2020 is a big year, and two of my friends and I are looking to switch it up and do a Quetico trip. I had done some analysis of maps for routes and have a few saved, but I'm not sure which one to do. Support for a 10 day trip, the longest being 9 days for all three of us so far, is high. We want to see new scenery and are willing to travel for it, but we also love fishing and want to hook into some donkeys. We don't want to do more than roughly 60 miles, maybe pushing to 70 on the very top end if it was a sweet route.

Routes I've plotted that I want to do (and can realistically talk my friends into doing) are sorted as a mix of how much I want to do them and how realistic they really are.

1. LLC tow to McAree Lake EP > Argo (via Iron/Crooked) > Brent (east side) > Darkwater > LLC tow from McAree Lake EP
** Pros: Grand slam potential, Rebecca Falls, Darkwater pictographs, deeper in the park, can settle in and stay 2-4 nights at every campsite (3 sites), lots of good looking day trip options, about the sweet spot for trip length at 51.5mi (estimated, double carry)
** Cons: 250hp tows are very expensive (but apparently quite exhilarating)

2. Falls Chain! Saganaga tow to Hook Island > Sidney > McKenzie/McVicar Bay (Kawnipi) > Sidney > Saganaga tow from Hook Island
** Pros: Fish abundance and potential giants, beautiful falls, close to sweet spot trip length of 55.7mi (estimated, double carry), cheaper tow
** Cons: It's one of the busiest routes in Quetico if not the busiest (for good reasons), long paddles on Saganagons and Kawnipi are no joke (= long days), lots of big water + wind can be sketchy

3. Moose tow to Prairie Portage > Agnes > McKenzie/McVicar Bay (Kawnipi) > Cairn > Kahshahpiwi > North Bay (Basswood) > Moose tow from Prairie Portage
** Pros: Epic route that covers some staple areas of Quetico, grand slam potential, Agnes pictographs, deeper in the park, cheaper tow, can stay with trusted outfitter right on the lake
** Cons: Loong route at 83mi (estimated, double carry), some long and difficult days, some popular/less isolated lakes like Agnes and Kawnipi

4. Moose tow to Prairie Portage > Sarah > Brent > Argo > Sarah > North Bay (Basswood) > Moose tow from Prairie Portage
** Pros: Epic route, grand slam potential, deeper in the park, lots of good looking day trip options, cheaper tow, can stay with trusted outfitter right on the lake
** Cons: A hard first day (we did a 12h 22mi day on our first day this year and we all resolved not to do that again any time soon) and day from Argo to Sarah is almost just as much work, long route at 79.1mi (estimated, double carry)

I have more routes but I'd like to get feedback on these ones. I'd love a push in a particular direction or a new suggestion entirely! Any advice or wisdom is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

Enter at Beaverhouse. More solitude, no RABC, no tow needed, lower permit cost, great fishing.

billconner: "Enter at Beaverhouse. More solitude, no RABC, no tow needed, lower permit cost, great fishing. "

Good option. Fish Jean and Burntside.

Another interesting less populated loop would be Saganagons - Falls Chain to McEwen - River west through small chain of lakes to Louisa - Agnes - Man Chain back to Sag. Lots of scenery, fish under the falls and layover on McEwen. Lakers in Louisa too. If warm you can swim under the Louisa Falls.

I did this route going in at Moose Lake and went clockwise in 2013. The drawback for me was head winds coming up the Man Chain. You could go in at Moose get a tow to Prairie portage and go down the Man Chain then down the fall chain To McEwen etc. That's probably the easiest way to do it.

I'd prefer to enter from the US side if possible, to minimize driving (it's a good bit further) and to ideally use an outfitter we like a lot, though no RABC and no tow would be nice. I have not plotted _any_ routes through the northern side of Quetico because it's not something that really interests me at this time. Though maybe someone can sell me on it. :)

I have also plotted a Falls Chain/Man Chain trip but it's like 80-something miles. It would be epic, no doubt... lots to see, some nice isolation on the Man Chain from what I have read, and no doubt great fishing as well. But I think it's just too long for this 2020 trip. I think that may be the only way I do the Man Chain, though, since I prefer loops instead of backtracking whenever possible.

