Hello all and thanks to all of you with experience who post on this site.

Our group of six will enter EP16, Nina Moose, with a basecamp destination somewhere around, or just past, the Boulder Bay area on Agnes.

Can anyone recomend a campsite for a group of six with three canoes, four tents and two hammocks? Shore fishing would be a plus, but not required.

Late May time frame.

We are all experienced backpackers and have some paddling experience, but this will be our first BWCA trip. Any other info on our route is much appreciated.

Thanks.

Tom, welcome. You picked a fun first entry/route. I took my wife on her second trip to that area, along with 3 more first timers a few years ago.

Did you mean to say Agnes or Boulder Bay? Agnes is a lake, Boulder Bay is a Bay of Lac La Croix which as a whole is a giant lake but you'll only see 10% of it probably.

We got a decent start in the morning from the parking lot and the 5 of us made it to the N end of Agnes by 1 and ate lunch. We could have kept pushing but we're happy with the progress so we stayed and setup camp, site 1803 I think. Check the maps section here for site ratings and pictures. If you need 4 tents for 4 people, that's going to be your limiting factor on campsites. Plenty of campsites have 2 or maybe 3 tent pads that are good to ok. Most sites are a stretch to find 4 good spots.

Agnes and Boulder Bay of LLC have some well reviewed and large sites. As a general rule, if you find one you like...take it. The next one might be taken or too small for your group. Great fishing in the area in many spots.

The four tent issue may be a problem. Should you find a site with three decent pad areas, the forth tent will not be in a perfect location for the ones who are last on the totem list. With a good strong group as yourselves, take a cot or two for this fourth tent. That will make the night much more enjoyable for the occupants of tent four.

Campsite 1819 in Boulder Bay would be a perfect site for a larger group. May take most of the day to get there, but would be worth it. Check out the site on the maps/entry points page for more info. Site is directly across the double portage from Agnes.

Thanks everyone for the susgestions.
I will start looking into them.

We stayed at 1808 last year on Agnes. Site is amazing. We caught 15+ inch crappie and multiple eater walleye about 10 feet from the fire grate area with bobbers and leeches in mid-may. There are some amazingly large trees near the site and a cool little large pine forest if you hike south from the campsite along the lake.

Easy landing spot for canoes. From my memory there were 4 tent pads and plenty of trees to hang hammocks. Firewood was pretty sparse, this site seemed well used, so we had to paddle elsewhere to find dry driftwood

Welcome!

This area is well traveled, and you'll receive great advice here. There are great large group sites at the top of Agnes, but it's hard to nab them because they are popular. Some call it "the crown" where a few points on the north end of the lake hold large sites. If you pop over the short portage at the top of the lake and then one more and on to LLC, you'll find a number of very nice, large, flat sites in the Boulder Bay area. Be sure to fish the river between the two lakes during late May--fishing in there can be fabulous right about that time.

We stayed at the second to last northern site on the west shore of Lake Agnes last year. Great site with a very nice landing.
Room for 4 tents.

Very busy area

It's a tough decision to make when choosing the portage into the Boulder River and heading into Boulder Bay to look for a campsite.

The campsites on Agnes, Boulder Bay and Tiger Bay are all popular and may be full when you get there. Needing a site for 4 tents can be your downfall if nothing is open that will accomodate you. Leave as early as possible and take the first site you find that fits your needs and gets you in your area or at least close to it. You can always send out a scouting party later to see if another campsite is open.