Hello All,

My wife and I are experienced BWCA/Quetico travelers with many 2 week trips under our belts.

We have two young kids, ages nine and six, and feel we are ready for our first trip to the BWCA.

I was able to grab a permit for Crab Lake & Cummings Lake (OP), as we all have seen permits are hard to come by.

We would take a tow to the portage. From what I have seen it looks like a tame mile that used to be a logging road.

Our plan is to camp on Crab the first few nights and day trip around the lake. I would like to try and move into Cummings as well, but with the high water I have concerns about the Korb River.

We have seven days to play with and could pull out early if needed.

My concerns are finding a site on Crab, the portage length, water levels and general concerns on camping with my little ones on their first BWCA trip.

I would love any input or thoughts

Thanks. :)

It's been a long time (15 years?) since I went in Crab, but the portage was relatively easy besides the length - easy landings, good trail, etc. We also took the tow.

We went up to Korb and on to Cummings, but a weather change left us windbound a day or so. It was a nice stream paddle NE out of Korb if you get up that way.

I just got out from the Crab Cummings area. You can email me if you wish.

If you haven't seen it already? Check out this trip report

The entry portage from Burntside to Crab is not quite as tame as it was a bit more than a decade ago when it was, I believe, entirely on the old logging road. The beginning of the old route on the Burntside end went over private land and that was closed to public use in the aughts, so the Forest Service rerouted the first part of the portage over more rugged terrain, some elevation, rocks and roots. Total length now is about 1.25 miles. With your experience it should be no problem even with newer young campers along, just flagging that so you can plan your first day accordingly. A tow to the portage is great idea because Burntside can get rough and it will let you start your trip fresh.

If you are up for some extra adventure, consider exiting from Crab via Crab Creek instead of the portage. We did this a bit more than a decade ago during a high-water period and it was great. There are a couple unofficial but (at the time we did it) well cleared portages along the creek. You also go over the remains of an old logging road bridge. If you commit to this ahead of time, you can arrange to have your tow boat pick you up at the campsite on the bay of Burntside where the creeks empties. It is definitely more of an adventure, possibly more suitable when your kids are older, but I thought I'd throw that out there.

The portage to little crab is basically a sidewalk and the site is an absolute gem. Having your own lake is always pretty awesome.

Have fun!

We took our kids for their first BWCA trip at the same ages into the Crab/Cummings area and had a great time. We spent a first night at a campsite on Crab, then headed to Cummings where we camped for four nights, then paddled out in a single day.
It was pretty doable with kids to head to Cummings, either via the portage from Korb Lake or taking the river the whole way around. There's a lot to explore around Cummings--we really enjoyed hiking the long portage trail to Big Moose, you can also hike east on the network of cross country ski trails that stretches from the North Arm of Burntside. We also spent a day paddling all the way around Cummings.
I'll second Hammertime on the campsite on Little Crab, though you do get a lot of traffic through Little Crab, so you may see quite a few folks paddle by (vs. finding a site in a quiet bay on Crab or Cummings).
As Ho Ho mentions the portage from Burntside into Crab was rerouted and covers some rough terrain over the first third, it's rocky so watch the kids. Then it levels out--you'll portage past a marsh where the trail is often under water.
We haven't been in there since the crowds of the last couple of years, I'm guessing that Crab will be pretty full and Cummings maybe less. The FS reduced the number of daily permits at the Crab entry point this year from 4 to 3.

You'll be fine, water levels are much lower now than they were and that stream doesn't have much of a watershed to draw from.

Cummings site 294, the second site north of the Korb portage, has a great beach for swimming. I had children with me last year that really enjoyed the soft sand and gradual slope. Decent smallmouth fishing for small to medium fish basically anywhere we looked last July. The kids had a blast.

The very first site on Crab, #314, is a beautiful and spacious one with an easy landing to the right. The next one, 313, is also pretty nice with a great view. One on the northwest part, 309, is small and can be a bit buggy. But you can see bats, which is actually pretty cool.

I wanted to take a moment and thank you all for your input

I feel good about our plan and I am very excited to get my kids up north!

Thanks ??

I hope you and your kids enjoy your trip.

Have fun!