I know this can be a dicey subject since many (including myself) don't like telling about jewels of the nile of campsites in the BW,,, but - list the lakes (open water) that in your experience has the best site you have ever stayed at in the B-DUB. (in order as best you can) May come back to haunt me the next time I'am eagerly awaiting a true 5* after a hard day and months of planning,,, but the other side is possible as well. Many will remember that post card bluebird day with a gentle breeze, even at a less then ideal site and vice versa. I guess I'am looking at lakes that have in your opinion ,, a true 5* (or best you've ever been at) on them regardless of other circumstances and from top to bottom. and for those with lots of experience,, throw one in off the beaten path somewhere ,, as it's obvious the bigger lakes hold more choices. My top 2 are the only true 5* I've come across.

#1 Iron
#2 Fourtown
#3 Ima
#4 Insula
#5 Knife
#6 Crooked
#7 Little Sag
#8 Vista
#9 Alpine (pre burn)
#10 Stuart
and for one off the beaten path--- JAP
in the mix is GUN

#1 llc
#2 Adams

There was a five star on LLC, the one above Lady Boot Bay on an island. There were even 30'cliffs next to the campsite where you could cliff jump.

I was there in 94 and came back in 2007. The campsite is now pretty much wrecked. Decades of over-use. I couldn't believe how degraded it became from the time between my stays.

I've often wondered what the USFS plans to do about the quality, or lack of quality of most of the BWCA campsites from the pounding they get each summer. Blahhh.

Tom

My experience is limited but the prime Vista site is my favorite camping experience thus far.

One that comes to mind is on Gillis Lake. Nice landing, fire area, and sweeping views of the lake.

Have not stayed on any that I hated, but my 5 star sites were :

#1 Winchell
#2 LLC
#3 Insula
#4 another LLC

LLC
Stuart

fourtown
horse (overused but great)


best ive EVER camped at was on sturgeon in quetico. it is truly incredible. i will never see another site that would even come close.

another similar thread

Frost #880
Loon#25
Cherry#322
Ester#329
Ogish#971
These sights are very good but seem to be the best as something good or memorable happen while I was there. Excellent weather, sunset, fishing, swimming, etc. made the particular campsite seem 5 star

BWCA Agnes Lake

actually, all i want is a semi-level tent pad. thats a 5 to me.

LLC
Iron

I'd make a list, but it keeps growing as I do more routes. This summer/fall, I discovered a bunch of new ones. The site on Gaskin with the steps, the east shore site on South Temperance, the site on Little Caribou and the mid lake south bank site on Pine.
I've been to the Gillis site, it's a goody, I have a couple favorites on LLC, the southeast island site on Long Island, either of the big beach sites on Frost, the 2 peninsula site on Oyster, the mid-lake site on Davis (just for it's seclusion)....wow...the list gets big.

Crooked
Fourtown

I don't know if I've ever stayed at a "5-star" campsite. I'm usually solo, maybe tandem, and only need one tent pad. Are there any 5-star sites that only have one decent tent pad? I think it's more of an issue for groups than a solo. I don't really care much about the firegrate area or even the landing. I'll put up with that and even a climb to the site if it has a smooth, level, preferably grassy, rather than dirt, tent pad. I prefer elevated sites.

The site on Moosecamp west of the portage was nice.

I stayted at the site on Oyster on the peninsula, but it just felt way too big for a solo and I didn't like most of the tent pads down in the pines on dirt and dark and damp. I actually set up on some grass up on top.

The middle site on Boot was nice.

There was a decent site on Quadga and one on Crab and one along the Isabella River.

I've stayed at some others that were memorable because of things that happened there like tom m said, but they weren't 5-star sites.

But I do read the campsite reviews before each trip :).

The only site on little caribou is my favorite.

WhiteWolf: "
#1 Iron
#2 Fourtown
#3 Ima
#4 Insula
#5 Knife
#6 Crooked
#7 Little Sag
#8 Vista
#9 Alpine (pre burn)
#10 Stuart
and for one off the beaten path--- JAP
in the mix is GUN "

With more experience, I have to move Knife and Insula ahead of IMA. Stuart goes above ALpine even pre-burn. GUN replaces Vista easily for #'s.

Oyster but shhhhhh

I was on Ester in 2017, a decade after falling in love with a site. It had degraded significantly and the thunder box was full. Not sure what the future holds but it won't be better than it is now.

There was one on south side of Crab I really liked.
Also the one with the big boulder on Finger Lake.
Island on Lake Three, pre-fire #1512...haven't been back since though.
Cummings east shoreline.
Little Sag #820.

It is so hard to separate the physical attributes of a campsite from the experiences shared there. I have favorites, but, as I reflect on the site itself, it may be the events and people more than the site. Others were great once and upon return not so much. Time and wind have rearranged the physical attributes such that they are no longer the site they once were.

1. Little Sag
2. Tuscarora
3. SAK
4. Trail Lake
5. Finger Lake
6. Frost
7. Burnt
8. South Temperance
9. Cherokee
10. Ge-be-on-e-quet (I think this one was a great site but, a wind storm had just blown down several trees before we had arrived making it tough to use while we were there.)
11. Mesaba (This one has been ravaged by time and is not as nice as it once was.)

Best campsite in the BDub? Simple answer, the one I'm on....