If a person who has never been to Quetico asked you, "I have seven days and I want to go through the most beautiful part of the park", what would you respond?

I think you should refine your query to northern or southern entry. It's my belief that people have expertise in one or the other. Although there are some who do have expertise in both. But they would be far fewer in number.

I would recommend entering Beaverhouse, paddling the length of Quetico through Orianna, Jesse, Maria, Batchewaung and out through Nym. It's easily doable in seven days and you'll be paddling with the prevailing westerly winds. In terms of beauty, I am unable to to distinguish one superior route from another.

IMO, the two areas that come to mind are the narrows of Agnes and then Kahshahpiwi and the lakes to the north of Crooked. (Some of that area burned so some research is in order.)

Since you haven't been to Quetico before, you most likely aren't in possession of a current RABC permit. That would eliminate the opportunity for you to enter the park at Prairie Portage or Cache Bay, at least for the foreseeable future.

That leaves Lac La Croix and the northern entry points as the only way for you to start a trip and enter the park.

Beaverhouse, Lerome Lake, Nym, Stanton Bay and French Lake (Dawson Trail) are all beautiful in their own right. They might not have the tall cliffs that you see in the Man Chain or the canyons and waterfalls of the Falls Chain, but all of Quetico is heaven on earth.

When are you planning to go and what are your goals for the seven days - base camping or doing a route where you spend time at different campsites?

Argo: "I think you should refine your query to northern or southern entry. It's my belief that people have expertise in one or the other. Although there are some who do have expertise in both. But they would be far fewer in number.

I would recommend entering Beaverhouse, paddling the length of Quetico through Orianna, Jesse, Maria, Batchewaung and out through Nym. It's easily doable in seven days and you'll be paddling with the prevailing westerly winds. In terms of beauty, I am unable to to distinguish one superior route from another."

Agree with this area. Also, add south past the beaver house ranger cabin. There are some pictographs down there. I thought the lakes from badwater heading east were very nice. Lots of historical junk in the woods. Not sure if this area has burned recently.

Jackfish: "When are you planning to go and what are your goals for the seven days - base camping or doing a route where you spend time at different campsites?"

July 22, and I may add a few days. I've actually been to Saganagons in southeastern Quetico years ago (1991). This was a base camp trip. I mostly do longer loop trips now several times a year in the BW, 50+ miles, in 5 to 7 days leading groups. This trip I will be soloing. I'm deciding between Quetico and Wabakimi...

How hard do you push and do you like layovers, fishing?
We did this trip a couple years ago (group solos) and I thought it was great.
Nym-Batch-Pick-Maria-Jesse
Jesse-Oriana-Quetico
Quetico-Conk-Jean-Burnside
Burnside-Rouge-Sturgeon
Sturgeon-Lonely-Walter
Walter-Elizabeth-Jesse-Maria
Maria-Pick-Batch-Nym
Thats 7 days of decent travel. Some big water, some small water, some creeks, some waterfalls.....little bit of everything and didnt seem like a busy area. Saw few people but it was early spring.
We layed over on Burnside a day and had a very short day when we camped in 2 different spots on Sturgeon and also layed over last 2 nights on Maria before our last paddle out day. If you added a day, you could pick a layover day in the middle somewhere.
Pics in my photos in chronological order...."Quetico 2023"

cowdoc: "How hard do you push and do you like layovers, fishing?"

I push pretty hard, but I do like to stay 2 nights in the same spot a time or two to just enjoy a beautiful area, explore, and work a lake fishing a little more intently. I love to fish as the sun is rising for several hours in the morning before I eat breakfast and break camp, and then I often troll while putting in paddling miles. I like to have a fish on my stringer as I set up camp for the night.

I mapped out your suggested route too from Nym. Looks like a good one! I'll consider. And thanks. I'm mapping out some of the other suggestions too...

We are planning the start suggested by cowdoc for a 7-day trip in May:

Quetico-Conk-Jean-Burntside-Rouge-Sturgeon

From there the idea is to exit at Stanton Bay via Deux Riviéres. Would you recommend the paddle from Sturgeon up through Lonely, etc over Deux Riviéres or over B-Chain?

We hope to alternate paddling days with layover days to fish. Four days of paddling (a short day across Pickerel on exit) and three layover days seems like best case scenario (we'll see what Odin offers us). Given the many options along the way, are there areas you would prioritize along that route? Jean/Burntside/Rouge OR Sturgeon/Russell/Antoine OR Pickerel? I hear the fishing in Pickerel Narrows can be good that time of year.

as far as exiting, the Deux River exit will be easiest I think. We enjoyed Lonely to Walter and had good fishing on Walter. Also, fish Sturgeon where creek from Lonely enters in.....boom. The B Chain is really neat with great fishing below each set of rapids but the portage along the Pickerel river is a real buggar. (That was from a different trip). Spend some time on Burnside for sure.