Dates have opened up completely unexpectedly and I am going to be able to take my 11-year-old son on his first BWCA trip July 14-17. I have been to the BWCA 8 times and wanted to keep my route short and close to civilization for his first trip. With that said, I have stayed on Missing Link Lake once before but I have never been over to Snipe Lake but here it is really beautiful but not much for a fishery. Is there anything in the Snipe Lake area that any of you would recommend as far as day trips or sights to see? He is the kind of kid that rocks, sticks, and water will keep him entertained all day but I thought about getting out of camp each day for just a short paddle around the area/lake. He will want the Island Campsite, but which campsite would you all recommend? My plan is to camp on Snipe Lake for 2 nights and then move over to Missing Link for the last night to make for a quick out our final morning to Tuscarora and Round Lake. Thanks!!

Snipe is a beautiful lake. Not a bad campsite on it. As far as fishing - plenty of bass and northern. We were pleasantly surprised. The portage to Cross Bay is fairly easy - and that's another beautiful lake - with walleye!

If you haven't done so already? Check out the last few days of this trip report. Homage to the Spartans and other canoeing friends

Snipe is a beautiful lake in a beautiful area. It's an unusual lake...hard to explain, but you'll understand when you get there. We stayed at site 2011 on the southwest end of the lake. Excellent campsite- secluded, lots of sitting rocks.

We stayed a week on Snipe approximately seven years ago. We saw a moose and calf on several occasions (no doubt lived on the lake), and two bears. Saw one on the shore, and another the next day on the portage between Snipe and Missing Link. We didn't fish.

Highly recommend.

Mike

Did a solo on snipe in 2023. Loved it! Paddled the west side of the lake to check out the three sites on that side and picked site 554 as the best of the three. Slightly elevated, on a bit of a point, and great views. A cool island directly across that is good for checking out. Stayed three nights there. A top five site in 20 years of trips. Just to the south of that site is "the narrows" of Snipe lake. Narrow passage with high rock walls - worth checking out. Snipe is a beautiful lake. Fishing was so- so but I did catch enough for dinner.

Portages through missing link are fairly long and there is "the ledge" along the way. Went out through Cross Bay. Much easier portages. Stopped at the eastern campsite on snipe on the way out. Neat site with a fire pit in a unique spot right on a point. Site would work well for two people.

I really like Snipe. Quiet. Beautiful. Caught fish. Provided solitude. Was fun to explore. A great option for you.

I’ll repeat that Snipe is a cool little lake. For fishing, cross bay lake has great walleye fishing. There are some obvious eddies that hold walleye.

Take a little day trip over to Cross Bay Lake and let your son explore the streams at the portage from Snipe to Cross Bay and Cross Bay to Rib. My son loved exploring those areas.

Snipe is a charming lake to explore. Very scenic.

This is all excellent information. For starters I was always under the impression that Snipe didn't have hardly any fish in it, but if it has some Northerns and Smallies I may just have to throw a rod into our gear and see what happens.

I have no doubt we will get out and paddle around the lake some and will definitely take him over to Cross Bay now that I know the portages have some creeks and streams I am sure he would love to explore. He is all about the island campsite, but it sounds like Snipe holds some great campsite options no matter what site we get. Thank you to everyone who shared in this thread, I really appreciate it!!!!

Snipe Lake dinner! Didn't catch many fish but a couple found their way onto the menu!

I passed through Snipe back in 2013 and thought what a nice quiet lake and had lunch at the eastern most site. I thought I would like to return some day. Last year I did a solo trip there (with my dog) and thought it a wonderfully quiet lake. The northern most site is high up with western exposure for great sunsets. Lots of fresh moose sign at the eastern site both times I have been there. I do not understand you comment exiting through Tuscarora as that is not going in the direction of out although the Howl Swamp and Copper portages are spectacular but then you would have to do the long miler back out. A day trip to Copper could be cool as I remember there is one of the old log structures the Voyageurs placed to facilitate exit and entry. It is submerged though. Cross Bay and Ham have walleye. Enjoy!

I passed through Snipe back in 2013 and thought what a nice quiet lake and had lunch at the eastern most site. I thought I would like to return some day. Last year I did a solo trip there (with my dog) and thought it a wonderfully quiet lake. The northern most site is high up with western exposure for great sunsets. Lots of fresh moose sign at the eastern site both times I have been there. I do not understand you comment exiting through Tuscarora as that is not going in the direction of out although the Howl Swamp and Copper portages are spectacular but then you would have to do the long miler back out. A day trip to Copper could be cool as I remember there is one of the old log structures the Voyageurs placed to facilitate exit and entry. It is submerged though. Cross Bay and Ham have walleye. Enjoy!

I’ve seen a lot of Moose along the Cross River. On my 2023 solo trip I saw five while on the river. It would be a great day trip to paddle from Snipe to Ham Lake and back.

Be careful with the Ham Lake idea, it's not actually in the bwca (I've made that mistake myself), so if you day tripped there you can't re-enter the bwca without a new permit. You could plan to go through Ham on your way in or your way out though.

Same campsite as cowdoc is showing - northern most one. One pic from the island in front looking back at the site. The other is looking south from the campsite - the narrows is just beyond/behind the background (middle part of the picture).

I soloed through Snipe in May of this year. It quickly became one of my favorite lakes. I was there in early May and had the lake entirely to myself. Great day of leisurely paddling. Try for the island campsite, your son will have tons of fun on it. Not sure how busy it is in July, so good luck. There are brook trout in Missing Link lake nearby.

The portages from Round to Missing Link and ML to Snipe definitely have some character!

We planned to do the same thing this past weekend but per recommendation from Andy at Tuscarora we opted to stay on Ham(no permit needed) and day tripped in from there. The sites on Ham were nice but I'd recommend the furthest eastern site. Has a peninsula that is fun for the kids to explore, close to the portage to Cross Bay and close to the rapids coming in from Cross Bay which hold Walleye. The white noise from these rapids were wonderful as well. Enjoy trip whichever way you go.