Taking my wife and two young boys in at EP 47 this week. It will be their first time in the dubs. Curious if anyone has been in that area recently or heard trip reports of campsite availability. We will be very slow and so will be trying to grab the first site we can find. We can probably make to Gaskin if need be, but hopefully not beyond.

Should we be worried about finding a spot on one of Caribou/Horseshoe/Gaskin? Anyone have any insight into how crowded that area is this year?

It's a busy time of year at most entry points. This was our 1st route with the kids six years ago, we lucked out and found a site on Horseshoe that worked for the week!

Tips: Get on the water early so you aren't rushed, plan on three sites you would like to target, that way you have a game plan if they are occupied. If you get to the 4th, it will be later in the day and you would need to just find an open one for the family.

The best advice I have for you, and I wish I followed this myself the first few trips with our kids: don't race, you will find a site if you get on the water early in the day. The journey with the kids is the prize, this route is very doable and not complex, travel with purpose, but take your time and make sure you enjoy all of it. Give each kid a job on each portage, you will be amazed at the attention you will have with the kids in the BWCA, they are so far out of their elements. The journey is the prize, all of it, not the campsite, the fish, the stars, the fire, but all of it.

The good, the bad, the bugs, and the rain will all add up to priceless. Take it one step at a time. Don't race or stress. Best of luck!

I agree with OldManinTree. Start early... as in 6:00am or so... and have several campsites picked out as "potentials", but have an open mind. You might not have many (if any) options other than one campsite.

Have you checked out the map section on this website? Many of the campsites have reviews to read that give you some feedback about the different campsites, subjective that they may be. (A 4-star campsite to one person might only be a 2-star to someone else.) Once you have your campsite targets, make notes on your Fisher, McKenzie or Voyageur maps so when you're on the water, you know what you're looking for.

Find the Maps & Entry Points section here or at the top of the page. ^^^

Excellent advice already shared. One thing that helps us when tripping with young children is to have easily accessible snacks and water. Make sure to eat and stay hydrated in case the day ends up being longer than planned. I'll also emphasize being on the water by sunrise if at all possible.

Hope you find a great site and have an awesome trip!

Great advice above, especially about not rushing with your kids. I wouldn't sweat it too much. We took our now 7 year old on her first trip 2 years ago to Caribou. I was worried about site availability and we found one without issue even though we got a late start. We are heading there again in a few weeks with her and our 4 year old for his first trip.

That entry point is always fully booked during the summer, so theoretically this year should have better campsite availability than previous years since the number of permits has been reduced from 4 to 3. It's always a crap shoot but between Caribou, Horseshoe, and Gaskin I think you will be fine.

Don’t overpack. No need for fresh clothes every day, just extra Sox and undies. It’s fun being dirty. You can throw the clothes away when you get home or wash them a few times.

Just got back from a trip out of Lizz and Swamp and had no problem finding a camp site. Caribou and Horseshoe had plenty of open camp sites and Gaskin and Winchell were completely empty. They did fill up over the weekend but for the most part it was not busy as it is said to be.

I'm also heading in to this area on the 3rd, hoping to find an available site on Horseshoe or Vista given the timing (Sunday one day before the 4th) and the permit reduction. Stop by and say hi if you see a group with a kayak, an alumacraft and a grey Northwind solo.

Thank you VERY MUCH for the report, Luke, you should register and join us here more often!

Update: returned from this trip on Sunday. As we were going in we ran into 2 groups who were vacating Horseshoe one of which was one of the 3 central sites. We grabbed it around 1130 am and had a wonderful base camp. When we were leaving on Sunday there were several sites open on Horseshoe, though several groups passed them by on their way to Gaskin. Overall it was way less busy than I was expecting. We day tripped thru Gaskin and Caribou and lots of empty sites on both. The guy at Rockwood said it has been a lot less busy this year than previous 2, maybe permit reduction is working?

Saw a moose and her calf down the arm towards Vista! Magical. Fishing was terrible though, worst I've ever experienced in the bwca by far. Not a single fish on Horseshoe despite trying everything (cranks, spinners, leech tipped jigs, slip bobber and leeches). A couple small walleye on Caribou off cranks and that's it. It was very windy the first two days which made it difficult and mayflies came out in force maybe that was a factor?

Mayflies generally makes for make for bad fishing!

How long does the mayfly hatch typically last? Will be in that area in 10 days. Thanks!

Fishman53: "How long does the mayfly hatch typically last? Will be in that area in 10 days. Thanks!"

. You should be fine. Most hatches up there are done in a week or less in my experience.

We must have passed by you on Sunday! We were just on Horseshoe Sunday-Thursday nights. We experienced similar fishing (abysmal) and glorious swarms of mayflies at dusk. We managed to pull a couple small walleyes out of Vista but none out of Horseshoe (I did catch a couple eater-sized Perch in Horseshoe) We also saw the cow and calf on the eastern arm of Horseshoe. The cow is injured and the DNR has been keeping a close eye on her, according to our neighbors later in the week and Carl at Rockwood.

I'll admit that before reading this thread I was very concerned about campsite availability but I couldn't have been more wrong. When we arrived Sunday afternoon every campsite we went to look at was empty and only one or two groups moved in before Thursday. I'm sure the timing of the 4th had something to do with this. Even on Thursday and Friday when the crowds started coming in most were just passing through on their way to Winchell or Gaskin.

I rented a Northwind Solo from Rockwood which I enjoyed very much despite the lack of a foot brace. Our largest waterproof pack experienced a harness failure the night before our trip but Carl fixed us up with a rental pack on 0 notice. The service, knowledge and equipment from Rockwood was absolutely immaculate and I highly recommend them to anyone looking to paddle in this area. They also have the most picturesque outfitter landing I've ever seen and other gorgeous accommodations on Poplar Lake. The group I was paddling with has never used an outfitter to any capacity (outside of permit issuance) but I suspect a few of us will be repeat Rockwood customers.

Great to hear Z4K! I don't think we passed you on Sunday, we did encounter a huge group on the portage between Poplar and Lizz but they had 4 boats. This was around 1pm on Sunday. At least you did better than I did on Horseshoe with the perch! Curious what you used and what depth of water you were in?

Also very interesting about the injured cow, that she's a known entity to the DNR. Hopefully she recovers from whatever ails her.

In general it seems this area is a lot less busy than the past couple years which is fantastic. Not having to stress about finding campsites takes a big load off.