For the ones who have gone in this year, is the crowding as bad as it’s been the past few years? I know they cut permits, but it seemed permits were gone quickly this year. We don’t head in for three weeks, but I haven’t seen as many people mention crowding this year like the previous years.

I just got back from doing the Mudro - Horse River - Crooked Lake - Fourtown Lake Loop and I didn't see anyone camping on Crooked Lake until we almost got to Thursday Bay. On the way out, we saw plenty of available campsites on Gull, Gunn, Fairy, and Fourtown.

I was a little shocked at how "not busy" the area seemed.

Agreed. On my entry date the other week to Crab Cummings EP4, there were only three cars in the new parking area, and mine was one of them. Open sites on Crab. I saw only one other group in four days.

I spent a week and a half (6/7-6/18) base camped on Lake Three. On my way in, there were a decent number of open sites. I camped on the South end of the lake near the group of five campsites and saw few canoes the whole time. The largest number of canoes that I saw was eight on one day in three groups. There were a couple days that I didn’t see anyone.

Part of why I was up there was to scout for a July trip with family (at least that was my excuse). So one afternoon, I did a lap around the nearby campsites to prioritize our choices. Every one of them was open (and in good shape). That day, I saw one group traveling nearby.

In general, I was shocked at the solitude. I can’t be sure, but I think there was just one group that spent five or so days on one campsite. Otherwise I don’t think any other group spent more than three days or so in the area. There was only one night where I could hear other campers, and they sounded like kids to me.

Caveats: I didn’t spend a lot of time on the water and there was only one day that I was up by the main travel corridor. I came to think that just about everyone was passing through to Insula or beyond. Based on the groups I talked to on my way out a lot of groups were looking to stay on Lake One or travel through.

Fritty

We just returned from a week on the west end of Crooked Lake. (Saturday and Sunday Bays). I have never seen it so crowded. We were lucky to snag the last available campsite and watched numerous canoes coming from Curtain Falls the next few days looking for a site and having to travel farther east to at least Friday Bay.

We went in Lake One on Saturday June 4th and came out on Newfound on Sunday the 12th, and it was pretty quiet for us. We only saw a couple groups on the first day to Insula, and Insula seemed practically deserted, even the north end with the nice campsites. On the next day to Adams, we saw no one on the lake, and passed a single occupied campsite on Alice. We were alone for the rest of the day all the way to Adams. We expected to be alone there but another group arrived the next day around 4-5pm and was there for the duration of our stay.

On the day from Adams to Thomas, we saw no one (a bear bag hung at the island on Boulder but no one visible) until we got to Sagus. Fraser had some occupied campsites and then we hit Thomas where we found 5 or 6 occupied campsites in a row, which was unnerving. Thankfully we found a nice site after that.

From Thomas to Newfound, it was more and more people as you can imagine. We passed several groups going in from Ima to Ashigan, with most of them being around the Cattyman/Jordan area. We camped on Ashigan and all campsites were open, surprisingly! Ensign seemed fairly occupied when we paddled out the next day but there was a group or two pulling up to some empty sites to check them out.

Overall, we were shocked with how not busy it was on the numbered lakes, and Insula as well. We expected to be alone from Insula to Adams and that part held pretty true. The Alice-Fishdance-Beaver area is some wild country! I would say the Ensign to Thomas area was about as busy as we expected... busy but not overcrowded, at least when we passed through.

We base camped on Vista Lake 22-28 May. Obviously, we had to go through Caribou Lake and Horseshoe Lake to get there. In talking to paddlers coming out, they said Horseshoe had been completely full and many groups, to include them, had to move on to Gaskin to camp. Our paddle through Horseshoe about noonish on May 22 (a Sunday) found about half the sites taken. Returning on around noonish May 28 (a Saturday) every site on Horseshoe open with the exception of one. This surprised me because Horseshoe is a popular base camp lake for those who don't want to go too deep. Vista had more traffic than I expected. It was all from the north.

Mike

Two trips thus far this year:

1.) Island River EP #34 May 6th weekend. Saw no one the entire trip. In fact, I may have been the only overnight canoeist in the BWCA for those days.
Trip report

2.) Meeds Lake EP #48 Memorial weekend. Had the lake to ourselves until Sunday (and then, only one other group.) All campsites we passed/saw on Caribou were vacant when we were exiting, but we did see a few groups of paddlers. Was mostly surprised to see only a handful of cars in the EP (Poplar Lake) parking lot.

Canadian border is open so many are headed back to their usual fishing trips or Q trips up there. Much less pressure than the last two years when the border was completely closed.

Cyclones - off topic a bit, but has Canadian government reinstated RABC? Was monitoring this earlier this year as we are coming up in July. As of my last check a few weeks back it was not. Too late for us as we are locked in for the July trip, but was curious if it had changed. Thanks.

Nope, the RABC program is still suspended

Just returned from EP14 trip 6/11/22 to 6/18/22. Obviously we saw people but no overcrowding or any issues finding open sites. It was awesome!

Fishman53: "Cyclones - off topic a bit, but has Canadian government reinstated RABC? Was monitoring this earlier this year as we are coming up in July. As of my last check a few weeks back it was not. Too late for us as we are locked in for the July trip, but was curious if it had changed. Thanks. "

Nope you can do a Q trip but have to do it from a northern entry. None of the remote crossing stations are open yet (nor are RABC)

Just returned last weekend from Mudro entry into Fourtown. No problems finding campsites. The wind on the other hand was strong when we went in on Thursday.

Spent four days in the narrows just below Big/Little Current. We were happy to snag the last site open as far as we could tell, but did not see a ton of traffic going up and down the narrows...just a group or two.

