Hi there... I want to take my daughter to Quetico next year she will be 4.5 years old at the time. Maybe my wife too right now she wants in on the adventure...

They are good sports with outdoor stuff but not diehards like me that want to go deep and dont mind long portages. Any ideas on the best easy to get to lakes for great base camp(s), good multi-species fishing, cool stuff to explore on day trips, etc?

I know we will see more people which is fine. I am more familiar with the western side of the park so I was thinking maybe just go in the Black Robe and stay on McAree for the week. What would be other good options for an easier trip? Appreciate the advice in advance!

I have a 5.5 year old as well, so I've thought about this. My suggestions...

--Put in at French, go to Pickerel, camp in The Pines. Sand beaches, no portages to get there, lots of fishing options, and Pickerel is big with lots of day trip possibilities.

--Put in at Nym, get a tow across, one portage to Batchewong. There are nice sites in the narrows leading from Batch to Pickerel, lots of good fishing.

--Put in at Beaverhouse, short portage to Quetico, camp on Quetico. There are some sand beaches, lots of campsites, good day tripping, good fishing.

Thanks Matt! I was just checking out my maps those all look like really good ideas. I have wanted to go into Beaverhouse before and do a loop down to Sturgeon and out the Maligne but obviously that would sour my wife/daughter for life.

I really like the idea of just going into Quetico lake but dont know much about that lake. I will do some more digging around. Does anyone have a map of Quetioco lake with campsites, etc? I have never been to a good sandy beach camp that is a great call for a kids trip.

Cheers appreciate the response.

The Beaverhouse to Q lake is a great suggestion: sandy beaches, pictos, great camp site. Could day trip to Sue Falls through Cirrus. If Q is not enough spend a night or two on Beaverhouse. A lot of solitude in this corner of the park.

Burke Lake - one very easy portage from Bayley Bay and/or North Bay - is not bad - and day trip to Louisa Falls, Lost Bay, and Isabella River. My favorite area.

This summer we put in at Nym. I don't see any need for a tow to the portage; the paddle across Nym is not long and there are some islands to protect from wind. The year before we put in at Beaverhouse, and on to Quetico and Cirrus. The issue here is that these are large lakes with possible wind problems, we certainly had one (see my trip report)! Wind can be an issue with a small child.

McAree is a great choice. Great fishing, exploring. Easy portage to Minn. I would avoid big water on first trip.

Second the Pickerel entry. We also did Beaverhouse to Cirrus. Our kids were 8 and 10 at the time. 2 portages, one long (160), one shorter (50 ish?). Paddle about a 1/2 hr to 45min to campsites. Nice lake for lakers/WE's/SBs.

Will your daughter be in the bow by herself (and paddling) or are you certain your wife will be along allowing your daughter to ride as the duffer?

Speaking as a veteran of the Beaverhouse Lake entry, I wouldn't want to be on that lake without a strong bow paddler when the waves picked up. Other large lakes would give me similar concerns.

Hillbilly,

Agree with Jackfish - Beaverhouse is a beautiful and enchanting lake. But it is very large water that can overwhelm even the best of paddlers. If it is just you and the young daughter, suggest smaller waters. Even paddling to portage into Quetico can get risky with a very small child.

I would highly recommend Beaverhouse if the wife goes. I view her as a stronger paddler and offers a more balanced and controllable canoe.

For a "zero portage" trip choice - just go to the western end of Beaverhouse. There are wonderful beach camp sites, pictos, good fishing, interesting things to explore, and great swimming with shallow water sand bottoms for 100 yards off camp shore. And even solitude. Took my granddaughter there and it was a most memorable trip. We only visually saw a single canoe the whole trip. And the presence of a Ranger station on the lake makes family a bit more comfortable.

If need more info - send me an Email.

Old Hoosier

quote Jackfish: "Will your daughter be in the bow by herself (and paddling) or are you certain your wife will be along allowing your daughter to ride as the duffer?

Speaking as a veteran of the Beaverhouse Lake entry, I wouldn't want to be on that lake without a strong bow paddler when the waves picked up. Other large lakes would give me similar concerns. "

I haven't tripped with a 4 1/2 year old but I assume you treat it like a solo. A Q16 with center seat seems ideal. I mean, can someone that young ever really be a bow paddler?

quote Jackfish: "Will your daughter be in the bow by herself (and paddling) or are you certain your wife will be along allowing your daughter to ride as the duffer?

