Hi friends,

I have the luxury of having to take roughly a week's worth of Vacation time from work before the end of June, likely solo. I already have 2 BWCA trips planned in that time so I am thinking of trying somewhere else- open to any and all suggestions! Voyageurs? Isle Royale backpacking? Somewhere I have never heard of within a reasonable driving distance? Fire away with ideas, thanks!!

Lucky you “having” to take a week of vacation! What would you consider driving distance? 3-4 hours? From what nearest big city?

Have you tried hiking the Porqupine Mountains? Or paddled the Bruce River? The Namekagan river is scenic, and I believe you can camp on its shores.

4keys: "Lucky you “having” to take a week of vacation! What would you consider driving distance? 3-4 hours? From what nearest big city?


Have you tried hiking the Porqupine Mountains? Or paddled the Bruce River? The Namekagan river is scenic, and I believe you can camp on its shores.
"

Hah, indeed that sure is a difficult problem to have to take vacation eh?! Pretty awesome. I would consider driving distance a days drive from north of the Cities area, so maybe up to 8-9 hours(ish).

I have not done the Porcupine Mountains but have heard of them, will do some research on that area. And nope, never done Bruce River or Namekagon although every time I drive to northern WI I see the signs and want to paddle it. Great suggestions, thank you!

Wherever you go probably less people that time of year but definitely be prepared for the onslaught of Black Flies and Mosquitoes!

woodsandwater: "Wherever you go probably less people that time of year but definitely be prepared for the onslaught of Black Flies and Mosquitoes!"

Yes indeed, that is why I was thinking more towards late April or May to avoid them. In past years I have went out in BWCA early June and got eaten alive by both! I now normally schedule my trips on shoulder seasons. I will be up in BWCA for trout opener and then again for Memorial Weekend (both in May) where the bugs are not an issue. Good thought though!

You mentioned Isle Royale. I strongly recommend going there sometime, whether it’s now or some other time.

I’ve been there three times and consider it an equal outdoors experience to a wilderness canoe trip. Let me know if I can be of any help with some direction or planning info.

Jackfish: "You mentioned Isle Royale. I strongly recommend going there sometime, whether it’s now or some other time.

I’ve been there three times and consider it an equal outdoors experience to a wilderness canoe trip. Let me know if I can be of any help with some direction or planning info. "

It has been on the list for some time now, perhaps this is the opportunity to make it happen. Especially with the early spring, maybe this would be a good time to head there in May or early June? I generally try to avoid crowds and stay off the beaten path (especially with a solo trip), so any tips would be appreciated! Feel free to email me directly if that works better, thanks!

This year might be tough for the Namekagon. I would imagine the water would be very low. I think it would be fun to put in at Hayward, and paddle it all the way to Stillwater, or at least Marine on the St. Croix.

It's hard for me to remember, but I think we did Trego to Riverside. It was very peaceful. Didn't hardly see anyone, and had a couple very nice campsites. They're all first come first serve. Alot of the water was about 6 inches deep in early August, not all that fishable. I'm not sure I'd bother getting a wisconsin license, but there were a few pools that were deeper.

The water is very clear. We saw quite a few red horse, some big sturgeon, a few muskie in the 10lb range. Just a handful of small mouth.

As the water was shallow, we drug bottom a bit. I wouldn't take a good kevlar. We just used our aluminum canoe. Kayak might be a better way to go. I enjoyed it though, and would do it again, but I might try May or Early june when the water is a bit higher, and maybe easier to find the smallies. I think next time I'll go riverside to Taylors falls.

You could always paddle the Mississippi from it's beginning down to the twin cities.

Again though, water levels this year, I would think will be brutal.

Superior Hiking Trail, Quetico, Woodland Caribou, Wabakimi...

You can always try what I did last year. It's a little different but I thought it was fun. We stayed at a state park camping ground down in south east Minnesota and went fly fishing.

It was a bit of driving between different streams, a bit of hiking up and down the streams, and a lot of casting. We stayed at Beaver Creek Valley State Park just outside of Caledonia. I only spent 2 nights at the campground and it felt way too short. As in, I was just getting used to fly fishing by the time the trip was done, so I think you could spend far more time than I did.

We did also take a break from fishing to go frisbee golfing in La Crosse, there are a lot of hiking trails, and the largest cave system in MN in Forestville, so there is plenty of other things to do in the area. The campsite was cheap, but if you are willing to spend just a little more, you can rent from a wide variety of places on Airbnb, or similar apps. Small 1 room cabins with a picnic table and fire pit for a kitchen, and no running water are $50-80 a night. Basically camping without a ton of other people and a roof with heat at night, for early spring trips.