Fishing the currents was nigh onto impossible do to the still-high waters (this was June 3-6). They were running really fast.

But definitely not a huge crowd around us during that time. And no one in the Wednesday Bay sites along the way (although my sense is they are not super popular).

I just returned from a week spent east of the Gunflint Trail. Rose Lake had plenty of people (only 1 site open the 2 nights I was there), but after that I hardly saw a soul. It was the first time in years that I felt comfortable paddling past 2pm and knew I would have no trouble finding a campsite. Now, I was was not on some of the highest use lakes like Alder and those surrounding so I can't speak to that. But on my whole loop from Duncan, out through Mountain and Moose to the Fowls and back through the Pikes and Clearwater, I only had traffic at the 2 portages on the Royal River. I only saw 7 boats (3 groups) on the entire length of Mountain (and no one camped when I went by in the afternoon), no boats on Moose and no one camped (but met a group at the Royal River that had been camped there the night before). I had E. Pike all to myself and only 1 other group on W. Pike. Only saw 2 groups camped on Clearwater on a Saturday morning.

I also asked at the ranger station in Grand Marais. They said people are still complaining of crowding in the Lizz-Swamp area and in the Knife Lake and SAK areas (of course, there was no permit decrease at Moose or Snowbank so that is to be expected).

Just went in on Angleworm (ugh ugh ugh, we screwed up TWICE and burned ourselves out - don't walk on the Angleworm Trail with Grumman) and then Gull to Crooked/Friday Bay, and down the Basswood to Basswood Lake and out Jackfish.

My overall impression is that it's QUIET. Talking with folks on the water, same thing. Lots of open sites on Crooked, down the river, a few taken near Lower Basswood Falls but we got the primo one facing the double falls, only the best sites taken on Basswood, both above the Upper Falls and Hanson Island, but also on Jackfish.

And this is on a holiday weekend. If you're willing to take a mid-tier campsite, which in my experience generally get better once you're in them, you're fine.

I don't get where the crowds are.

My wife and I spent the nights of 7/2, 7/3, and 7/4 camped on campsite 289 on Cummings and day tripping around nearby lakes and rivers. We saw very few people.

Saturday 7/2: Three large groups were coming out of the Burntside – Crab Lake portage as we headed in late in the morning. On Crab, campsites 313 and 310 were occupied as we paddled by. The rest of the lake that we could see on our way to the Little Crab portage was deserted. We did not see anyone else until Sunday morning. The campsites on Little Crab and Korb were empty when we paddled by them. When we arrived at Cummings, all of the campsites in the Eastern bays (including three five-star campsites) were available and stayed that way until the evening of the 4th.

Sunday 7/3: Two canoes paddled past us as we ate a late breakfast, one headed North and one headed South. We did not see anyone else all day. We day tripped out the West end of Cummings, through Otter and a fair distance down the Little Indian Sioux and back. We did not encounter a soul or see any occupied sites.

Monday 7/4: We day tripped through Korb, Little Crab, Lunetta, Hassel, Saca, Crab, Little Crab, Korb, and the Korb River back to Cummings. We encountered no one on our entire loop, although campsite 310 on Crab had gear on it as we paddled past. All the other campsites we passed on every lake were unoccupied. When we returned to Cummings, we did have new neighbors on site 288.

Tuesday 7/5: During our trip back to the Burntside Public Water Access we passed people camped at sites 310 and 313 on Crab but encountered no canoes on the water on any of the lakes, or paddlers on any of the portages, all the way back to our car on Burntside.

A brief word on the mosquitoes: We have seldom been in canoe country before late June. However, over 31 years of canoeing the Quetico Superior and points further North, the mosquitoes on the portages were the among the thickest we have encountered. Our campsite was relatively mosquito-free until about 30 minutes after sunset.

We just entered at Kawishiwi 37, on Thursday July 7th, headed up to Pan, and exited Monday. We got in the water pretty late on Thurs, so we only made it to Polly. Many sites on Polly were taken, but there were still sites open. Kawishiwi had some open sites. Kawasachong was full. We bumped into a couple groups on our way up to Pan the next day, but it was relatively quiet. One other group was headed beyond Pan to Mawaka, and there was one group on pan. We exited pan on Sunday, and saw NO ONE, all the way to Malberg. Even on Malberg, the only campers we saw on our paddle through were two forest service guys (Adam and Chris). We had our pick of sites on koma on Sunday. I saw a number of good sites available throughout our trip. Last year was insanely busy, so it was refreshing not to play that game this year.

analyzer: "We just entered at Kawishiwi 37, on Thursday July 7th, headed up to Pan, and exited Monday. We got in the water pretty late on Thurs, so we only made it to Polly. Many sites on Polly were taken, but there were still sites open. Kawishiwi had some open sites. Kawasachong was full. We bumped into a couple groups on our way up to Pan the next day, but it was relatively quiet. One other group was headed beyond Pan to Mawaka, and there was one group on pan. We exited pan on Sunday, and saw NO ONE, all the way to Malberg. Even on Malberg, the only campers we saw on our paddle through were two forest service guys (Adam and Chris). We had our pick of sites on koma on Sunday. I saw a number of good sites available throughout our trip. Last year was insanely busy, so it was refreshing not to play that game this year."

Did you do any fishing up on Pan or that area, we are heading in on Monday.

Went in at Little Gabbro last Monday. One other permit entering at the same time (Hi, MikeFromMpls!) A couple of early sites were taken but our favorite was open, along with our choices #2 and #3... Tuesday was relatively quiet, too, until the late afternoon. Wednesday was an absolute traffic jam of folks either fishing or looking for sites into the late afternoon and evening, traveling in strong gusty winds or in pouring rain or both. Thursday, many sites were filled and was the first day we met anyone on a portage.

