Hi there -

I am interested in feedback on planning a BW trip the last week in May into the first week in June with my kids.

They are 16 and 10 and have been in canoe before on float trips and rivers. They do well with paddling but like to take breaks and explore and fish.

I have a potential of seven days on the water is the max we can do and would prefer a river/lake loop if possible. I am know the water temp can be really cold this time of year so if I can avoid the bigger lakes that would be ideal, but I understand that may be hard to do.

I have been on two previous BW trips, but it's been almost 20 years ago at this point so I am pretty much starting from scratch.

Any suggestions on route and how many miles per day to plan would be greatly appreciated. I am hoping to make this into one of those trips my kids will love and remember for the rest of their lives.

Thanks!

Barrett

First, it's awesome that you are planning this trip with the kiddos! Good on you!

Next, I would start looking at what permits are still available. If you are looking at going in Memorial weekend some routes may already be off the table.

Other questions -

- Are you ok with a few long/difficult portages?

- Does West (Ely) vs East(Gunflint) vs South (Sawbill/Brule/etc) matter to you?

- Would you want to travel each day? Basecamp? something in-between?

That all said, here is a couple of suggestions:
1. EP52. You can stay at Tuscarora lodge the night before. You would do a loop going W and then SW to Gillis before looping back East through Tuscarora and back up to round. In 7 days you could work in two or three layover days or just do very short travel days. Gillis and Tuscarora are what I could call moderate size lakes. If you were a little more gung-ho extent this loop out to Little Sag.

2. EP50 - Exiting on Poplar.
To do this I would work with Rockwood Outfitters on Poplar lake. Have them drive you the first morning to the EP point. From here you work through a series of lakes down to Long Island Lake. From there you could go the Norther route through Banadad and Rush to Meed and back to Poplar or the Southern route through Kiskadinna, Omega, Galpin, Horseshoe before turning North through Caribou and back up to Poplar. Either way, you end up back at Rockwood. Again, having 7 days would mean a couple of layover days or just very short travel days.

3. EP38 Sawbill
A few options here for loops. You could do a loop from Sawbill the SE to Kelly, North to the Temperance lakes, NW to Cherokee, then back SW to Sawbill. another longer option would be the Frost river route. Sawbill up to Cherokee, N to Gordon, thn West on the Frost river before turning south to Mesaba and working back to Sawbill. The Louse River route would be similar - looping W to Polly, N to Malberg, E along the Louse River to Wine lake and the back down to Sawbill. The two river routes would I think be pretty aggressive you your group.

EP37
Here would be an option to get dropped off at EP37 then travel North to Lake Polly before going East through the "lady chain" back to Sawbill.

Hope that gives you some idea...I could keep going but I am getting sleepy.

If EP 47 Lizz Lake has permit availability for your dates, it's a great place to spend some time. In general the portages aren't too bad. Very scenic area. Horseshoe Lake is one off the most unique lakes in the BWCA and is known for Moose sightings. Fishing is decent. Here's one way you could do it:

EP 47 but you put in at Poplar, either at the public access on the west end or through Rockwood Lodge if you are using any of their services. Portage to Caribou Lake and head west to Meeds Lake, then down through Swallow, Pillsbery and into Henson. Explore those small narrow lakes in the area for a day or two. From there continue south to either Gaskin or Winchell, then back east to Horseshoe Lake. head to Vista for a night if you want to and have time, it is a very pretty lake with good fishing. then back out to Poplar.

This loop does not include a lot of miles and there would be some short paddling days, and possibly a layover day or two as well, neither of those things are bad things. For a first trip I would err on the side of too easy rather than too hard if you want them to enjoy it and possibly want to return in the future.

Winchell and Gaskin are larger lakes and I would plan on paddling them first thing in the morning to avoid any potential wind issues, definitely go west to east on them. Lots of nice campsites throughout the route.

If, by chance EP 47 permits are not available, you could enter via EP 48 Meeds Lake too if you are willing to take a long and somewhat challenging portage right off the bat. If you do this plan a short first day and just camp on Meeds, it is worth it. Very quiet lake with a few good campsites and very good fishing. Then you can do the rest of the route as laid out.

This is a popular area, for good reason. Easy entry and portages, scenic and good fishing. Find a campsite early in the day. As i said, shorter route which leaves a lot of time for exploring and fishing and a layover or two. If you want something more ambitious, well there's lots of other options too. I would plan something on the easier side for first timers/kids. Just a thought.

You'll get plenty of good route suggestions, I have one of a different kind.

I've taken kids, similar ages, a couple of times on week long trips. Try and plan it so you don't have to break camp and move everyday. Take one or two campsites and stay 2 nights, letting them sleep in, relax, read, explore and enjoy the solitude, and just take day trips on those days.

That seems to get my kids re-energized.

The Sawbill, Cherokee, Temperance, and burning chain might be a good loop. You are never too far from the entry point, Cherokee is a destination lake, and the burning chain, Smoke, Flame, and Burnt, are nice lakes and good for kids. I'm thinking about taking my kids to the burning chain when they are old enough.

johndku: "You'll get plenty of good route suggestions, I have one of a different kind.


I've taken kids, similar ages, a couple of times on week long trips. Try and plan it so you don't have to break camp and move everyday. Take one or two campsites and stay 2 nights, letting them sleep in, relax, read, explore and enjoy the solitude, and just take day trips on those days.


That seems to get my kids re-energized."

Agreed, maybe for the first one an easier trip where you go in and find a good spot and stay an extra day. Then move to another good spot for 2 or 3 days and then head out. (or add another 3rd camp) I'd prefer that for first timers over moving 6 different nights....lots of setup and teardown of camp practice for the kids but not as much of the "trip" experience like fishing, hiking in the woods, hanging out by the lake, around the fire, etc. Plus if you have a windy or stormy day you're not forced to move that day anyway.

As for routes...I'll add Granite River into the mix. Start on Gunflint/Magnetic and end at the end of the Gunflint Trail on Saganaga.

Thank you all so much for the suggestions.

I think we have settled on the Sawbill area doing a combination of basecamp with maybe one or two moves and exploring as we want.

My brother, who is also going on this trip, has friends in this area that are going to give us ride to the drop off and pick us up so I think this is going to work out great.

Really looking forward to this trip and hope it is something my kids will remember for a lifetime.

Now... time to start gathering my gear and figuring out what fishing tackle to take. That is probably going to be more difficult than planning the route. :-)

Not trying to second guess you but since you are in the equipment planning stage I thought I would mention that you are tripping in the possible black fly season. Black flies can hatch late May to early June depending on weather and are active for about 2 weeks. Repellents are less effective so you may consider shelter and personal protection for that event if you have not already done so.

Tackle is pretty easy, especially in the spring. Head over to the fishing forum...if you use the search there are older topics with people (including me) posting pictures of everything they take all spread out on a table and stuff.

I first took my three when they were 6-8-10. We did that trip without bug suits, didn't even think about them to be honest. The next trip I bought the two youngest bug suits but the oldest wanted to dress as Dad did. The trip was much more enjoyable with the bug suites....