I'm the oldest of five siblings (all ages 14-22) and I'm planning on taking the group on a 4-day, 3-night trip in early July, probably setting up camp at two sites along the way. We have a couple of experienced canoers but this is each of our first times in the BWCA in at least 10 years. Just curious to see if people had advice on what route could be fun for a bit of sibling bonding!

This is my first post, so I apologize if this is the wrong spot :)

If you're looking for experienced advice regarding a sibling trip, I'll say "Don't do it!" :)

This advice applies to really any groups and isn't specific to siblings, but...

1. Keep your most experienced paddlers in the stern. Assuming you are taking one 2-seat and one 3-seat canoe, the rest of the paddlers can change seats as desired, but you will want seasoned paddlers steering and navigating.

2. Include ALL of your siblings in trip planning, meal, planning, route planning. It really helps to keep everyone involved and feeling like their are part of the process.

3. Keep score for fishing, bird sighting, etc. Friendly rivalry.

4. If you have siblings who aren't into fishing, introduce them to the Merlin or iNaturalist app so they can appreciate wildlife that way.

5. Make a "chore chart" in advance to divide up the campsite chores. Rotate everyone through cooking, dishwashing, water filtration, tent setup, wood gathering, fire building, etc. Publish it to everyone before you leave and get their agreement. Helps to squelch "I did dishes yesterday" arguments.

6. Take lots and lots of pictures. You will appreciate them in the decades to come.

Have a great trip!

^^^ What soundguy said. Perfect advice.^^^

And welcome to BWCA.com, joggy. Spend some time on here asking some more questions, checking out the Gear Forum and the Maps and Entry Points page. Lots of great information, especially after you decide which entry point you'll be using. Click on the campsites and portages for reviews.

Good luck in your planning!

joggy: "…probably setting up camp at two sites along the way. "

Probably not what you mean, but your group cannot split up and camp at different sites. All members of a group on a single BWCA permit must camp together at the same designated site. Of course the group can move to different sites as frequently as desired.

Thanks for the heads up plander! I just meant we would stay together as a group, but move to a new lake after the first or second day to see some new sights!

Thanks soundguy! I love the bit about some competition. I think that'll go over well, hopefully well enough to keep everyone happy with chores... ;)

joggy: "Thanks soundguy! I love the bit about some competition. I think that'll go over well, hopefully well enough to keep everyone happy with chores... ;)"

IMHO, "camp" chores have always been fun. Hopefully your family is like that also. You could also let your sibs "trade" chores if one brother really likes to gather firewood and your sister prefers to filter water.

Menu planning is also something that you can all decide together. If weight isn't your primary concern, you can bring in frozen steaks for the first night and ham for the second night...bacon and eggs will last all week...foil pouch chicken with rice-a-roni at the end of the week. Or you can experience the Mountain House dehydrated meals. Ask each of your sibs to suggest a meal and have them plan it out with shelf-stable ingredients (note: no cans or jars permitted in the BWCA).

Also, I realized that you asked about route advice...if you are talking about early July 2026, the first thing you will need to do is find a permit. Many entry points are already sold out for the month or season. Fall Lake to Basswood Falls (via Newton and Pipestone) is a great "first timer" route. Two very easy portages the first day and then lots of excellent campsites from Pipestone all the way up to Upper Basswood Falls. With an early start and some discipline, you can get to the no-motor zone on the first day, but you can also just spend the night halfway up Pipestone and do a day drip to UBF.

Mosquitos will be in full bloom in July. Bug nets are a great item to pick up. Wild blueberries will just be coming in and they are a great addition to pancakes.

Check out Entry Point 51, Missing Link.

You can stay on smaller lakes. There are also many permits left. Many EP’s have very limited availability.

I disagree on the rivalry part. It can work to keep people engaged but it can also make some feel bad about getting skunked. If everyone is on board and loves the competition, it's fine, but you don't want anyone getting disappointed or upset about something that is highly dependent on luck.

For first trips, you want to be able to push yourselves, but still have it easy enough to leave if you've had enough. Nothing like having everyone miserable after a long portage then someone commenting "We'll have to do it again on the way out".

Day trips to some destination while camping closer to the entry point are a great way to do this. That way you can paddle as far as you want and check out other lakes, but aren't forced to carry everything and risk pushing people past the point of having fun. Little loops or points of interest to check out are great.