I entered at ISN on June 17. Shell seemed to be about the same as previous years as to traffic. I headed to Slim and had the lake to myself.
Then on to Eugene. I saw no more than one group on the 3 nights I stayed there. fished Fat and Gun as well. Headed to GeBe and saw no one until I got to the lake. Only one other solo guy the two nights I stayed there. I then moved to Oyster for 4 nights and had the lake to myself for 2 nights and only one other group the other nights. The only time I saw a lot of people was at the first portage out of Agnes on the Nina Moose which was a cluster f**k. Overall, seemed to to less people than previous years.

schweady: "Went in at Little Gabbro last Monday. One other permit entering at the same time (Hi, MikeFromMpls!) A couple of early sites were taken but our favorite was open, along with our choices #2 and #3... Tuesday was relatively quiet, too, until the late afternoon. Wednesday was an absolute traffic jam of folks either fishing or looking for sites into the late afternoon and evening, traveling in strong gusty winds or in pouring rain or both. Thursday, many sites were filled and was the first day we met anyone on a portage.
"

As noted above, Schweady (Hi Schweady!) and his wife entered at the same date and time as I did. I camped at site 1711, on the east side of the small bay between Little Gabbro and Gabbro. Totally agree with his synopsis. I was amazed how quiet Tuesday was. It was very stormy, however, with two separate thunderstorms and another bout of rain later in the day.

Wednesday the 13th was a mess. Obviously two groups from the Little Gabbro EP came though, as did other groups probably from the Kawishiwi River EP, Lake One, etc. One of the groups was seven (five teenage boys and two adults) who camped at 1712 near me. Another group came through about 6:00 PM. They paddled to the south end of the lake. 90 minutes later, then paddled by again…obviously no campsites available. I wonder what happened to them.

Thursday was quieter. I took out Friday, a day earlier than I planned, due to some work things blowing up.

Mike

Just returned from entry point 23.
Plan was to head for Saturday Bay but the weather for the first couple days would have had us shore bound so we opted to base camp on Moosecamp Lake.
We snagged the last site on Gun Lake on Sunday but did not see anyone on the south end of Fourtown Lake nor was there anyone on Boot or Fairy at all.
When we got to Moosecamp lake on Monday it was empty and we had the lake to ourselves for three days before another group stopped but only for one night.

A few groups passed through and headed out the Moosecamp River (was way too thick and shallow for us to attempt)

On our way out Gun had one site open and Fairy and Boot were once again empty.
Fourtown had more sites taken with a 3 canoe group actively searching out the open sites on the south end.

Was a great week and little to no traffic. It was nice for a change at such a popular entry point.

MikeinMpls: "Wednesday the 13th was a mess..."

Agreed. Perhaps because it was in sharp contrast to the quiet earlier in the week, but it seemed like there was never a time you didn't see at least one canoe out on the water that day. Coming back to our site (1710) after some fishing, one group crossed us from the left, another from the right. I asked if anyone had a drivers' manual and could look up who had the right of way, but nobody seemed to enjoy the humor. Long faces belonging to those without a site, I guess. Twice, we directed groups to the 2 sites to the north - we had explored a bit and found them open on Tuesday - but folks would swing around and head back west with their loaded gear, saying "we're with a group back here already..." or disappear through the narrows to the east... We saw that 6:00 group, and couldn't decipher their strategy... Wednesday sure saw lots of late travelers and groups caught in some sudden and absurdly strong evening gusts of wind and brief but heavy downpours. While cleaning fish, I thought I heard "Help!" and a single whistle from one of the dead-end south bays, but nothing visible on the water but huge whitecaps and a group of 4 canoes rocking with the wind. That was a bit spooky.

Anyone been out on lynx/hustler this year and have any notes on crowds in that area?

MattyT: "Anyone been out on lynx/hustler this year and have any notes on crowds in that area?"

I was out that way late May and early July. Both times, the only campsite occupied on Shell were on the southside of Con Island. Lynx was fairly busy mid week in May and extremely busy in July. Lake was full most nights.

I was out that way late May and early July. Both times, the only campsite occupied on Shell were on the southside of Con Island. Lynx was fairly busy mid week in May and extremely busy in July. Lake was full most nights."

Thanks Lawnchair - about what we expected to hear.

schweady: "

MikeinMpls: "Wednesday the 13th was a mess..."

Agreed. Perhaps because it was in sharp contrast to the quiet earlier in the week, but it seemed like there was never a time you didn't see at least one canoe out on the water that day. Coming back to our site (1710) after some fishing, one group crossed us from the left, another from the right. I asked if anyone had a drivers' manual and could look up who had the right of way, but nobody seemed to enjoy the humor. Long faces belonging to those without a site, I guess. Twice, we directed groups to the 2 sites to the north - we had explored a bit and found them open on Tuesday - but folks would swing around and head back west with their loaded gear, saying "we're with a group back here already..." or disappear through the narrows to the east... We saw that 6:00 group, and couldn't decipher their strategy... Wednesday sure saw lots of late travelers and groups caught in some sudden and absurdly strong evening gusts of wind and brief but heavy downpours. While cleaning fish, I thought I heard "Help!" and a single whistle from one of the dead-end south bays, but nothing visible on the water but huge whitecaps and a group of 4 canoes rocking with the wind. That was a bit spooky.
"

I saw all the early action on the lake, when groups were coming in, but you saw all the exciting action! That you heard someone yell "Help!" is quite concerning, especially paired with a whistle. Not much you could do.

I didn't know you were camped on the north side of the lake.

