Just got my hot tent & toboggan set up, and am planning a trip somewhere within a couple hours drive of Duluth to try it all out. Would like to remain outside the BWCA boundaries.

Been looking at the Timber/Frear and Silver Island Lake areas north of Finland as a possible destination. Ideally looking for something not on a commonly used snow machine trail (which will likely be a problem with the spots I've looked at so far). I'm figuring that anything <5 miles from plowed road access, and without too much bushwhacking would be fine.

Curious if anyone has any other favorites or suggestions they'd be willing to share?

I'm not 100% sure but I think using boughs might be against the rules anywhere in the SNF. My understanding is the roads north of Cooked Lake resort are not plowed and are snowmobile trails so that would make your tow to the lakes you list quite lengthy. If its not too far I might suggest Sawbill. The southern portion is outside of the BWCA and I am thinking its probably not super busy now that walleye/pike season is over. Other benefits are knowing it's a plowed road with a large parking area and an outfitter there in case you have any other issues.

Honestly, unless there's some specific reason you don't want to be in the Boundary Waters, Sawbill is rightfully the best option given the straight shot road to the entry, ample parking, and easy access to the water. Great place to test out gear. You wont hear a snowmobile the entire time you're there either.

If you're dead set on not being in the Boundary Waters, I'm fairly certain they plow a small turnout at Hogback Lake, otherwise most of the rustic campgrounds close to the primary roads are accessible and there's usually plenty of shoulder to park out of the way.

Fourmile Lake
Toohey Lake
Whitefish Lake
Windy Lake
Crescent Lake

Just a thought too, if you haven't pulled a toboggan yet with all your gear, I don't know that an untouched trail of any distance through the woods is going to be enjoyable for you, so I would definitely try to stick to easy lake access. For what it's worth, I passed through Sawbill this last weekend and it was pretty much a ghost town. A handful of cars in the lot, but I saw almost no-one and camped out on Alton about 1.75 miles from the landing.

Hogback is plowed and you can get away from the snowmobiles if you put in some work. I was cold camping on one of the smaller lakes this past weekend and it would suit your needs, though snowmobiles were the first thing I saw heading in. Unless you're fishing for certain species, I agree with the others that Sawbill is the better option.

I will likely go back to Hogback sometime in the shoulder season though.