I would recommend you look for points of interest you want to visit and lakes with the type of fishing you want to do. Maybe look for waterfalls and find a lake with decent fishing and lots of campsites nearby one you want to see. A trip like this will give you all the basics and you can still paddle around and explore, fish or just sit in camp and have fun.

A couple of entry point options that always seem to be open in the busy season - Missing Link (#51) and Skipper & Portage (#49). I've done both by picking up a permit about one to two weeks in advance.

Missing Link to Snipe has two longish portages but are very manageable. Spent three nights on Snipe, only saw two other canoes. Stayed on the northern most site - elevated, on a point, neat island in front. Explored the lake. The Narrows just to the south was very interesting as were the cliffs on the south side. Fishing was average but it was a great place for several days of solitude. Provided a great BWCA experience. Exited via Cross Bay (a bit easier portaging on that side) and there are campsites there if you wanted to break up the trip to a couple of spots.

Entered through Portage Lake a couple of times. One trip was to Banadad for a few nights and the second trip was a basecamp on Rush. One longish portage again. Not easy but not terrible, but memorable. First time tripper, my son, came on one trip and my wife on the other. Banadad was quiet. The east side campsite has a nice slope (some see this as a negative) that was great for stargazing. Cliffs on the south side created an echo chamber when it was still. On the trip to Rush, the east most site is elevated and provides awesome views. Explored the burn area in the bay on the south side. I find burn areas interesting. Caught several smallies in the bay as well.

Not big loops, nothing overly special, just average fishing, but all three trips were wonderful BWCA experiences on short notice.





Snipe Lake - site 554 - first two photos







Rush Lake 613 - last photo

Random Thoughts
Friends and yes, family will/can stiff you and back out in the process. Collect an unrefundable deposit so you are not on the hook for expenses as you go along. Talk is cheap, but reaching into your wallet places each participant in the game. Start with each pitching in $300.00 and add more as that runs dry. Collect this as soon as possible. Keep very detailed records. Somebody will think costs have gotten very high even if nothing is said. It is smart for you to be the banker. If you see costs coming up, collect the cash in advance as some costs are per person.

Get the dates settled early so vacation time as needed can be arranged.

bwcadan: "Random Thoughts
Friends and yes, family will/can stiff you and back out in the process. Collect an unrefundable deposit so you are not on the hook for expenses as you go along. Talk is cheap, but reaching into your wallet places each participant in the game. Start with each pitching in $300.00 and add more as that runs dry. Collect this as soon as possible. Keep very detailed records. Somebody will think costs have gotten very high even if nothing is said. It is smart for you to be the banker. If you see costs coming up, collect the cash in advance as some costs are per person.


Get the dates settled early so vacation time as needed can be arranged."

$300/person to start? Good Lord. Unless they need to rent or buy 100% of their gear before the trip the cost per person should not be anywhere near that much. Don't scare them off before they even start.

Say what, I have all my own gear so does my partner, and that is at least $200 each. Gas is big, food, permit, fishing licenses. Sounds like they will be renting their gear, if not a whole outfitting package. Don’t know cuz he didn’t say. Get a price from an outfitter.
I come from a family of seven kids. As I sit here now I can just imagine the dynamics involved in such an endeavor. That would be a trip, as we used to say. You didn’t say the genders of your group. Just curious.

Maybe I'm out of touch with the cost for most people, but speaking only for myself, my trips run about $150 all in - gas, permits and licenses, food, etc.

Yes you are right. Can’t argue with that.

TomP: "Check out Entry Point 51, Missing Link.


You can stay on smaller lakes. There are also many permits left. Many EP’s have very limited availability. "

This is an underutilized entry point. You can make a nice beginner route by entering at Missing Link and then exiting at Cross Bay Lake/Ham Lake. It is an easy walk back to the parking lot for the car (or have outfitter pick you up...see suggestion below). Snipe Lake is very pretty...though we never seem to catch fish. There are some pretty streams to explore (one of my son's favorite activities) on the way to Cross Bay Lake. If the group finds they travel well together, you can drop down to Long Island Lake. Otherwise just do shorter days. July is great for swimming. If you need an outfitter (for some or all of your gear), Tuscarora Outfitters is very convenient and great people. My family outfits itself except when we need a 3-person canoe, and we have used Tuscarora for that.