Is it legal to enter South Lake through Topper Lake? I was informed by one of the Rangers at the Grand Marais ranger station several years ago that it was illegal to enter the South Lake entry point via Topper Lake. We were told we have to take out clients in through Gunflint Lake, through North Lake and then into South Lake.

Thanks for posting the question, but it seems like if the ranger station told you in the past that you couldn't, maybe you should call them again to see if anything has changed.

Post the answer you get so others can benefit from your research, too.

I can't say for sure whether it is legal or not, but I know there have been other discussions on here with people who have entered that way. I am curious if they gave you a reason or not.

The portage from topper lake is extremely steep. I’d never recommend it to anyone except the most experienced and in shape. We took it because the winds on our entry day were fierce from the west. Gunflint lake was not an option. I believe that the rangers comments were correct, entry is from the gunflint.

Two different local outfitters in the general area say it is not currently prohibited, but is discouraged and not generally recommended. This was this year. One expects a ruling to come out at some time closing the alternate portages into South Lake.

Here's my experience with it. South Lake has always been a rough entry point. It's an edge of the BWCA so it has to be, but reaching the BW border in a day is almost out of reach for a lot of groups that are unequipped to pound out miles. Many groups are probably better off starting the trip the day before their permit and staying on one of the national forest sites in between.

Now, all of that mileage could be undone by, like you said, going in Topper. The problem is that Mahew Lake Road really isn't equipped to handle more than a couple cars at the end. Also that portage as others have said is brutal. I could see the forest service deciding not to allow entry that way for two reasons: allowing it is only setting them up for conflict with the neighbors who will be impacted when that parking spot on Mahew overfills. Also, that spot is mostly a hiking entry anyways and it's barely that. Specifically condoning canoeists allows for competition with the hikers for limited space.

If I had to guess, Topper has always been one of those "back door" routes that isn't specifically condoned or not. A few people know it and use it, but not enough to cause problems. If it became more popular, the forest service would be forced to make a decision.

Also, side note, the permit box at Topper lists a different number entry point: something in the 90s. Perhaps some local did it for fun, but when I have seen permit numbers in the 90s in the past it has always designated a winter EP (for example, the Burntside Ski trails have it, as does Bannadad and I would bet Farm Lake ski as well.) Most of us are completely unaware of the "90s" entry points because they are not on recreation.gov since they are only designed for use out of quota season. If that is also true with Topper (intended as a winter EP), than perhaps that says something about how the USFS sees that as a alternate to South Lake via Gunflint?

I just entered at South via Topper this year. Sure, the portage isn't easy, but I had newbies with me including a 4-year-old and a 11-year-old. We were just fine. Just set expectations appropriately. It's far from the most difficult portage I've ever done, and anyone saying that it just shouldn't be done due to difficulty or safety is, in my opinion, wrong. In fact, regarding safety, trying to get to South from Gunflint can easily be much more dangerous with wind.

To be clear, Gunflint is the one and only official way to South according to the USFS. While no one seems to have ever heard that going via Topper is strictly prohibited, it is not promoted/encouraged by any officials. If I were going to South via Gunflint, I would plan to go a day early and stay the night before entry on North Lake. Honestly, though, I would probably never enter at South if I couldn't enter via Topper.

We exited at Hungry Jack, so we left our cars at Hungry Jack Outfitters and had them shuttle us to our entry so that we'd both have our cars at the end and so that we wouldn't upset anyone by parking on Mayhew. This also allowed us to enjoy a one-way route that eliminated any need to go back UP the Topper portage.
We reasoned that the biggest problems anyone might have with people going via Topper would probably largely relate to parking. HJO was happy to shuttle us to the end of Mayhew Lake Rd.