My brother and his son have committed to going with me around Memorial Day, and my other brother also said he would probably like to go. My nephew doesn't get out of school in time for me to use my current Mudro permit for the prior week so it sounds like I'll have to release that and get a different one.

Since none of them have been to the BW before I figured an EP with small water and relatively short portages would be a good idea. EPs 39 and 40, Baker and Homer lakes both fit the bill on paper and both still have permits available for that time frame. I've been to Homer and had a good trip, but never been to Baker. Any pros or cons to either one, especially for first-timers? Campsite availability and fishing would be my primary considerations.

I think Baker would give you more variety and options for exploration. The Jack Lake Mine is always fun to see and in my experience, the Baker EP has proven a reliable area to spot moose. Usually a few eater walleyes aren't too tough to come by either.

I also give the nod to Baker for the same reasons as TB.

I’ve tripped from each of them twice and will be going to Baker again this year with my 7 year old son.

Both my trips to Homer were in May, but different years. On my solo there was only 1 other car in the lot and I didn’t see another person. A year later with my younger daughter at age 11 the lot was full, Vern and Pipe campsites were all taken, a storm was coming, and lucky for us the campsite on Homer that’s in the BWCA was still open when we backtracked.

2 of my favorite trips ever were the 2 I took to Baker. The first one was with my older daughter at age 9 in June. We saw moose on Peterson, Kelly, and Jack. We camped on Jack and caught a lot of walleye. The second time was with my younger daughter at age 13 in May. We didn’t see any moose but had a a great time camped on Kelly. We caught walleye on Jack and Kelly.

Homer’s advantage in this scenario - having a larger part of its shoreline outside the BWCA - is also its disadvantage. If the sites on Homer, Vern and Pipe are all taken, you can backtrack to east of the boundary and camp along the shore. The possibilities aren’t great but they do exist.

The disadvantage comes from the occasional motor noise and the knowledge that you’re not camping inside the BWCA. And any day trips beyond Homer will necessarily involve portaging out and back.

Personally I’d risk having to do this to get a crack at Pipe or Vern, but privacy is at the top of my priorities, not fishing.

I was down to the same 50/50 decision and reading the replies here it seems I may have chosen wrong (went with Homer in late May). Hopefully my 7 year old son and I will luck out and get a good spot on Vern or Pipe. If we can it seems like it will fit the bill nicely for our wants/needs.

shouldertripper: "I was down to the same 50/50 decision and reading the replies here it seems I may have chosen wrong (went with Homer in late May). Hopefully my 7 year old son and I will luck out and get a good spot on Vern or Pipe. If we can it seems like it will fit the bill nicely for our wants/needs. "

I picked Baker lol. Hopefully we both made the right decision. I went to Homer in late May two years ago. Pipe is a beautiful lake and the smallmouth fishing was excellent. I didn't see another person in the 2+ days I spent on Pipe. All the sites on Vern were taken but the one in the BWCA on Homer was open and I stayed there. It's a nice site.

Baker is a nice entry point. No huge water heading north, or can portage west to the "fire" lakes. Decent fishing and have seen moose there regularly

Baker is nice, I've done it twice, keep in mind there are not that many campsites till you get to South Temperance and I've seen them all nearly full so be prepared for a long day if you are headed that way.