unobtrusive.

On our layover day we did a 16+ mile loop up Pine Creek and around Pine Lake then out the long portage and back to our camp. We had some trouble finding the portage from Trout at the beginning of the creek - it's all the way on the right of the sandy beach. We saw only a couple other paddlers on this loop, and none of the campsites we passed on Pine appeared to be occupied (although we didn't go by two of them). It was a really fun day-trip adventure.

Thanks for the help to those who provided info!

Ho Ho