An earlier Wednesday group of seven guys (five teenage boys and two adults) camped at 1712. The boys were quite loud for about 90 minutes playing in the water, swamping their canoe, and just having a great time. I dreaded they would be loud for the rest of the night, but they quieted down very quickly. Kids having fun, in nature, without an electronic device… I say that's a win even if they were a bit loud for a brief period of time.

The 6 PM group were crashing into each other and hitting every single rock in the channel between the lakes. Then one canoe got stuck on a rock and another canoe crashed into that canoe. For a moment, they stopped in the channel and I thought they were going to camp on the flat rock on the south side of the channel where there is no campsite. They eventually paddled by, going east, toward you. 90 minutes later, they returned and paddled past my site still in great spirits and obviously had loaded up their canoes with firewood. I have no idea where they ended up, though I wish I knew. To be perfectly frank, they did not appear to have any business being up there.

Mike

MikeinMpls: "...Not much you could do..."

Seeing 4 boats out there just cruising by led me to believe that I had been hearing things. Heading out into those waves at that time and I'd soon be the one whistling for help.

Just returned from a 12 day trip...in at Brant, did a sort of figure 8 south and west and then came out at Missing Link. We did a LOT of portages and only encountered people at a portage on day 1, day 6, day 11, and day 12. The only lakes we camped on that had other people were Bat (full), Little Sag (mostly empty), and Tuscarora (mostly full, I think). The rest of the lakes (Hoe, Sagus, Amber, Adams, and Makwa) were empty except for us (yes, Hoe only has one site...but the rest had 2 or more sites). We actually went 5 full days without encountering anyone close enough to speak to and only seeing one canoe off in the distance. It was delightful! Yes, we had to work for it, but still less work (and expense) than going to Quetico. But shhh...don't tell anyone :)

I don't know if it is the weather (been quite windy and rainy), a natural decrease in traffic after the covid surge, the decrease in permits, or the places I have gone this year, but this is the first year in the past 6 or so that I have felt comfortable paddling past 1pm to find a campsite. I know some areas are still quite crowded as you approach entry points, but every where else I have gone has been very quiet.

Resurrecting this from last season as I found it interesting and I still have 3 more trips this summer/fall.

Just spent 8 days in the Alice/Thomas/Insula area. (5/31-6/8) Entered and exited at Lake One. I was surprised at how open some of the areas were. On the way in (entered on a Wednesday) probably less than 50% of the sites we passed were occupied on the number lakes, none on Hudson and maybe a handful on Insula including the north. (Williamson island was occupied). Into Thomas: Kiana was empty but Thomas was probably at about 75 percent full. Alice was also busier than I had thought it would be but still plenty of sites open. On the way out ( Thursday) it seemed much busier. As we were tripping, Insula was at about 70 percent (only in the non-burn), Hudson was about 1/3 full, but Fire Lake and the finger to the east on Lake 4 were pretty much full. I only saw about two open on Lake 3 and similar on Lake Two. Lake One seemed the least busy to me with about 4-5 open sites on the way out. The portages were busy but not overly busy. (did have one group plow in front of us as we waited for a portage to clear. They just jumped in and started unloading even though there was a group already at the portage entering and another exiting) Probably could use a bit more portage etiquette. All in all I was actually pleasantly surprised at the lack of volume. I am wondering if more and more folks are heading deeper from EPs to escape crowds and thus filling up lakes a bit farther away rather than the EP lakes?

Will see how the rest of the summer looks....

We spent five days in Wednesday Bay, Crooked Lake and hardly saw another person until the day we left. I was shocked.

pastorjsackett: "We spent five days in Wednesday Bay, Crooked Lake and hardly saw another person until the day we left. I was shocked. "

Perhaps the covid rush is ending?

I'm guessing that folks on Knife, Fraser, Little Sag, Gabi, and Alpine will see some traffic jamming this month up as they approach the perimeter of the Spice Lake Fire Closure Area.

I paddled the lady chain from Polly Lake to Alton, spending a night on Beth the week before last and did not see a single person until I got to Alton. I kinda blew through the area and did not check out the lakes campsites closely in between.

schweady: "I'm guessing that folks on Knife, Fraser, Little Sag, Gabi, and Alpine will see some traffic jamming this month up as they approach the perimeter of the Spice Lake Fire Closure Area.
"

It will be interesting to get an update from somebody who is in those impacted areas.

We just got back from LLC, going in at EP16. It was the busiest we've seen in quite some time on LLC. Several groups went by us in the Tiger Bay area, all the way up to about 6:30PM looking for a site, only to pass on to Iron. We typically go earlier in the season though, so maybe that is just how busy it normally gets on that lake?

I just finished a trip from Hog Creek out and around to Kawishiwi Lake. I kept asking myself, "Where are the people?" I never had trouble finding a campsite even though I was paddling until 4:30 in the afternoon. Lake One was the only lake that was full and it didn't fill until about 3:30pm on a Thursday. Out of 52 portages, I only had to wait once for a group to finish a portage (that was near Lake One) and never ran into anyone else on a single portage.

I entered Sioux river on the 14th. Stayed on Shell two nights-a few large groups and 6 sites occupied. Up through Loon, Slim,Gun, Takucmich, Beartrack, Thumb, Finger, Pocket. I saw only 2 solo paddlers. Gebe one group and then to Oyster. Two groups first night, then no one for 3 days. Out of 15 days I had 9 nights where I was the only one on the lake.

My biggest worry going into the boundary waters is not being able to find a camp site. It honestly stresses me so much it keeps me up at night.

okinaw55: "My biggest worry going into the boundary waters is not being able to find a camp site. It honestly stresses me so much it keeps me up at night."