I did TomT's Mann - Falls - McEwen trip a few years ago and it is my all-time favorite route. From PP counter clockwise in 6 days. Saw no one from Wet to Agnes. I thought it was 70 miles but nice to know I did more!

When you went from McEwen back down to/through Louisa, did you do it all in one shot, or did you stop somewhere along the way? That's a heck of a day. I was thinking maybe McEwen to Fauquier but that still seems like a decently long day.

Iirc we camped in middle of This Man, Saganagons just before Dead Man portage, Bald Rock Falls, Glacier, Louisa, and Burke, if that helps.

I say for the goals you set out, it would be hard to beat the LLC tow to the southwest corner of the park. My last Quetico trip, I went from Tanner Lake up the Darky river to Brent and we saw one canoe far in the distance on Tanner and not another soul until past Brent. That was during the peak busy season (early August). Also, that corner of the park never got logged, so if you are into big pines, there's a lot of that sort of scenery there. Lots of good fishing too.

Of course when it comes to solitude, there is luck involved. When I did the Louisa-Glacier-Mcewen route a few years ago, we got in sync with another couple and met them again and again. You're trapped on string of small lakes with no branching points--kind of like being in an elevator with someone. Also, Agnes is perceived as busy, but every time I have been there, once you get out of the narrows and away from Louisa falls, you see hardly anyone. And the busiest places in the Q I've ever been have been out of the Northern entries, in spite of the conventional wisdom that it's quieter up there.

You could shorten your "in at Agnes out at Khash" loop considerably by cutting from Agnes to Trant. Of course you'd miss fishing Kawnipi so that might be a drawback.

Also, going from PP to Sarah, you do realize you don't have to make Sarah in one day? There are places to stop along the way (North Bay for one, which has great smallmouth fishing). Also, you don't have to exit the same way. Tons of options. From Argo, you could drop to Crooked and either follow the Basswood river back to Basswood or take in Robinson (nice lake!) and Kett and drop down to Basswood. Once there, you can paddle out on the US side via Wind Lake.

I second what Marsonite says. I have better luck with finding solitude from PP than from the northern entry points. Best chance for easy solitude is the LLC tow. Then probably routing through Sarah- though until you clear Sarah you have a good chance of bumping into folks. Solitude on the McEwan to Louisa is timing dependent- if you're in synch with a group (or two) you'll be bumping into them often. Decent camps at Glacier, Faquier and of course Louisa.

Agnes and Kawinipi can be busy. Camp deep in a bay and solitude returns.

Important to understand that you don't have to make your permit lake on the first (or for that matter even the 2nd or third) night- you just need to be traveling on a direct route to the permit lake. Sarah is possible in a day but probably not advised. Some of the portages are tough. Decent camps on North Bay and Isabella. A decent small site available for a group of three on the second no-name lake north of Isabella on the eastern route into Side.

The problem with choosing a Quetico route is that there are so many of them! Over six trips I’ve seen nearly all of the major lakes in the southern third or so of Quetico (hitting the man chain this year to round it out).

I love your Agnes/Kawnipi/Kahsh route, but you better expect some long paddle days and some tough portaging, especially getting into and out of the Kahsh chain. Kahsh is one of my favorites though. You certainly have the time to not rush the route, but your buddies better be on board. When I went through that area I think I wore my crew out pretty good.

One option that has a lot of potential is to do a traverse of the southwestern part of the park by getting a LLC tow to start and a tow back from Basswood or prairie portage. Lots of great options to see: Wicksteed, Western Brent, Cone, Elk, Ted, Robinson are some of my favorites. Some pretty tough portages, but the total mileage would definitely fit in under your goal of 60 miles, and you’ll have a great chance of solitude and outstanding fishing for all species. Good luck!

Loving all of the feedback! It seems like the LLC tow trip is the way to go if we wanna spend the money on the tow. A few things...

* RE: not having to push to Sarah in a single day (for related routes) -- I realize this, but I want to get to Brent on day 2, as that is more of my ultimate destination. Seems Isabella might be a better stopping point, but I have read that it is fairly popular (for good reason) and I don't really want to count on getting a nice site there. Plus then I would be tempted to stay another night!

