I am in my mid 60's and our trips tend to be much easier these days. Although I am still up for a 7-8 day travelling trip, most are a half to 3/4 day in and setup a basecamp for exploration, photography and relaxation. I am pretty sure there are others out there who are interested in this kind of trip so here are a few options that I have done personally and can recommend:

Crocodile lake - enter at East Bearskin Lake campground landing but with a permit for EP 66. 35 minute paddle to the portage on the south shore, 100 rods with some uphill but then you are there. 4 campsites, 2 good and 2 okay. Secluded lake with great walleye fishing and some daytrip options. Must stay all nights on Crocodile Lake, good for a short trip.

Homer Lake entry, paddle to Vern, Juno or Pipe for camping. Quiet area, good daytrips and fishing, Vern River is a great day of exploration. Short easy portages.

Clearwater Lake to Caribou Lake, one 200 rod challenging portage but then you are on a beautiful lake with good fishing for eyes and smallies. Great daytrip to Johnson Falls which is a must see in the BWCA. Options to extend the trip as well.

Hog Creek to Perent Lake, not a lot of daytrip options once you are there but for a short trip it works. Beautiful lake with good walleye fishing, lots of islands points and bays and some very nice campsites. Peaceful 2-3 hour paddle in on a windy little river with no portaging(except from the car).

Lake One entry is a popular entry because there is so much water and so many campsites accessible from it with little to no portaging, including some classic BWCA lakes like Insula a days paddle away. But one can stop anywhere along the way, lake one itself, lakes 2 3 or 4 and enjoy the beauty of the BWCA with minimal effort. Going in the off season has its rewards on this route in terms of less traffic and competition for campsites.

Kawishiwi Lake is a nice lake with several campsites accessible from an easy gravel landing, Or several more campsites on the next couple lakes, although they will be in a burn area.

East Bearskin to Alder, Canoe, Pierz or Crystal Lakes. Half day paddle in to some nice water, good sites and good fishing. Portage trail to Johnson Falls for a daytrip if you are so inclined. Brook trout in at least one of the lakes to the east.

If you are getting up there in age and enjoy easier trips these days, or perhaps you are new to the BWCA and want to dip our toes into the experience first time round, or only have 2-3 days for your trip, these are all decent options- there are many more, these are just the ones I have personally been on. Questions, comments or additions highly recommended:)

Couple of other ideas:

Entry 37 - Kawishiwi Lake - You mentioned just staying on Kawishiwi, but it is really only a half day to Lake Polly. The portages are not hard and it gets you past the burn zone. Day tripping to Koma/Malberg (north) or Phoebe River to Hazel to the east.

Entry 38 - Sawbill
East - To the Fire Lakes (Smoke, Burnt, and Flame)
West - To Alton or Beth.
South - To Wonder or Sunhigh Lake. I have not been to these, but most overlook these spots.
Northwest - Kelso Lake and River - Visit the Dolman
Northeast - Sawbill is a long lake and you can find some spots several miles north that require no portaging.

Entry 39 - Baker Lake - You are in "easy" territory all the way to Weird Lake on this route. Nice scenery, Visit the abandoned mine, good moose viewing opportunities, some good fishing. A day trip to South Temperance Lake to fish is not out fo the question from Jack or Weird Lake.

Great thread and wonderful suggestions welcomed by this 77 year old. A couple of us 2 years ago took a tow to American Point in Saganaga and camped on the west end. A day trip along Monument Portage showed us how much higher and steeper these hills are getting - not as mellow as it was in 1995. Then we moved east and south to Red Rock, Alpine, and Seagull, camping on each. Nice route for geezers or Grummans.

Another that sees crowds, but Poplar to Horse Shoe might tickle your fancy.

How is the fishing in the Homer, Vern, Pipe area?

We were there in early july two years ago and did pretty well. Eyes smallies and pike from the campsite. Very good fishing for smallies and walleyes on our daytrip up the Vern River. They are in there.

Blatz, you are right, a Poplar entry is another good one and Horseshoe is a cool lake. Actually Vista and/or Gaskin are within that half day paddling range too and are both really nice lakes. There are some quieter long narrow lakes to the west that might just offer more seclusion too.

Michwall, Baker is a favorite of mine and a good choice for an easy trip. As you said it offers nice lakes, good fishing, good wildlife(moose) possibilities and very easy portages. Also a small rustic campground at the entry point with 4 or 5 sites. The gold mine is kind of cool, lots of artifacts lying around it in the woods.

My buddy and I are getting up in the years. We’ve often joked about taking the tow from LaTourells to the portage and camp on Splash. Then send a message with my Garmin InReach to come pick us up in a week or two.

My vote is ep 47.
Kinda off topic- has any one taken a poll of the average age of bwca trippers? I'm going to be 70 this summer and think many of you are north of 50 too. This post seems to show how age affects how we camp and where we go.

A couple more -

Entry 54 - Seagull Lake

Option 1 - Stay on Seagull - This is a motor lake so you may encounter some motor traffic but there are enough islands and bays to find a secluded spot. Some of the lake is in a burn zone.

Option 2 - Alpine Lake - This is mostly in a burn zone, but there is good fishing to be had. Lots of islands and bays here.

Option 3 - Red Rock Lake - Gets you out of the burn zone into a very nice area.

Option 4 - Red Rock Bay (Saganaga Lake) - Again this is a motor lake so you might encounter some motor traffic, but your options are endless out here. Some nice island campsites can be found. Just keep in mind the wind out on the big lake.

Option 5 - If you use the tow to the end of Three Mile Island, you may be able to get as far as Ogishkemuncie in a half day.

Great topic and information. We are going in pretty deep this year but based upon how my right knee feels this will most likely be our last harder than average trip.

I will research some of these for future reference. I second the Poplar to Horseshoe and Gaskin area. We did that two trips ago and really liked it.

It's my 70 birthday today. I think I will bookmark this page

Happy Birthday!

Just to piggy back off the original post. Clearwater to West Pike is also a pretty nice trip. Not the shortest portage in the world, but very well maintained and not too strenuous.

For the base campers out there here is another suggestion on the Ely side. Entry point #8 Moose River South to Big Moose Lake. It is about a 2-hour paddle down the Nina Moose that always has enough water. There are two portages that are flat and open. Also, a beaver dam that will require a pullover. There is 1 permit per day so competition for the 5 campsites is not too bad.

Big Moose is kind of a dead-end lake because the portages out are very long and rugged but the fishing is pretty good for walleye and smallmouth. There used to be some big pike but I think those are mostly gone now. The lake is kind of like a big bowl with limited structure but there is a mid-lake reef that holds fish pretty well. Ping me if you want the location. We fish around the islands and save the reef for the evening walleye bite.

The 5 campsites are pretty good but not 5 star.

Our church men's group averages 65 years old. Half-day in to a 3-day basecamp has been their M.O. for many years. Some favorites to which we often return, somewhat in order of difficulty:
Little Gabbro Lake -> Gabbro Lake
North Kawishiwi River (Ojibway Lake) -> somewhere on the Kawishiwi
Little Indian Sioux River North -> Shell Lake
Moose River North -> Lake Agnes
Mudro Lake -> either Horse Lake or Fourtown Lake