Have you not found one on a trip before?

In my 15 trips, I’d guess at least half of the sites I pass are unoccupied. In my 2 trips so far this year, easily 2/3 of the sites I passed were unoccupied. You’ll be fine. It’s a normal anxiety for most canoe trips.

A few weeks ago I spent two nights on Long Island Lake and of the 11 campsites I saw both days, all were empty. I saw one person on all of the portages from EP50 to Frost Lake both entering and exiting.

YaMarVa: "

okinaw55: "My biggest worry going into the boundary waters is not being able to find a camp site. It honestly stresses me so much it keeps me up at night."

Have you not found one on a trip before?


In my 15 trips, I’d guess at least half of the sites I pass are unoccupied. In my 2 trips so far this year, easily 2/3 of the sites I passed were unoccupied. You’ll be fine. It’s a normal anxiety for most canoe trips.

A few weeks ago I spent two nights on Long Island Lake and of the 11 campsites I saw both days, all were empty. I saw one person on all of the portages from EP50 to Frost Lake both entering and exiting. "

No, I've always been fine but the phobia doesnt subside. We came close during covid and we actually ended up at a great site.

I wonder if this year, during the fire ban, if some are just not going on a trip without cancelling permits.

okinaw55: "My biggest worry going into the boundary waters is not being able to find a camp site. It honestly stresses me so much it keeps me up at night."

Voyageurs National Park, just to the west of the BWCAW, is just the opposite. You have to reserve and pay for your complete itinerary before you print your permit. The story was that most people wanted to know for sure that they had a campsite. Maybe this would calm your fears? It would certainly change my campsite strategy to have to follow an exact itinerary with no way to adjust to conditions!”

Hockhocking: "

okinaw55: "My biggest worry going into the boundary waters is not being able to find a camp site. It honestly stresses me so much it keeps me up at night."

Voyageurs National Park, just to the west of the BWCAW, is just the opposite. You have to reserve and pay for your complete itinerary before you print your permit. The story was that most people wanted to know for sure that they had a campsite. Maybe this would calm your fears? It would certainly change my campsite strategy to have to follow an exact itinerary with no way to adjust to conditions!”"

I do quite a bit of reserved site camping as you have suggested. I just dont feel the solitude at those places as I do in the bwca. Thats why I am able to jump out of my shell and give it a try every year.

schweady: "Went in at Little Gabbro last Monday. One other permit entering at the same time (Hi, MikeFromMpls!) A couple of early sites were taken but our favorite was open, along with our choices #2 and #3... Tuesday was relatively quiet, too, until the late afternoon. Wednesday was an absolute traffic jam of folks either fishing or looking for sites into the late afternoon and evening, traveling in strong gusty winds or in pouring rain or both. Thursday, many sites were filled and was the first day we met anyone on a portage.
"

Hi Schweady, any sites on Gabbro you recommend? We’re heading in on 8/6 from Little Gabbro EP. Thanks.

Spent four days on Hook June 14-18. Saw and chatted with a couple of folks on Slim on our way in. Base camped on Hook the entire time and not a single sole came by. Fantastic trip.

"


Hi Schweady, any sites on Gabbro you recommend? We’re heading in on 8/6 from Little Gabbro EP. Thanks." I am headed in on Sunday. Look for a Northwoods 17 with the Flying Moose on the side.

All these "not seeing anybody" posts has me optimistic that we are returning to pre covid levels. Of course the true test will come in August. Fingers crossed it's not a madhouse.

I saw five groups in six days… That’s counting one group coming out right as I was going in and one group right as I was going out… Bald Eagle area… Most campsites unoccupied… Saw no one 4 of 6 days.

Would people agree that the reducing of permits is having an impact on congestion or is this purely speculation?

Just got back last Saturday....trip was 3rd-7th. Had 2 newbies so didn't go far, especially first day which was hot and steamy and included the long portage into Tuscarora. Had a choice of about 5 sites on Tuscarora first day....2-3 sites were taken. Next day went to Little Sag. Met 3-4 groups around crooked and most said they were coming from Gillis. Got to Lil Sag and had our pick of sites.....never saw one canoe in 2 days on Lil Sag. Heard someone singing one night way off to west. Then went to Gillis. Saw nobody till we got to Gillis, which was empty upon our arrival. Again, had our pick of any site. Later that afternoon a couple groups arrived and by second day, Gillis was full.
I think things our slower up there, but that contradicts what Tuscarora Outfitters said when getting our permit and telling how many permits were going out through them to Missing Link, Cross Bay and Brant....lots! Timing still has a lot to do with it.

cowdoc: " Tuscarora Outfitters said when getting our permit and telling how many permits were going out through them to Missing Link, Cross Bay and Brant....lots! Timing still has a lot to do with it."

Since 2006, Missing Link has been my default entry because it always seems to have permits available. That will be the case for my entry on 7/19. Glad to hear Tuscarora Outfitters are staying busy. I'll have given them my business twice this year.

Went from Homer into Pipe last week and only saw folks on Homer. Almost every campsite I passed was empty.

We went in on 6/28 to 7/5 to Sarah in Quetico. We saw one canoe with 2 people coming in to the North Bay to Bailey Bay portage. We only saw 1 person pass by on an 11 day solo on our trip to Sarah and back out until we hit North Bay coming out of Isabella creek. And we only saw 1 group go by our Lost Bay campsite. That was over 6 nights. We did see a lot of people on Birch Lake on our way over to Polaris, but there was no one on Polaris either. Quetico tripping seems to still be down quite a bit. I think there were permits for all entry points the day we went in. Ely was jumping when we came back out though, so it might have picked up some.

okinaw55: "My biggest worry going into the boundary waters is not being able to find a camp site. It honestly stresses me so much it keeps me up at night."

