It appears on the map that you could go around the Falls, albeit through Canada. Can you in fact do it or do you have to take that long portage...

Nope, take the portages. Trying to float and of the rapids is very dangerous.

The best way around the rapids is to go from Sandpit to Basswood vie the Ragne River and avoid the Horse River and Basswood Falls.

You'll need to portage at least the upper sections (eastern end)

My first time there when I was young and dumb we were headed upstream. Dropped packs at the lower landing and middle people in canoes and they started carrying. We paddled up a few riffles and hit the zip line narrows. Some canoes made it up at full power and some didn't. Looking back, it wasn't worth the effort nor risk. Since then we walk the whole thing.

The portage is long but very easy. Smooth, flat, and wide.

Google maps, maps section on this site, or other satellite photos are your friend, depending on water levels you can zoom in at portages and see why they're there. Typically you'll see a narrows and rapids/falls

I would never do that, but it appears that you can go around a couple of islands, east and north, to avoid them.

Sorry the picture is upside down

And in your picture...those small blue lines across the river in various spots...those are the major falls/rapids.

There are some calm sections in there such as those campsites in that small Bay, but you're going to be slower putting and taking out a bunch of times instead of once.

Comment removed: I was thinking Lower Basswood, not Upper Basswood.

I haven't been through there in years, but I remember not taking the entire portage. We ran a few of the rapids. We had no trouble as we were experienced paddlers and water levels were fairly low at the time. I do remember taking a short portage on the Canadian side.

Also have been awhile since I’ve paddled this. But we’ve always skipped the long portage and messed around in the river. It’s a gorgeous stretch of river and deserves to be seen and paddled. Know what you are doing though, in certain water levels this stretch can be dangerous.

To be clear, you will have to portage at least once. And you don't necessarily need to go into Canada according to your map even if you mess around in the river.

You could publish a book about all the spills and deaths on that stretch of river. The last time I went through there, a helicopter kept buzzing around the area which caused me much frustration. Upon my return home I learned that they were looking for a drowning victim. The wife survived but her husband succumbed to the swift waters.

And to clarify, you can legally use the portage on the Canadian side as per US/Canadian treaty.

Tom

The best way around the Falls is exactly as Tumblehome said: take the portage. Safer and in the long run likely quicker. One long haul with good put in/take out. As Tumblehome said there have been many mishaps/deaths on the river.

I know the easiest "shortcut" would be to portage to the first campsite just below the falls and then paddle to the landing just past the third (there are three sites before the first landing unlike what most maps will tell you.) That would cut off some distance, and wouldn't require running anything, but with loading and unloading times who knows if you would save time. As for up and around, as others have said, it's potentially a catastrophic risk depending on water levels. The last time I was there, the water levels were up and the rapids by the "zip line" looked un-navigatable, and they are supposed to be gentler than the ones to the north of the point. That said, there is a campsite up that way according to my maps. There's no telling (maybe some of the old-timers would know) if that site was designed to be an out of the way destination or a side route around the north side. Either way, every time I have been to the falls I have spent the night on one of the portage sites and broken up the distance that way. There are some killer sites on that portage that really rewarded my group for pushing through on day one.

I have done both the long portage and the multiple portages option. If you have reasonably strong experienced paddlers and were cautious and observant, I think you would be fine to explore the multiple portages option along the border.

The higher the water levels, the less room for errors and "changing your mind". If that doesn't make sense, maybe take the long portage. As others have mentioned, you are a long way from help if your team screws up. On the other hand, it is an uncommonly pretty stretch of river.

Come to think of it, I am surprised nobody has made a "zoomed in" options map for that stretch.

I have been on the Basswood River a few times. And it is gorgeous. If you paddle down
from Upper Basswood Falls. Before you come to the narrows where the line is get out on
your left. A little steep but manageable. Go around the narrow. Put back in and go to a couple of really nice sights. One site has an end of a canoe for a wind block. But these two sites are nice and right on a couple of rapids where we caught some nice eye. Worth the trip.

Dodger.

I've decided to go down the Horse River and grab a campsite there. Since we are laying over a day, we'll day trip over and see Basswood and Wheelbarrel Falls. We'll try to get some fishing in up there too.