WanderingWoodsmanMN: "

Jackfish: "You mentioned Isle Royale. I strongly recommend going there sometime, whether it’s now or some other time.

I’ve been there three times and consider it an equal outdoors experience to a wilderness canoe trip. Let me know if I can be of any help with some direction or planning info. "

It has been on the list for some time now, perhaps this is the opportunity to make it happen. Especially with the early spring, maybe this would be a good time to head there in May or early June? I generally try to avoid crowds and stay off the beaten path (especially with a solo trip), so any tips would be appreciated! Feel free to email me directly if that works better, thanks!"

I would second Jackfish's suggestion, especially if you haven't been there. Isle Royale is a favorite of mine and I've never had an issue dealing with crowds there. You have a variety of travel and trip options as well. You could take the ferry out of Grand Portage or the seaplane out of Grand Marais. A canoe trip on Isle Royale is possible, too. Just takes a little more planning and added expense to ferry the extra weight. I'd recommend booking sooner than later though to make sure you can get a spot on your choice of transport.

Whichever wilderness you end up in, enjoy!

If you are willing to look at the Porcupine Mountains you should check out the Sylvania Wilderness in the UP. Not as big and you reserve each campsite. Still could be a nice get-a-way for a week with a lot less work.

I'd recommend hiking Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore or paddling the lakes on Isle Royale.

Seconding the recommendations for Sylvania Wilderness (I haven't personally been there, but my parents speak highly of it. And also as Frenchy mentioned, Woodland Caribou.

It looks to be a bit over 9 hours from Minneapolis, which is likely the edge of your range, but I cannot recommend it highly enough. Only one trip, but it's everything I love about the BWCA, just more.... or less. More solitude, wildlife easily seen, fishing, ect. Less people (way less).

We started/ended at Leano Lake, couple hour drive SW of Red Lake, ON. Saw a total of 8 people in a weeks trip. Can't wait to go back.

+1 on the Sylvania Wilderness in the Michigan UP.

When our 2021 BWCA trip got cancelled because of the wildfires Sylvania was a great stand-in on a last-minute pivot. Not quite the same and a bit more "tame" than the BWCA for sure but still a great canoeing option and we had so much fun that I went back again the very next year. Sylvania wilderness trip

These are all fantastic suggestions! Lots of research to do here but one quick question about the UP specifically: do I need any special gear/footwear or just regular BWCA stuff? Reason I ask is that I was in the UP a few years back (it might have actually been Sylvania) and had portaged into the first lake, but the last probably 30 yards of the portage was straight sucking mud/low water. Not just regular mud like I have seen on many BWCA portages where there is solid ground on the trail but you just had to walk through it. This was at least knee deep, leg sucking, not sure I could even get out of it on my own mud. With my pack and canoe on my shoulders, I had to turn around as it was too risky. There were no rocks, etc where a guy could pick his way through.

Has anyone else had this experience or was I just there at a weird time? Is Sylvania pretty accessible with normal canoe shoes/shorts/pants? Portages pretty normal like BWCA or even more wild/tame?

Isle Royale is a great backpacking location but it does get booked up.
If interested I made a detailed waterproof map.
North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT) goes from ND to VT and many great areas to section hike it. I’ve also made maps showing this trail.
MyrmelMaps.com

Sylvania is BWCA light. Was there two years in a row (about 5 years ago). My brother and I took our 82 year old stepfather one year and the next year with some buddies from work who had not been on a remote trip. Was drivable from the Madison area (4 hrs vs 7+ to BWCA) so that was the reason for picking that location.

Portages are short. Otherwise, they didn't feel much different from the BWCA except that a couple were hard to spot at first. Campsites are usually tucked away from the water. Some are reservable and some are are not. Knowing we'd be coming up late on one of the trips, having a campsite reserved was nice as we weren't hunting one down as dark approached.

Fishing in mid-late June was amazing!!! Stepdad and one of my buddies the next year said it was the best fishing they've every experienced. All barbless but the bluegills were hitting on about 75-80% of every cast. Bugs were as good/bad as the BWCA. Could hear cars in the distance at one of the campsites as you are never far from a road. A few motorized boats on Crooked Lake. Know that some people motor to a campsite on Crooked with a canoe in tow, then day trip to the other lakes. Not a lot of canoe traffic on the inner lakes either trip.

Definitely not the BWCA but a wilderness getaway that fit our desires for the outdoors. Packed and approached it the same as I do BWCA trips and thoroughly enjoyed both trips.

Big Island Lake Wilderness in the UP is another option. Little used, but not the best fishing lakes. Might be hard to spend a week.