This is my biggest stressor also.

I just finished this same loop in July and same. I am surprised how quiet it was.

We just came out of Lake One to Insula- we were shocked at how few people we saw. We had our pick of campsites on Insula, and decided to camp on Lake Two the night before exiting. While some campsites there were taken, we still were able to be picky wanting one with wind blowing in to help with bugs. I would say past Lake Two 75% or more of the campsites were open- Trapper cabin on Lake 4, beautiful sites on 3 and plenty in the non-burnt area (and all we passed in the burnt area) of Insula. Happy tripping!

dogwoodgirl: "Went from Homer into Pipe last week and only saw folks on Homer. Almost every campsite I passed was empty."

I am looking forward to checking out this entry point with my 7 yo daughter on 8/29. Glad to hear that some are seeing more open sites.

I'm curious if we are losing the COVID campers finally, either people who just wanted to go since they had nothing else to do or the ones who didn't pull permits and just went. Plus since the boarder is open I'm sure more ppl went back to Quetico

Reke0402: "I'm curious if we are losing the COVID campers finally, either people who just wanted to go since they had nothing else to do or the ones who didn't pull permits and just went. Plus since the boarder is open I'm sure more ppl went back to Quetico "

Hopefully. Rolled the dice and took the last Lake One permit for Thursday this week, hoping I can do the Kawishiwi triangle and find some decent campsites. I'm not bothered by a little traffic and I dont need complete solitude on this trip. Mostly it's a reason to use the vacation time I already took and if I dont go up there then I will just sit at home and drink beer for 4 days straight because I hate work. Had a Lizz permit for this weekend originally but figured it would probably feel more crowded up there given the number of portages and the small lakes with minimal sites.

Never been on the Ely side, wish me luck!

Reke0402: "I'm curious if we are losing the COVID campers finally, either people who just wanted to go since they had nothing else to do or the ones who didn't pull permits and just went. Plus since the boarder is open I'm sure more ppl went back to Quetico "

Our big trip of the year will hopefully be in Wabakimi. The border nonesense has been keeping us out of Canada the last two summers.

AlexanderSupertramp: "

Reke0402: "I'm curious if we are losing the COVID campers finally, either people who just wanted to go since they had nothing else to do or the ones who didn't pull permits and just went. Plus since the boarder is open I'm sure more ppl went back to Quetico "

Hopefully. Rolled the dice and took the last Lake One permit for Thursday this week, hoping I can do the Kawishiwi triangle and find some decent campsites. I'm not bothered by a little traffic and I dont need complete solitude on this trip. Mostly it's a reason to use the vacation time I already took and if I dont go up there then I will just sit at home and drink beer for 4 days straight because I hate work. Had a Lizz permit for this weekend originally but figured it would probably feel more crowded up there given the number of portages and the small lakes with minimal sites.


Never been on the Ely side, wish me luck!"

Well that’s a first for me. Someone calling the Gunflint more crowded than the Ely side, let alone EP30. Honestly, think about the northern half of Insula, Alice, and Fishdance area if you haven’t already. Fairly easy portages to get into, just longer paddle distances. Just my .02

Lawnchair107: "

AlexanderSupertramp: "

Reke0402: "I'm curious if we are losing the COVID campers finally, either people who just wanted to go since they had nothing else to do or the ones who didn't pull permits and just went. Plus since the boarder is open I'm sure more ppl went back to Quetico "

Hopefully. Rolled the dice and took the last Lake One permit for Thursday this week, hoping I can do the Kawishiwi triangle and find some decent campsites. I'm not bothered by a little traffic and I dont need complete solitude on this trip. Mostly it's a reason to use the vacation time I already took and if I dont go up there then I will just sit at home and drink beer for 4 days straight because I hate work. Had a Lizz permit for this weekend originally but figured it would probably feel more crowded up there given the number of portages and the small lakes with minimal sites.



Never been on the Ely side, wish me luck!"

Well that’s a first for me. Someone calling the Gunflint more crowded than the Ely side, let alone EP30. Honestly, think about the northern half of Insula, Alice, and Fishdance area if you haven’t already. Fairly easy portages to get into, just longer paddle distances. Just my .02"

Haha yes, the reality may be the opposite but with smaller lakes and some of them only having 1-2 campsites, I figured my odds were better out of EP30 given the sheer number of sites I can get to on the first day with very little portaging backups and worst case I just basecamp it if I find a nice one midway through. This could be my first and last July trip because quite frankly the stress of planning routes and EPs for the places I want to be and worrying about availability of sites has worn me out. Sticking to May and Sept/Oct from now on I think. I never have to worry about it then and I dont mind paddling when it's chilly out.

I only have from early tomorrow morning through Sunday, so 3 nights. I would love to get to Alice because I was thwarted in my attempt to get there from EP 37 in May. But, not sure I can make it all the way there and back out by Sunday without some really long days. We'll see what the water/wind looks like tomorrow when I launch. Would rather not spend any down time at a barren site in the burned area though.

Spent 7/9-7/13 in the Gabbro, Little Gabbro, S. Kawishiwi area. Tripped most parts of Gabbro on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. Sunday we found 1 open site. Monday we found a different one one site and on Wednesday we found 0 open sites.

Little Gabbro. Only one of the three was occupied each day Sunday-Thursday.

S. Kawishiwi-- from the portions we went through there were about 30% occupied.

We stayed at the rapids site on Little Gabbro for a couple days and only saw a couple groups making the portage into S. Kawishiwi. Big Gabbro was full of boats everytime we went over there.