* RE: taking Crooked down to Basswood -- Despite wanting to explore this area, I don't want to arrange any sort of weird driving route, where we try to leave a car in/around Ely and have to drive up to Crane Lake to pick up the other car. That just seems like too much work. Maybe if we were all retired and had retired friends who wouldn't mind ferrying us around (leave our car in Ely, they drive us to Crane Lake, we go home straight from Ely), but we are unfortunately quite far from retirement.

Thanks again for the feedback everyone. I am still very happy to entertain other routes and consider any contingencies that might push me one way or another.

JD... don't underestimate your ability to travel, especially if the weather is nice and water flat. I have a friend who was paddling SOLO, got to PP bright and early and camped that night on the east end of Brent.

Jackfish: "JD... don't underestimate your ability to travel, especially if the weather is nice and water flat. I have a friend who was paddling SOLO, got to PP bright and early and camped that night on the east end of Brent. "

Haha, I appreciate the optimism! Flat water on entry days is a myth to me. So far it's been a tradition to have 10-15mph headwinds on entry days, so I plan for it. But if the water is flat or we have a tailwind, then we p-push it real good!

In June 2018, two of us took the Falls Chain to the far NW corner of Kawnipi, day tripped the area, and fished our way back the same way. We broke camp every morning, fished all day, and set up camp in the evening where ever we ended up. We did take a layover day in Kawa bay. In 2 trips to Kawnipi I've spent 5 days in Kawa and have only seen 1 other canoe. Other than the Falls Chain portages, it didn't feel like back tracking at all. I would do the same trip again in a heartbeat!

With ten days you have plenty of time to go wherever you want to go. Unless, of course, you want to base camp a number of days.
I am partial to the PP entry simply because it is, well, simple. Drive up is shorter, no border crossing potential pitfalls, no very expensive tow, a safe parking lot at the outfitters, etc. I love to paddle so the sooner I am on the water the happier I am. Going to PP puts you paddling very early in the morning if you take a tow.
The other reason I like a route out of PP is the number of options you have to change up your route. You can stay on the big lakes or deviate off the beaten track and take routes with smaller lakes.
With three people and one canoe I presume you should be able to move quite well.
Have a good trip wherever you go!

jdoutdoors: "
* RE: not having to push to Sarah in a single day (for related routes) -- I realize this, but I want to get to Brent on day 2, as that is more of my ultimate destination. Seems Isabella might be a better stopping point, but I have read that it is fairly popular (for good reason) and I don't really want to count on getting a nice site there. Plus then I would be tempted to stay another night!
"

You don't need to push all the way to Sarah on day 1 in order to comfortably get to Brent for night two. I camped near the North Bay of Basswood day 1 and made it to Northern Brent (a few miles east of the mid lake narrows) on day 2 no problem. If you camp in North Bay your first day will be moderately easy and your second day moderately difficult, but very manageable. As you've mentioned, you can get one or two portages deeper and camp on Isabella. Other options are Nest, Point or Side, depending on the direction you come from.

If you do end up going through Side to Sarah, consider taking the creek with the three short portages as opposed to the longer, hillier portage straight from Side to Sarah. We took that route and it was pretty straightforward.

Does this creek option start with portaging around a boulder field at the creek mouth in Side?

AmarilloJim: "

Does this creek option start with portaging around a boulder field at the creek mouth in Side?
"

As far as I recall it does. We took our packs out and then moved the mostly empty canoes. I do recall perhaps the first small "portage" being over rocky terrain - perhaps basketball size and larger rocks. It's been six years though, so take that with a grain of salt.

I definitely recommend your #4, more or less. You can get a cheap tow to PP from LaTourell's to take a few hours off your trip. I recommend taking a tow and staying on Lost Bay of North Bay, on the campsite on the north side of the narrows at the mouth of lost Bay, night one. Bring ribeyes and cold drinks for night one and ease into it.

Next day, you will be on Sarah with some solitude and good fishing. Hit McIntyre, Burt, up to Conmee, William, and loop back through Brent back to McIntyre. You can skip the Conmee and William part if you want to shorten up the trip. I did a route like that early June in 2015 and 2017 because the fishing was so dang good for walleyes, lakers, pike, and smallmouth. I did the whole loop in 9 days or so in 2015.

