I was thinking of attempting a weekend trip from Gunflint up through Little Gunflint, Little North and camping on North. If one were to attempt this with a flat bottomed boat, are the channels between lakes navigable with a motor, or would one need to portage/drag through that area to reach north?

If one were to wander to the Canadian side for camping, would one be covered with a fishing license/outdoor card/RABC/crown land camping permit?

Lastly, does anyone have any pointers on the interactive crown land camping map tool? I can’t figure that thing out.

Well, I can't help you with camping in the Crownland.. Why not any of the 5 SNF campsites on the US side of North Lake? At least a couple of them have some interesting history associated with them. There is also a Canadian fishing outfitters too at the end of the lake and last time I was there, there was a fisherman trolling along in a motorboat.

To enter Little Gunflint there is a channel with at least 1 beaver blockade. I've had to drag my canoe over this to continue. I think there is also a portage but I've never taken it.

To enter Little North Lake there is maybe like a 10-12 rod portage with old railways. I don't remember much of the portage itself other than it's short. I don't think you could put a canoe or boat through the waterway here as it's too rocky and shallow. It's possible you could portage a small boat across if you have multiple people.

Given its size and lack of popularity I would imagine North carries some larger fish so good luck in your adventure!

Thanks, Morchella! I was merely exploring the Canadian side options as I didn’t want to drag the family and boat up there and find all the campsites full. Also, there are some intriguing looking bays on the Canadian side that look like they may be worth wetting a line in.

Would portage wheels be a possibility on the portage to Little North or is it too rough at the landings? I don’t think my kids and wife would be much help in getting my 16’ Jon boat across so if we had the boat, wheels would be the only option if that connecting stream isn’t navigable.

I was last through there 2 years ago, summer '21. We were in a v-bottom boat -- not a "deep" V, but definitely tougher than a flat bottom. Everything depends on water levels and, to an extent, channel current. You could try contacting one of the end-of-trail outfitters for current conditions. My guess is the water was too low last year, but with all the snow melt this year you might be able to float the entire thing. Here's what I recall:

On the eastern end of Gunflint Lake where it narrows to a channel that leads to Little Gunflint we had an absolutely unreal encounter with a young bull moose. It was shallow enough to float the boat but not deep enough to use the motor, and it was a warm day so I had hopped out and was pulling the boat by the bowline. I looked up and this guy was standing on the opposite bank maybe 20 yards in front of me. He crossed the channel in the water literally right in front of me and hoofed it down the sandy beach toward the Canadian shore. It was EPIC.

We ran into no beaver dams. Tilted the motor up and putted along easily in 2-3 fow through the channel to Little Gunflint.

Eastern end of LG into Little North is where it gets dicey. There is a portage path but personally my boat wouldn't fit up there even if I had portage wheels. YMMV. We chose to simply navigate the channel from LG to LN. This area could be described as mild "rapids." There was plenty of water depth in '21, the thing that made it tricky was the current which flows from east to west. The area is rocky as well, and I was nervous so again I hopped out and attempted to pull the boat by the bow. It was NOT easy but I did it. I'm not a buff guy by any stretch, and this was a 16 foot v-bottom with 25hp motor, 10 gallons of gas, gear, and 350 pounds of other humans sitting in the boat laughing at me :D

For all that work, the wind started to pick up pretty much as soon as we hit North and it can get pretty sporty on that lake with wind blowing out of the east or west. We tried to stick to the bays but got blown around a lot. After a few hours we made a tourist stop at the Height of Land and called it a day. The moose encounter made the whole day worth it.

I would be SHOCKED if you couldn't find a campsite on the US side of North. They were all empty the day I was there. It's a pretty lightly traveled area with most folks who do go through continuing on their way to South lake.

ALSO: I feel like you need a PhD to use the Canadian Crown Land Atlas thing. There is good data there, but it can be incredibly frustrating.

Also Also: There are big fish in North, but the water is extremely clear and it's not exactly an easy bite to figure out.

Video, dragging a boat through the Little Gunflint > Little North Rapids

Video, young moose, Gunflint Narrows.

Those are awesome videos and super helpful advice. I found a video link to the Little North portage on this site in the portage review and basically came to the conclusion that I would likely need to pull the boat up the flow with the bow line. It did look a little tight for the boat to fit down the portage in a couple spots. The flow in the channel looked a little dicey and while I know the water was way down last year, I’d hate to lose a prop like that. I’m thinking I portage the family and gear and drag the boat up empty. If we attempt this, I’ll make a call into the outfitters and see what information they might have. Thanks!

Sounds like a good plan to me. If I was doing it again I would definitely have my dad and my son hop out and walk the portage.

Great videos.

One suggestion would be to tie a rope to the bow and use that to pull the boat up the rapids, with you maneuvering along the rocks on the MN side. This is how it’s been done with various boat people I’ve gone up to north with.

If you lose your footing (as you are portaging in your video) your first reaction Would be to let go the boat go from your grip which would cause the boat to head backwards down the rapids which could result in your motor crashing on rocks….

Just a thought.
I Loved the videos, tho, that moose was so cool, obviously on the move to somewhere.

Morchella: "Well, I can't help you with camping in the Crownland.. Why not any of the 5 SNF campsites on the US side of North Lake? At least a couple of them have some interesting history associated with them. There is also a Canadian fishing outfitters too at the end of the lake and last time I was there, there was a fisherman trolling along in a motorboat.


To enter Little Gunflint there is a channel with at least 1 beaver blockade. I've had to drag my canoe over this to continue. I think there is also a portage but I've never taken it.


To enter Little North Lake there is maybe like a 10-12 rod portage with old railways. I don't remember much of the portage itself other than it's short. I don't think you could put a canoe or boat through the waterway here as it's too rocky and shallow. It's possible you could portage a small boat across if you have multiple people.


Given its size and lack of popularity I would imagine North carries some larger fish so good luck in your adventure! "

Interesting! Do you know the name of this outfitter and how long they have been there?

Mocha: "Great videos.


One suggestion would be to tie a rope to the bow and use that to pull the boat up the rapids, with you maneuvering along the rocks on the MN side. This is how it’s been done with various boat people I’ve gone up to north with.


If you lose your footing (as you are portaging in your video) your first reaction Would be to let go the boat go from your grip which would cause the boat to head backwards down the rapids which could result in your motor crashing on rocks….


Just a thought.
I Loved the videos, tho, that moose was so cool, obviously on the move to somewhere.
"

Thanks Mocha! I definitely thought that would be the best approach, but on that particular day the rope seemed to make it harder to pull the boat than it was when having a solid connection to the hull itself, and it also seemed easier to slog through the water than on the rocky shore. But you’re right — especially if I was doing it solo while the others walked the portage path— that it’d be much safer with a rope. I did have the motor trimmed all the way out of the water just in case.

I smile big whenever I think of that moose. Probably the top wildlife experience of my life to this point :)

Man, this reminiscing has me rethinking our trip plans for this summer. This will be first time in a few years we don’t stay at Gunflint!

The “resort” on the east end of North caters to RVs with seasonal campsites, I believe. It’s called “North Lake Resort” and if you zoom in on Google Maps it should pop up. Never been that far east on North myself.