Went into Baker Lake entry point last Sunday. On the lakes between Baker and South Temperance, there was only one occupied site and we saw no other travelers. We met two rangers at the landing on South Temperance, and after a permit check, one of them informed us the only open site on ST was the far eastern one, which we ended up staying at. He also said all 3 sites on N. Temperance had been open earlier that day.

While we stayed on ST, we ran into a couple of large groups looking for a ST site; they had both come over from Brule. While coming out on Wednesday, we passed a group staying on Jack Lake who told us they tried to stay on ST the day before, but couldn't find a site.

Mudro to Horse was almost completely full a few weeks ago. Was stressing on backtracking to Fourtown but seriously lucked out and got the Horse River site. Someone was just leaving as we entered the lake.

That area is almost always full though

bretthexum: "Mudro to Horse was almost completely full a few weeks ago. Was stressing on backtracking to Fourtown but seriously lucked out and got the Horse River site. Someone was just leaving as we entered the lake.


That area is almost always full though"

I'm headed that way in a week. I never plan to stay on Horse especially this year with a #22 entry. LOL
I will head out through Jackfish Bay and into the Basswood River and up to Crooked for most of the week.
Plan is to bounce around Crooked from Wed. bay to Sunday bay and then find a halfway spot around Gun, Gull, Fairy to lay up the day before exit. Then a leisurely paddle out to Mudro.

That route covers a lot of ground so I will update this thread when I return on 8/3.

Four days on Little Saganaga, only saw six groups the entire trip. Of the 28 campsites we saw during our four days, only 6 of them were occupied when we passed by.

From 7/17 to 7/21 I was between Sag, Ottertrack, and Zephyr. We saw plenty of groups on Sag and a couple in Ottertrack. It was not as crowded as the last time the last couple years and we didn’t have any trouble getting campsites.

We were shocked at how non busy it was last week. Went in at LIS north and in a 6 day loop we saw a total of 7 other canoes. We met no one on portages and every site we had hoped to get was available. It was great

Mudro up to Thursday Bay on Crooked via Jackfish Bay.

Lot's of folks on Jackfish Bay. Saw one motor boat and all the rest were canoes.
Basswood River pretty empty until LBF and then tent city.
All spots taken downstream of the falls. Canadian side of LBF was also a tent city.

Once clear of the falls we saw one camp occupied. The two fellas were hollering out for whiskey and cigarettes and they would pay!
Sorry not getting our whiskey and we don't smoke.

Wed/Thurs Bay empty for pretty much the whole time we were there. Saw a few canoes pass by but no one camped.

Exit was back down Crooked to LBF and out Horse River. Holed up on Tin Can Mike as we were a #22 entry. Horse did not appear to be overly crowded but I also didn't spend much time checking.

Anyone recently spent time between Snowbank and Kek? Curious about the traffic around there in anticipation of an upcoming trip. I've heard from several people that in general places are not as crowded as you might expect based on the limited permits, although I know this area in particular is popular. TIA!

Saw 36 canoes in the water on our exit day yesterday - some in Quetico, most on the US side on Moose.

Broke camp our last morning (this past Wednesday) on Horse Lake at 7:00 am and we didn't meet a soul coming in at Mudro Lake until we got to Pickett Creek at 10:00. One couple with a person determined to keep his feet dry, one group of four pondering the low water at the put-in, one first-time couple at the bridge by the parking lot talking up the 'fun ahead' with their 2 year old.

Did a Sawbill-Cherokee loop last week up through Ada/Cherokee creek, coming out down through the Temperance lakes and the fire lakes. We saw only a 2 person group and a 3 person group on the way up, not a soul on the water at all on Cherokee Lake until the next day, a couple campsites we passed were occupied, but we got a nice island site for a couple nights. Saw 5 or 6 groups in various places from Cherokee down to Kelly on our return leg. Last day out (Friday), we saw nobody at all until the landing on Sawbill where a multi-permit youth group of some sort from the twin cities was getting ready to head out. We counted 12 canoes I think and I dont even know how many people. It was something to behold. Would have hated to wait behind them on a portage, holy smokes. I just hope they followed all the rules.

AlexanderSupertramp: "Did a Sawbill-Cherokee loop last week up through Ada/Cherokee creek, coming out down through the Temperance lakes and the fire lakes. We saw only a 2 person group and a 3 person group on the way up, not a soul on the water at all on Cherokee Lake until the next day, a couple campsites we passed were occupied, but we got a nice island site for a couple nights. Saw 5 or 6 groups in various places from Cherokee down to Kelly on our return leg. Last day out (Friday), we saw nobody at all until the landing on Sawbill where a multi-permit youth group of some sort from the twin cities was getting ready to head out. We counted 12 canoes I think and I dont even know how many people. It was something to behold. Would have hated to wait behind them on a portage, holy smokes. I just hope they followed all the rules."

We just got back yesterday from the same trip and had a similar experience. Almost every campsite on Cherokee was open besides the first few coming out of Cherokee Creek. Stayed on Cherokee for a few days and saw the occasional canoe passing through the lake but did not run into anybody while fishing or exploring. Only ran into one group of 4 on our return trip. Once we got back to Sawbill, however, the lake was packed. There were several large groups putting in as we were taking out with more Duluth packs than I cared to count lined up at the dock.

portagerunner: "

AlexanderSupertramp: "Did a Sawbill-Cherokee loop last week up through Ada/Cherokee creek, coming out down through the Temperance lakes and the fire lakes. We saw only a 2 person group and a 3 person group on the way up, not a soul on the water at all on Cherokee Lake until the next day, a couple campsites we passed were occupied, but we got a nice island site for a couple nights. Saw 5 or 6 groups in various places from Cherokee down to Kelly on our return leg. Last day out (Friday), we saw nobody at all until the landing on Sawbill where a multi-permit youth group of some sort from the twin cities was getting ready to head out. We counted 12 canoes I think and I dont even know how many people. It was something to behold. Would have hated to wait behind them on a portage, holy smokes. I just hope they followed all the rules."

