Hi All,

I have a permit for Lake One on Memorial Day, and taking my 7 year old son on his first BW trip. I've only been through EP#30 once before and pushed to Alice on my first day, so not much experience with the number chain. My plan is to base camp west of Insula, preferably on Lake 3. I know it will very likely be super busy, but I'm hoping there will be some people packing up and leaving on Monday. I'm planning on being on the water before 7am.

Anyway, just looking for a bit of advice with the area, time of year, and a 7 year old on board.

Cheers!

Number 1 is to be ready for that 45 degree, wet, windy day…or two. Memorial Day and later, you still have solid odds of decent weather (and great fishing), but you gotta be ready.

And it could be hot too!

Have an amazing trip with your son! There is no place better for family than the BWCA.

Since Lakes Two, Three, and Four all interconnected, I'd start looking at campsites right away. If you see empty ones, consider whether you are willing to backtrack to them if your preferred ones on Lake Three are full.

With that said, I have seen empty campsites on Lake Three in early afternoon and people packing up to leave then. Don't be discouraged if your early start finds most campsites taken, lots of people do not pack up early.

I'll be coming out of Lake One on either the Saturday or Sunday before Memorial Day, so I can give an update on what things are like, if you're still checking the boards the day before your trip. I'm not sure yet if we're heading towards the triangle or towards lakes 2/3/4, but if it's the latter I'll keep an eye open for how the campsites are looking.

The sites on the southern part of Lake Three are the best and most hidden in the area. While there you'll miss all the traffic headed further east as they don't paddle down that direction. My outfitter guy heads there when he's just got a day or two. Good fishing around those islands as well.

noodle: "I can give an update on what things are like, if you're still checking the boards the day before your trip."

That would be awesome. I'll still be checking the boards.

With your entry plan you probably have a good chance of getting a site by mid morning. Many years ago we were coming out through the numbered lakes and as darkness approached we were getting pretty desperate. Just as we were considering the possibility of having to make an emergency campsite, we went down into the dead end Horseshoe Lake and found the last open site.

WesternHills: "Anyway, just looking for a bit of advice with the area, time of year, and a 7 year old on board."

One more thing- if you are able to get it, the island site #2220 on the north end of Three is a great place when you've got smaller travelers with you, in that the west half of the island is incredibly wide open without thick underbrush so there's room for exploring, but also being on an island it's less likely that someone could get turned around and completely lost.