A recent discussion thread got me to wondering how many people visit Quetico's interior and how many enter the park through each ranger station. I found the following information in section 4.2 of the 2018 Quetico Park Management Plan:

"Approximately 18,000 people visit the interior of the park each year, resulting in 103,000 camper nights." Camper nights = # visitors X length of stay.

"A 2011 visitor survey indicates that in 2011 83% of park visitors were from the U.S. and 60% of interior visitors entered through the southern boundary of the park. The 2011 Quetico Provincial Park Interior Visitor Survey asked respondents to provide their entry point: 38% of visitors entered via Prairie Portage; another 20% of entries were associated with the Cache Bay Entry Station: these figures represent 58% of entries through the two southern entry stations and eight entry points. Dawson Trail and Atikokan accounted for 31% of all park entries via the northern entries with Pickerel entry point at 16%, Batchewaung at 8% and Cirrus Lake/Sue Falls/Baptism Creek at 7%. Beaverhouse entry station accounted for 9% of entries and Lac La Croix entry station accounted for 6%."

Edit: the above numbers add up to 104%,so they have rounded up too many times.

Thanks for posting - interesting.

Ausable:

"Approximately 18,000 people visit the interior of the park each year, resulting in 103,000 camper nights."

Amazing.

Minnesotian: "

Ausable:
"Approximately 18,000 people visit the interior of the park each year, resulting in 103,000 camper nights."

Amazing. "

Isn't it? And this: Fewer than 1,000

Interesting stats. Thanks

Additional information can be found in various articles on the web page for Quetico at the Quetico Superior Foundation website .

Quetico visitor history 1994-2010

Quetico visitor numbers reversed downward trend in 2015

On a related topic, BWCAW visitor numbers tabulated from 2009-2015:
BWCAW visitors 2009-2015

Ausable: "A recent discussion thread got me to wondering how many people visit Quetico's interior and how many enter the park through each ranger station. I found the following information in section 4.2 of the 2018 Quetico Park Management Plan:

"Approximately 18,000 people visit the interior of the park each year, resulting in 103,000 camper nights." Camper nights = # visitors X length of stay.

"A 2011 visitor survey indicates that in 2011 83% of park visitors were from the U.S. and 60% of interior visitors entered through the southern boundary of the park. The 2011 Quetico Provincial Park Interior Visitor Survey asked respondents to provide their entry point: 38% of visitors entered via Prairie Portage; another 20% of entries were associated with the Cache Bay Entry Station: these figures represent 58% of entries through the two southern entry stations and eight entry points. Dawson Trail and Atikokan accounted for 31% of all park entries via the northern entries with Pickerel entry point at 16%, Batchewaung at 8% and Cirrus Lake/Sue Falls/Baptism Creek at 7%. Beaverhouse entry station accounted for 9% of entries and Lac La Croix entry station accounted for 6%."

Edit: the above numbers add up to 104%,so they have rounded up too many times."

I wish they would break down that "Cirrus Lake/Sue Falls/Baptism Creek at 7%" group into each one. I realize they are the three with the least traffic, but they are nowhere near each other and I'm just sort of curious which one is the least used. Not sure why they would offer granular statistics, only to give up on the last three.

jillpine: "

Minnesotian: "

Ausable:
"Approximately 18,000 people visit the interior of the park each year, resulting in 103,000 camper nights."

Amazing. "

Isn't it? And this: Fewer than 1,000


"

The numbers for Woodland Caribou are a bit misleading. Woodland Caribou is awesome, I've been there twice and had an epic 14 day trip last June in which we saw virtually nobody for 10 days, by design. However, WCPP is different. It has many remote cabins and fly in usage. Some of these fly ins are canoeists, but many are cabin users, who fish out of small V bottom boats with gasoline motors on them. To be in the middle of nowhere and come across a stash of motorized boats, or to see somebody fishing out of one, really, really makes the 1000 per year number meaningless. The 1000 per year number is also JUST canoeists with backcountry permits. It does NOT count the number of people flying in and out to the cabins. All that said, there are huge areas of the park without cabins but you have to do your homework to find them and stay in those areas. Coincidentally, those are parts of the park with trout lakes. If you are on a big lake or a chain of lakes with walleyes in 'em, you will see people and/or cabins.

WCPP is raw and rugged. Much of it has burned and burned repeatedly in the last couple decades. I love it and it has a special place in my heart, and I will go back in 2021 at least once. In 2020 I'm going to Quetico once out of PP heading west, and once to do the Hunter Island Loop.
Joe