First off, this site has been a wealth of information, so thank y'all.

I have only car camped off the Gunflint on the cusp of the Boundary Waters a couple times when visiting my extended family in northern Wisconsin, but I have not been able to line up a trip in the BWCA. I have been trying to make it happen since the first time I went, and now that I have moved to the Northwoods, I am planning my first trip.

This trip will be with a few friends, no family or children. We try to get together once a year, but it is usually more like every other year and I have convinced them to do a trip with me in the BWCA. We are planning the trip for sometime in August for a week to 10 days. We are flexible on the exact dates depending on where we go and availability of permits. We are all fit and have varying levels of backcountry experience.

We are looking to get away and enjoy one another's company in pristine wilderness more than looking to cover a lot of ground, although covering a lot of ground to get to the right spot is not a issue. Thinking we would basecamp in a scenic area with lots to explore. We will be fishing, but again, the scenery is our first priority.

We may very well find a spot we really like and stay the whole time, but it is more likely that we will move at least once, maybe twice.

What are some of your favorite areas? If you could only pick two campsites for the whole season, which ones would they be?

I would like to make a good impression so I can convince them to come back year after year. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I think permit availability might dictate where you go. I know the prime entry points are pretty well booked up for August. You really can't go wrong with anywhere up there though.

I get a lot of good information from the Tumblehome podcast. If you are not familiar, look it up where you get your podcasts. Entertaining and informative show about the boundary waters.

Welcome to BWCA.com!


Don't know about current permit availability, but try getting one of the three easternmost sites on Clearwater Lake EP #62.

Scroll down past the FOT SALE or WANTED FORUM to read basecamping ideas. Likely to find some info you may not have considered.

I would suggest coming up with a few dates that would work for entering and then check on what's available on those dates. Once you have the options that you can actually pursue, come back to the forum and ask - I am sure you will get some good info about portages campsites, fishing, solitude and must see features in the area.


The BWCA is much busier than normal this year and permits are much harder to come by. Find out where you CAN go and then we can help you decide where you SHOULD go:)

Given what you wrote in the OP, I'll just throw something specific out...

Crooked Lake...West of Tuscarora, South of Gillis and east of Little Sag.

Head that direction and you'll make a good impression for sure. Not that there's any one thing "magical" about Crooked compared to any other awesome lake, but its location in the middle of this really nice area is pretty sweet.

Thank y'all for the pointers. We don't have many options. So far as dates go we are stuck with entry on the August 16th since that was the only time all of us could get off of work. There was not too many options for entry... We are thinking we will enter at Daniels and from there we are going to have to do some work that first day to make a roundabout way to Clearlake by way of a Rove - Watap - Mountain. We will try to set up on Clearlake for a few days to explore Clearlake and West Pike (Maybe East), then down to (hopefully) little Caribou where we will check out Johnson falls, Pine, and Caribou.

Other than the circuitous route to get to Clearlake how does this sound to y'all? Any suggestions for things to see, places to see, campsites?

Daniel's trip report

I checked and August 16th has some good entry options available:
Baker Lake to South Temperance
Homer Lake to Vern, Juno, loop or out and back
Meeds Lake, spend a couple nights on this quiet good fishing lake, move to caribou or Horseshoe
Kawishiwi lake to Malberg, lots of daytrip options, good fishing and campsites
Hog creek to Perent with great walleye fishing and nice campsites but not a lot of tripping options
Slim Lake is a very nice lake with good fishing and campsites and options to travel or move to some more remote lakes where you will be the only ones there.

Just in case you are not happy with the current plan