Anyone ever made it into North or South Fowl Lake in the Winter?

If so curious the route you used. Has anyone ever skied or snowshoed in via the Royal River/Lake? I have never been on it in the summer and I have no sense for how fast flowing a river it is to know if it is even remotely safe to travel on in the winter time.

Alternatively the Boarder Route Trail looks like it goes from McFarland Lake to North Fowl, is this trail passable in the winter? Is it every tracked for skiing? I am not against breaking trail but there is a limit to the amount I want to break in the woods.

Any other ways people have made it onto these lake? Given COVID, my assumption is that any potential access point from the Canadian side of these lakes will not be open to me this winter.

I am thinking of doing another winter point to point trek ideally from North Fowl Lake to Gunflint Lake this winter and it looks like finding a way onto North Fowl Lake might be the biggest challenge (besides the 500+ rod portage into Rose Lake...lol).

I would stay away from traveling on the Royal river in the winter. Moving water under ice is very iffy. As far as if it’s tracked, my guess is no. You would be busting trail unless someone else has been there.

The Border Route Trail (and the Superior Hiking Trail) are passable on snowshoes, with the caveat that you will make MUCH worse time than summer hiking. It's not unusual to have multiple feet of snow here, so that's pretty tough walking. The hiking trails are too rugged for skiing though. However, there is a snowmobile trail that runs from McFarland to South Fowl, and skiing that would likely be your easiest option. Otherwise, you could ski on the (presumably unplowed) South Fowl Road and then along some ATV trail to South Fowl too, but the snowmobile trail might be packed for you from other users.