Loaded question I know.

Greetings, I haven't been to the forum in a long while. Moved out of Minnesota in 2016 and am now planning my first trip back. I will be taking my partner, we are both in our late 50's and in good paddling/hiking shape. I have been to the BWCA many times, but not for the past 6 years, this will be my girlfriend's first trip even though she is a native Minnesotan.

Our plan is to go in for 3 or 4 nights, paddle hard on day 1 and base camp with a variety of day trips. Interested in a trip where we can see waterfalls, pictographs, nice scenery, maybe some hiking. This is a different trip than I am used to as it used to be all about fishing and probably won't even bring a rod this time.

Timing will be late August or Early September (want to do the Fair too!). We have most of the camping gear, but will need an outfitter for the canoe and packs. Also, we will be in an RV, so won't be able to transport the canoe to the EP, any outfitters right on the water (I've used Sawbill and Gunflint before) or shuttle services that would be near a trip that is mostly sightseeing?

Thanks for all your help, already excited about the trip!

You could push up to Crooked in a day. Check out Basswood Falls, picto's, table rock.

Couple of option:

Entry 37 - Kawishiwi Lake - (outfitter is Sawbill) - Day one - Kawishwi to Malberg Lake. Base Camp on Malberg. Day trips: 1. Southwest to see the pictos on Fishdance Lake. Walk the portage along the scenic Kawishiwi River toward Alice Lake. Paddle to Amber Lake to swim on the sand beaches by the first campsite. 2. Northeast to Makwa Lake. Observe the canyon alongside the northeast portage out of Malberg Lake with the rapids inside. Observe the magnificent cliffs on Makwa Lake. 3. Northwest loop through Boulder/Adams Lakes. 4. For some of the most quiet and wild places, take the Louse River east to Frond/Boze Lakes. Be prepared for lots of beaver dam pull overs.

Entry 54 - Sea Gull Lake - Outfitter is Sea Gull Outftter right on SeaGull Lake. Ask where to find the Palisades on Sea Gull Lake. Huge cliffs guarding the lake. You will find a taste of the rapids on this trip between Alpine Lake and Jasper Lake. You are headed for Ogishkemuncie Lake and you might regret not bringing your fishing gear. Day Trips: 1. Southeast out of Ogish you will find Mueller falls. Take the portage between Mueller Lake and Agamok Lake. You will intersect the Kekakabic Trail. Turn east and walk about a quarter mile to the bridge over the Mueller Falls. There are paths (old portages) up and down the falls for picture opportunities. 2. Northwest out of Ogish through Annie and Jenny to Eddy Lake. Between Eddy Lake and the South Arm of Knife Lake. you will find Eddy Falls. There are paths in toward the falls all along the portage path down to SAK. Stand at the top of the falls and take i the panorama and cliffs on the far side of SAK from Eddy Falls. 3. Did you get a very early start the morning you visited Eddy Falls? Then keep going west on SAK to Thunder Point! (This is the peninsula that separates the north and South arms of Knife Lake. Walk the trail to the (almost) top of the hill and you will have a breath-taking panorama of the border between USA and Canada. After you are done taking pictures, you can paddle back the way you came or loop down to Kekakabic Lake and head back through the Kek Ponds to Eddy Lake and back to Ogish.

If you are talking 2021 your biggest hurdle is permit availability. If so, I would suggest immediately finding a date and search for a permit. There are very limited permits at this point. Folks could suggest some great routes but they won't help you unless there is a permit open on your desired date.
If 2022 then just fix your date before permits open in January and reserve your permit then.

I picked a random date (Sept 7th or so) and it looks like there's still permits available for almost every entry point. Holiday weekend it'll be busier, and late August will be busier than Sept likely. Just check on recreation.gov for permit availability and book one that works for you or keep a close eye on it until you do have a date picked out. But for now you're ok.

As for where....the Mueller/Eddy option is nice as mentioned and Malberg. I'd also suggest going in at Duncan and check out Rose Falls along the Canadian border. You could use Clearwater outfitters for that one. Loops aren't quite as easy right there though.

My other option would be a Moose River North entry to Agnes or somewhere in there. (boulder bay of Lac La Croix?) Day trips to Curtain Falls on Iron and the picto's along the canadian shore of LLC. Probably the biggest waterfall in the park and one of the best picto sets. (if the border is still closed by then...it's not technically legal since you're in Canadian water to see them but people still go...your call) You'd need a shuttle from Ely or Crane Lake area outfitter.

Go for EP16 if available. First day paddle/portage to Agnes, maybe to LLC/Tiger Bay. Then you have Pictos to the north, Curtain Falls to the east....then spend last night back on Nina Moose for easy exit back to EP16. Good scenery, not any long/difficult portages, and maybe even a few hours to fish if you can convince her......on the way back to EP16, I've never hiked to the top of the crest to take in the skyline view of the Moose River and Nina Moose Lake....have to do that some day....

PineKnot's suggestion is good and there are still quite a few permits left for your time frame. BUT those permits could disappear in a hurry once people's schedules start to firm up over the next few months, so the sooner you can pick a firm date and get a permit the better. The same is true of other options.

Thanks for the replies! Will get my maps out this weekend and check these routes. And thanks for the permit advice, will get that shortly.

Here's the "overlook" view along the Moose River shortly after the EP

cyclones30: "Here's the "overlook" view along the Moose River shortly after the EP


"

Does anyone have the place on a map where you'd park your canoe and begin hiking the trail? Is the trail visible from the water's edge?

Does anyone have the place on a map where you'd park your canoe and begin hiking the trail? Is the trail visible from the water's edge?"

Just south of Nina Moose Lake on the east shore of the river. It's the only hill around. It's not really a trail but there are a couple different muddy landings and then you just follow your way up.

For the OP...+1 on EP16, if you can portage quickly you can easily make it to the island campsites in Boulder Bay. There are several excellent ones. The day trip to Curtain is a full day's outing but without your full gear the Bottle Portage isn't as bad.

Ep 16 is pretty easy going after the first Portage. The pictos are very cool and are worth going past boulder bay.

EP 14 Little Indian Sioux north is a good entry to check out the Devil's Cascade. There's a good picnic stop at the top of the falls/portage. The challenge will be to get the EP permit but if you book now, something may likely be open for September timeframe, perhaps earlier.

PineKnot: "

cyclones30: "Here's the "overlook" view along the Moose River shortly after the EP



"

Does anyone have the place on a map where you'd park your canoe and begin hiking the trail? Is the trail visible from the water's edge?"

That's looking north @ Nina Moose that's in the distance. So it's some bit from the actual lake. If your maps have contours it'll be obvious where it's at as it's the only real spot where a ton of lines are tight right against the east edge of the river. If you watch the shoreline in that area there's at least one little clearing/landing to pull out of the channel into. Then just scramble up that's not too hard.

Clearwater EP, great outfitter right on the lake. paddle and portage down to Caribou but it wouldn't be a tough day. Go further to the 5 star site on Little Caribou if you are feeling lucky, or move on to Pine if you want to travel longer. Johnson Falls is down a short trail off the west end of Pine Lake and is one of the prettier spots in the BWCA. Two level falls with a great swimming hole below the lower one. Hike a bit further up and see a beautiful scene of the area above the falls. Great scenery and good fishing. Bring the rod:) if only for shore fishing. Great for short trip and there are other options for travel if you really want to move. See trip report:

Clearwater, Johnson Falls and beyond