We just got back yesterday from the same trip and had a similar experience. Almost every campsite on Cherokee was open besides the first few coming out of Cherokee Creek. Stayed on Cherokee for a few days and saw the occasional canoe passing through the lake but did not run into anybody while fishing or exploring. Only ran into one group of 4 on our return trip. Once we got back to Sawbill, however, the lake was packed. There were several large groups putting in as we were taking out with more Duluth packs than I cared to count lined up at the dock. "

I'm wondering if word is out on how bad that Ada Creek portage is right now and it's keeping folks away from Cherokee out of the South. Then the only other route from Sawbill being Temperance river which is just a slog of swampy paddling right now and long hard portages... idk. But I wasn't complaining about the lack of people on Cherokee, that's for sure. Seems all the groups we saw on Sawbill were headed to the Alton portage, presumably destined for the lady chain.

2 of 4 trips in the books.
June: Clearwater Loop through Foul.
August: Crossbay, Frost. Hairy PMA, Snipe, Crossbay
Haven't seen many people.
5 groups the 1st trip.
10 groups the 2nd trip.
- none in the PMA.... Happy face emoji

We just came out Tuesday from EP26 (Wood Lake). We camped on Good Lake and had the small lake to ourselves. Wood Lake sites were mostly occupied. Spent a few days on Basswood. Almost all motor area sites were open. We traveled to United States Point area and almost every site was taken. We did find a nice site but had a little anxiety before finding the site. We thought we would end up back in the motor area.

We came out on the 11th after 6 days and 5 nights. We saw no people after Monday afternoon until we portaged back into Sawbill on Friday around 11:00. Four of the five nights we had lakes to ourselves.

LISN entered 8/9, barely saw anyone as we paddled to East Loon Bay (maybe 2 boats?). Saw maybe 1 boat per day and empty campsites over 3 days. Then went into Heritage (empty) down to Shell (maybe half the sites taken). Passed a lot of people headed in as we left via LISN on 8/13.

Entered Moose River North 8/17-8/21, as usual it was busy at all the portage landings up to Lake Agnes. Lake Agnes had sites open all three days I spent there. Tiger Bay and Boulder Bay had open sites too. Most groups I saw were traveling or fishing, sites were easy to get. My last night on Agnes I heard people banging pots and yelling at a bear to leave their site.

Dropped into EP55 8/17. Outfitter's parking lot was nearly full. Saw a lot of traffic coming south out of Sag, including a group on shore in the corridor that had just dumped in the high winds (this helped us make a prudent route decision on the fly). Portages into Sea Gull and Alpine were busy, and we were running into a lot of occupied sites late morning. We did end up getting that prime real estate on Miles Island though!

2023 permit numbers decline

Came out from Slim yesterday, 8-26. Saw one canoe in 2 days, though the weather may have been a factor. The other 3 days I saw one group of 3 canoes go up to the portage to Rice, and nobody else, except for one canoe from the south sites.

Caribou, Horseshoe, Gaskin, and Winchell last Sunday-Friday. Saw a good number of groups and encountered a few portage traffic jams on the way out, and on the way in. Even so, we had no issues finding choice campsites. Paddled past many empty sites, too. Maybe we just got lucky with timing, but overall the vibe was a little different to us (better!) versus the last two seasons.

We did a loop starting with a tow to American point from VCO. Followed the border route, through Ottertrack and around Thunderpoint to south Arm Knife Lake then down through Ogish and out through Alpine to Seagull and up the Seagull river back to VCO. The trip started Aug 20 and ended Aug 27.

While I wouldn't say it was crazy crowded, we only managed to get a targeted campsite once out of the 5 campsites we stayed at. However, we were able to find a good campsite each time. The worst was south arm Knife, Ogish, and Seagull. On Seagull, we almost ran out of spots for our last night. (Dukes, you were likely on the Miles Island Campsite we were hoping for). We went through 8 different sites that were taken before settling in at site 474.

On the other hand, was very surprised and all the open sites on Alpine when we traveled through. Last year at the same time we ended up on one of the last two open campsites on the whole lake.

09/02/2023, EP 47 Lizz/Caribou was crowded with two large groups and three doubles. Same story on Caribou/Horseshoe. The rest of the week, we regularly saw multiple groups during the day and on the portages for Gaskin and Winchell. Coming out on 09/09/2023 was the same story, with lots of traffic at the carries. Honestly, I was rather surprised at how busy the whole area was, but it was our first Gunflint experience.

Went in for 5 days on 9/10 entering at Sawbill. We looped up the Kelso River through Little Sag, over to Makwa, down through Koma and out through the Lady chain. Saw nobody or any occupied campsites except in the Sawbill -Alton lakes and the canoe expressway of Malberg to Polly. These areas were busy but still plenty of open campsites.

Love, love, love September. Went Sun-Wed this week. From E Bearskin to Canoe, then a day trip to Johnson Falls, and then back again to head to our entry point, we met only 1-2 groups a day. Saw maybe 2-3 groups cross the portage into Canoe near our site those 3 days. Had the only site on the lake the whole time. Saw nobody on our day trip and had the falls to ourselves. When the wind (occasionally) calmed, the perfect SILENCE was so very deafening - even the birds fell silent, seemingly listening with me.