I usually take my quetico trips through PP but I'm thinking about entering from the Canadian side. It will only be a party of two; my brother and me. We like to travel hard the first day and set up a base camp where we can do day trips to explore.

Does anybody have a recommendation for an entry point? A lake to base camp on? I thank all of you in advance.

Lots of possibilities . . . from Beaverhouse, or Lerome Lakes, base-camp on Cirrus. Just stay on Cirrus or day-trip down into Quetico Lake. From Beaverhouse, go down to Badwater. You have many side-trip options there. (But a mile long portage in and out.) From Beaverhouse head straight East far down Quetico and camp there. Fish Quetico and day-trip into Conk, Jean, and Oriano. (Actually for a REALLY long day -- better done in 2 days -- go down Quetico, then south into Jean or on to Burntside (Budside on some maps).
--Goose

Beaverhouse and Lerome are great Entry Points, (EP) and you're into Quetico Park relatively fast, although most of your first day out of the Lerome Lake EP is not within Quetico Provincial Park, (QPP), but you'd hardly know it.

Another option would be to put in at Nym Lake, go through Batchewaung Lake, and then head south to Jessie Lake. Unless the wind is up on Nym and Batchewaung Lake, you can easily get to Jesse Lake in one day. From Jesse, you could day trip west over the 133 rod portage to Oriana Lake, and then to Quetico Lake after a few short portages down Oriana Creek.

Another option would be to put in on French Lake, head west through Pickerel Lake, and then south through Bisk, Beg and Bud Lakes, also referred to as the "B" Lakes.

If you wanted an easy first day with short portages, you could portage from Beaverhouse into Quetico Lake, and then proceed to Jean Lake and base camp on Jean. Unless you have stiff winds on Beaverhouse and Quetcio Lake, you should make Jean Lake in one day.

Otherwise, as "Old Grey Goose" suggested, you could travel to the east end of Quetico Lake and camp, which would make for an easy first day. You'd have a lot of day trip options base camped on the east end of Quetico Lake.

It's hard to go wrong with any northern entry point in my opinion. That said, it may depend on how you're traveling to Atikokan. That is, if you're entering Canada via International Falls/Fort Frances, then Beaverhouse would be the closest launch site, with access to the Quetico Lake and Cirrus Lake EP's, provided you're picking up your permit at the Beaverhouse Ranger Station.

If you're traveling to Atikokan from the east by driving up Highway 61 north to Thunder Bay and then heading west on Highway 11, the Dawson Trail campground/French Lake EP would be your closest entry.

For what it's worth, I prefer traveling Highway 61 through Thunder Bay and then driving west to the town of Atikokan. Once in Atikokan, you can pick-up your permit for any of the northern EP's at the QPP Head Quarters in the Service Ontatio building on Saturn Avenue, a stone's throw from the Souris River canoe factory. From the town of Atikokan, Nym Lake and Lerome Lake would be the closest EP's.

As much as I like the Beaverhouse entry, the drive to the 75 rod launch site can be problematic. That is, it's approximately 15 miles to the Beaverhouse Lake launch site south of Highway 11 on a gravel road. The first 9 miles are not a problem, but the final 6 miles to the parking lot can be a bitch. It's a rough, single lane road with bushes and vegetation for most of the way there. If you have a high clearance vehicle and you don't mind getting it scratched up a bit, then it's probably not a concern.

The bigger problem with the final 6 miles is if you encounter a vehicle coming from the opposite direction, because there's not a lot of spots to pull over and pass.

Last September I had a local outfitter shuttle me, my canoe and my gear to Beaverhouse after spotting my car at the Nym Lake parking lot, where I took-out at the end of my solo trip. In my opinion, it was worth the money.

Hans Solo

Thanks for the great info! The maps are now out! I'm looking forward to entering from the north!

At my age, I don't mind the 6 miles of narrow "bush" road as much as the 500-600 meter (depending on water levels) portage from the parking lot. =) --Goose

quote OldGreyGoose: "At my age, I don't mind the 6 miles of narrow "bush" road as much as the 500-600 meter (depending on water levels) portage from the parking lot. =) --Goose"

+1 I did not find road that bad - so a narrow dirt road - but it is around an hour and a quarter from Atikokan.

quote billconner: "

quote OldGreyGoose: "At my age, I don't mind the 6 miles of narrow "bush" road as much as the 500-600 meter (depending on water levels) portage from the parking lot. =) --Goose"

+1 I did not find road that bad - so a narrow dirt road - but it is around an hour and a quarter from Atikokan."

