I’ve never even considered this since I’m a paddling fool. I have a dear friend who wants a last trip to the BWCA. Unfortunately, they are incapable of certain destinations because of health and age. She reached out to me to make this happen. I have a 16 foot Jon boat with a 20hp jet.

So the question Is simple - has anyone boat/base camped on Sag? I've paddled to Cache, Monument Portage and I see folks, just never considered it. I want to make this happen so any and all info would be appreciated.

You would need to secure an overnight motor permit for sag. Motor must be 25hp or less. Call voyager canoe outfitters and make sure

I know the basics. Been, on 200 plus trips. Never with a boat!?

Wow...
That's 10 trips a year for 20 years....
That's impressive...

yogi59weedr: "Wow...
That's 10 trips a year for 20 years....
That's impressive..."

I’m 54 went on my first trip when I was 10. I also lived in Ely after college so I was blessed with the opportunity to go on many trips.!!

Some sites will be better than others for a boat. Lots of steep rocky shoreline on Sag. Search around on the forums and campsite reviews, look at the satellite images, and see if you can find a few sites with soft sandy protected landings.

Sag itself has many rock hazards, some barely submerged. Jet drive is a definite plus but do be cautious!

We have boat camped on Sag and really enjoyed our time there. There are some nice campsites that are accessible by motor boat. We stayed on the north site on Englishman’s Island and it worked great but when we checked it out last summer there were several trees down that made it hard to get from the boat to the site. The south site has a sandy beach and is a great campsite if you can get it.

Fishing was challenging because we weren’t familiar with the lake but I was able to catch a nice Lake Trout. Motor noise wasn’t bad; most of it is in the morning/early afternoon when the tow boats are doing pick ups and drop offs.

Good luck!

We take at least one canoe trip each year but 4 or 5 days on Sag with our boat has become an annual event for us. It’s wilderness camping with a few extra luxuries that you wouldn’t bring on a canoe or backpacking trip. Ironically, most of the motor traffic on Sag is created by canoeists using tow services.