On a past trip I flew into Thunder Bay and got a really cheap rental car to drive to Beaverhouse Lake and back.

This time I think I'll come into Intl. Falls instead, and rentals there are not cheap. It just doesn't make sense to leave 100 dollar car at the trailhead for 10 days.

Does anyone know of an outfitter or shuttle service that could take a guy and two large bags (one is a foldable kayak) to Beaverhouse Lake?

At the price I was finding for a car, Uber might make sense! :). If you could find one to cross a border, which seems quite a long shot.

Thanks!

Not much there. Might try putting an add in Craigslist or marketplace. You will have a challenge getting across border requiring negative PCR test within 72 hr. Makes it tough for Uber.

Tough challenge. Hope you find something. (You could paddle there through Voyageurs NP!)

Oooh yeah . . . the test on the way *back.*

Didn't even think of that, oddly! :)

Hope that changes; but meanwhile, it somewhat puts the brakes on advance planning.

-----------
Post script -- actually, does a US citizen even need a test on the way back? I just drove back into CA from Mexico a couple weeks ago with no test and no request for one.

I think getting a test before flying would be practical. In fact, I even own a PCR tester (from work) that can be "proctored" for authentication.

I think everyone, CA, US, or other, entering Canada by land has to have a negative PCR test within 72 hours. There was a short time the CA residents did not, but reinstituted. Proof of vaccination and ArriveCan also

I thought US citizens entering US by land from CA did not have to be tested, but have not checked that recently.

It far from simple.

I think everyone, CA, US, or other, entering Canada by land has to have a negative PCR test within 72 hours. There was a short time the CA residents did not, but reinstituted. Proof of vaccination and ArriveCan also

I thought US citizens entering US by land from CA did not have to be tested, but have not checked that recently.

It far from simple.

There is bus service from Fort Frances to Atikokan.

Ontario Northland Bus

US citizens who return to the US from Canada by land do not need any testing. My most recent crossing was January 7.

Yes, that's what I would have expected: 1) Definitely a need to test and be vaccinated before entering Canada, and 2) probably no need for a test for a US citizen to re-enter.

The bus is interesting! Been a long while since I traveled by bus, but it could make a lot more sense, as long as I could find someone in Atikokan to dependably get me out and in of Beaverhouse Lake. Looking at some area outfitters right now.

Thanks for the replies!

Luckee:
The bus is interesting! Been a long while since I traveled by bus, but it could make a lot more sense, as long as I could find someone in Atikokan to dependably get me out and in of Beaverhouse Lake. Looking at some area outfitters right now.
"

Exactly.

2 personal experiences that may help: (both just pre covid)

1. A friend flew to International Falls and a taxi drove him to a motel in Fort Francis, where we picked him up the next day and drove to Beaverhouse, so if someone will drive you to and from Beaverhouse, they will not have to start at Int Falls.
2. The next year we drove to Beaverhouse, launched a crew, then stayed the week at Indiaonta, as bil was to have knee surgery soon. When we came back to pick them up at Beaverhouse, we waited with a lady with a canoe trailer who said she was from an Atikokan outfitter there to pick up a crew.
3. Alternate choice: If you get to Atikokan on the described bus, the outfitter can drop you off at Beaverhouse and later pick you up at Nym.

You might have trouble getting any transportation to cross the border but you can get a taxi from the tiny airport at International Falls which will take you to the border bridge. You walk across the bridge. Check in on the Canadian side and from there you might find transportation. The Canadian side is Fort Francis, maybe you can google Fort Francis shuttle service or something like that. But, you must be planning to rent a canoe, right? Maybe the outfitter you rent a canoe from can arrange your transportation from Fort Francis to Beaverhouse or wherever.

No canoe -- I'll be schlepping a Feathercraft kayak in a large backpack.

Getting that bag from vehicle to vehicle and across borders is its own challenge, but the yak is my main fishing/paddling platform and I know it can cover ground in conditions both good and bad. Of course I avoid portage-rich itineraries because loading it is more complicated than a canoe.

I'm remembering a border crossing I once did from Costa Rica to Nicaragua with that boat in its bag, sweltering on a dock in a long line of dour people waiting for the super-inefficient customs at San Carlos. Fort Frances couldn't be worse than that, right? :)

Anyone entering Canada for commerce, in this case and Uber driver has to apply for a work permit. You can’t just cross if you plan to make money in Canada. An Uber driver would be in commerce.

Obviously in this particular thread, Uber is not a viable option. There are plenty of Canadian businesses that would be happy to transport you and your gear wherever you may with to go. The planning is part of the fun!
Tom

A number of years ago, maybe 15 or more, Lori Branch from Branches Seine River Resort picked myself and a friend up from the IF airport, stopped at a grocery store and tackle shop and brought us to their lodge west of Atikokan. The next morning she dropped us at Beaverhouse Lake put in and 10 days later picked us up at Nym Lake and took us back accross the border to a hotel near the airport. Give them a call and see if they'll still provide that service.

Mark

Thanks for more great information!

I was talking with a pilot in Atikokan today who told me City Cab can take you from IF to Atikokan for a couple hundred. That doesn't solve the Beaverhouse problem, of course, but it's good to know.

Side note: I know a kayaker from Atikokan who calls the locals "Ati-coconuts." I doubt that would be polite usage for a foreigner though :)