As I mentioned, depending our your vehicle the last 6 miles on the "bush" road might not be an issue. If I was driving an older Chevy Silverado, (as my Outfitter had done), or even a 2 x2 pick-up with better ground clearance, I wouldn't care. Still, it would be a pain in the a$$ if you come face to face with another vehicle coming from the opposite direction.

That said, you're probably not driving that road with a Toyota Solara, which is my preferred mode of transportation these days. (shown below) Excuse the expression, but I'm a little "anal" about my Solara, and if I can avoid it, I don't like to beat it up. :-)

When the topic of the Beaverhouse Lake entry comes up, I often mention the road conditions to the Beaverhouse parking lot. My thinking is, there may be first time users of that entry that may be like me and don't want to abuse their vehicle(s), or feel their vehicle is inappropriate for a "bush" road. In other words, I'd be reluctant to take that drive in a Toyota Corolla, Camry, Honda Civic, etc., but in a Suburu Outback for example, not so much. I mention it as a "by the way" notation, not as a deterrent.

Hans Solo

Guys I'm going to be honest. I just picked up my brand new truck last weekend. As much as I would love to try out those last few miles; I just dont know about the possible scratches lol If my brother thinks I am picky about landing my canoe, wait till he sees how I am with my truck.

I've driven it several times, in various vehicles -- Ford Explorer, Chevy Venture Van, Uplander Van -- maybe in another vehicle, I can't think of. Never put any scratches on them. And none of those were high clearance or 4X4. The road has some small hills and some tight curves, and you probably don't do over 25mph. Unless you meet another vehicle, there is no reason to brush up against any shrubbery, etc. I have only met another vehicle once, and it was kind of cool. We each edged over as far as possible, stopped side by side and had a brief chat. (I might have reservations about a brand new vehicle I was still "babying.") Plan to take my "new to me" 2011 F150 down it in June. --Goose

Well, in a fairly new RAV4 it didn't even give me reason to pause. And my wife drove it out and back to pick me up. To each their own.

Not to beat a dead horse, but when "Moose" from Morris Camp shuttled me to Beaverhouse September 9th of 2013, his Chevy Silverado was lacerated by plenty of bushes along the way. All I could think was; "Better his vehicle than mine!"

This may be a case of the time of year, or the particular conditions at the time of our individual trips. If you recall, it was very wet in the Quetico Park area last summer. That being said, the vegetation may have been more pronounced when I was there in September 2013. It was worth it to pay for a shuttle to the launch site and something I'd do again in a heartbeat.

Seriously Bill & Goose, you're still talking trucks, vans and SUV's you've driven to the Beaverhouse parking lot. My car has a lot less clearance than any of the vehicles you both have mentioned, which is why I posted pictures of it. I'm not OK with taking out an oil pan. You're comparing apples to oranges.

If I was driving my full size Chevy Van, (shown below), I'd be fine with it, albeit the potential scratches from the bushes along the way would give me pause. I can assure you, there's a significant difference in clearance between my Chev Van and my Solara.

As far as it being "kind of cool" to encounter another vehicle head-on while on that narrow road, I guess we have different definitions of "cool" Goose. :-) Although there are areas that you CAN get around each other, in some places it's impossible unless some one backs up. This was something "Moose" from Morris Camp made mention of as well.

Besides, I'm growing tired of loop trips and I'm looking to do more "linear" routes in the future. So I like the car spotting idea and having a shuttle to another EP to avoid looping back, regardless of any unsatisfactory road conditions.

I actually inquired about having Atikokan Aero fly me, my canoe, and my gear to King's Point on Basswood Lake and then paddle back to Nym Lake. But after further review, I decided I could put the $700.00+ to better use elsewhere. :-)

Atikokan Aero

There's no right or wrong solution regarding access to the Beaverhouse parking lot, it's just a matter of what you're comfortable with.

Hans Solo

Not to beat a dead horse -- or beaver -- with any non-jacked up vehicle, I'm always most concerned about some of the large loose rocks you sometimes see on the road doing some damage under the vehicle, so I take it pretty slow. I agree, to each his own. After a few trips in and out it, it seems pretty "tame." --Goose

quote Love2fish: "Thanks for the great info! The maps are now out! I'm looking forward to entering from the north! "

Right. It's about 5 months too early to worry about road conditions and all that! . . . --Goose

We went in at French lake last year, then west on Pickerel. Then you could go South down the "B" chain to Russell and hang out on Russell then backtrack home. You WILL NOT be disappointed in the beauty, waterfalls or fishing. Russell is a neat lake and Chatterton Falls is awesome and great fishing.

SunCatcher

+1 on the B-chain. Very under-rated (or under-visited?) part of the park. Want very much to get back there. --Goose