If I wanted to bring a new person to Quetico for THE FISHING, I would do this route! I had planned to do exactly that with my nephew who had never experienced good grand slam fishing in 2016 but life got in the way. So my daughter and I did it a second time in 2017.

Joe

Just to add some credence to my post...
I've hit all the other lakes you mention, in the Spring, and still recommend #4 but I wouldn't go to Argo from Sarah I would go north instead as I suggested above.

I AM following the advice to go in from Beaverhouse June 2021. June 2020 I'm going Basswood/Kett/Tuck/McIntyre/Ted/Cone/Argo/Darky/Wickstead/McAree/
Minn/Iron/Crooked/Basswood (m/l from memory) in an epic 14 day trip.

All my spring trips are with my daughter, we double portage 2 packs 2 solo canoes and the average trip is about 100 miles in 9-11 days. Goal is to get to camp early afternoon almost every day so we have time to fish before dinner, and eat fish every night.

Joe

jdoutdoors: "When you went from McEwen back down to/through Louisa, did you do it all in one shot, or did you stop somewhere along the way? That's a heck of a day. I was thinking maybe McEwen to Fauquier but that still seems like a decently long day."

I've done McEwen to Louisa in one day...twice. If you get to Fauquier, you might as well finish it and get to Louisa to find better fishing and better campsites. My daughter and I did it in one long day Fall of 2017 because we didn't find any decent campsites. Fall 2019 a friend and I did it, found one ok campsite on Edge lake I think, but decided to push on. I don't think you are interested in that kind of day...going all the way OR stopping. McEwen and Louisa are great lake trout lakes, however, and the Man Chain and Falls Chain are fun. But if you want a grand slam or simply more walleye, take my recommendation for #4.

I spent several hours this week firming up my routes for 3 future 14 day trips so my maps are out anyway and this stuff is fresh on my mind.
Joe

Last year in late May, we did the LLC tow to McAree Rapids. We made it to Brent on day 1, although that was a very HARD and LONG day (the portage from Darky to Brent was far more soul-crushing than the Goat portage, in our opinion).

However, the push was worth it. Brent is gorgeous IMO, and the island campsite on the east side was money. We did not see a single person the few days we base camped there. While the walleye bite was curiously sparse (all over the park, not just that area), lake trout and smallmouth were easy to find. We caught pike too, but they didn't seem to be as prolific on Brent as in other lakes.

The great thing is once you get to Brent, you have options. You can base camp and explore / fish Brent for a few days, or you can venture over to Conmee or Suzanette. You can also backtrack and do the Darkwater River, which is a fun paddle, and if you're feeling adventurous you can try to navigate the Andrews Creek up into Andrews Lake (we tried but realized we were in the wrong creek and then ran out of time). That route takes you past Wicksteed too.

You can also camp on Darkwater for a night or two, although when we stayed there we saw several other parties on that lake. There are pictographs at the south end of Darkwater that are worth seeing, and it's very easy to paddle over to Andrews Lake to see the waterfall next to the portage up the side of the hill. There are supposedly largemouth in Andrews, but we didn't fish it.

I would also recommend trying to get to Argo, because that's a beautiful lake. Try to get to the 5-star island campsite.

If you go back through Argo, you could go through the Roland chain to Crooked / Iron to see Curtain Falls and Rebecca Falls. There is another great island campsite on Crooked right as you come out of Little Roland. And just north of that is a nice campsite with a sand beach.

You might also want to consider camping at the site where Rebecca Falls dumps into McAree. It is on a portage, but when we camped there we didn't encounter anyone else. Great fishing at the bottom of the falls.

From there you can go back to McAree rapids to be picked up, or you might want to arrange to be picked up at Bottle so you can go through Iron and change the route up a bit.

No matter what you choose, if you go in this area of the park you are heading into some beautiful lakes, great solitude, and world class fishing.

This feedback has been incredible. My friends and I decided to stick to the BW this year through a familiar entry point on a mostly familiar route with less traveling and more fishing. We're still gonna be doing 40-something miles, but it'll go quicker as most of it is on the water. Thanks again to everyone for your input; maybe next year we will take the leap to Quetico!