Speaking as a veteran of the Beaverhouse Lake entry, I wouldn't want to be on that lake without a strong bow paddler when the waves picked up. Other large lakes would give me similar concerns. "

Seems extremely unlikely a 4.5 year old will do any helpful paddling.

And that is a good point about B-House - big water is a lot scarier with a little kid in the middle. The best thing with that is to be patient - allow yourself extra time or an extra day, so that you don't even have to put in when the lake is like that.

French-Pickerel to The Pines means you are camped at the far end, and would only briefly be on big water on the way out, so that may be more ideal for avoiding the wind.

Also, I haven't done it and don't have a map in front of me, but I think there is a way to sneak from the northeast bay of B-House (near the put-in) east into the northern end of Quetico, to avoid the bigger water if necessary. Anyone else remember that?

Love the North side suggestions, but you might also consider going through PP from MN side and checking out the Birch/Carp area. After checking in at PP,it's an easy paddle and one walk in the park portage to Carp. Lots of side trip possibilities, e.g. Polaris from Birch; several lakes from Carp, too. Not the sandy beaches that you see on the North side, though. =) --Goose

quote DancesWithTrees: "Also, I haven't done it and don't have a map in front of me, but I think there is a way to sneak from the northeast bay of B-House (near the put-in) east into the northern end of Quetico, to avoid the bigger water if necessary. Anyone else remember that? "

Do you mean follow the old railroad bed through a couple of ponds to west end of Cirrus? Frankly, probably the route I would take if I hit BH and wind on upon entry. Of course presumes you have permit from office or outfitter.

quote billconner: "

quote DancesWithTrees: "Also, I haven't done it and don't have a map in front of me, but I think there is a way to sneak from the northeast bay of B-House (near the put-in) east into the northern end of Quetico, to avoid the bigger water if necessary. Anyone else remember that? "

Do you mean follow the old railroad bed through a couple of ponds to west end of Cirrus? Frankly, probably the route I would take if I hit BH and wind on upon entry. Of course presumes you have permit from office or outfitter."

Keep in mind Cirrus Lake and Quetico Lake are two different permits. The RR grade portage out of BH goes into a no-name then Cirrus. The "long paddle" across BH(45 minutes?) goes to the Quetico portage. Your wife/daughter might not appreciate the steep uphill section of the portage to the no-name, which then levels off for the remainder, especially after just having carried everything 600 meters from the BH parking lot to the put-in a few minutes earlier. =) --Goose

I think my daughter was 6 when I first brought her, she was mainly ballast to trim the canoe, although she did paddle a bit here and there.

I did prairie portage this last summer with my 7 year old. He enjoyed the tow ride, then we did the easy portage to Burke. Could have gone over to the next lake---name escapes me now though as well. We ended up doing a loop around to North Bay and past Canadian Point.

Easy trip but winds could be an issue. If I could do it over I would do less paddling though more easy portages. He didn't like the long Basswood paddle as much as I thought he would.

Several smaller lakes off North bay.

Thanks for all the ideas here really appreciate it!

Wind is definetly a concern and smaller bodies of water may be the ticket.

It would not be just me and my daughter it would be at a minimum my wife and probably also my father/brother. We are usually 2/3 canoes and 4-6 people. I think from a safety perspective I would not take my 4.5 year old daughter out there all on my own -- if something happened to me she would not be able to help.

What about Saganagons? Would that be a good lake for a kid trip? Fishing there seems solid which is my focus and it looks easy to get to. We have always gone to the west side of the park I have never been to the east side... dont hear people write on this board much about it either... how come that side of the park does not get the "love"?

Thanks again for all the suggestions!

Aaron

The only problem with Burke is Bayley Bay can be rough. Two years ago I was coming back through Burke and met a flotilla - had to be more than 10 groups - all who had been stuck on Inlet Bay and Green Island for up to three nights. Makes Birch and Carp a little safer bet. Though Burke offers a lot including a day trip to Louisa Falls.

Finally getting around to planning this family trip to Quetico! Just booked a 4 night base camp trip with Zups from Lac La Croix to McAree late June. This is a 1 portage trip in and we are there. Hopefully we get the good campsite below Rebecca falls on McAree and get decent weather. McAree is a mid size lake and narrow by the falls so should be somewhat protected from winds. We are doing 1 night at Zups prior it will be myself, my wife, 5 and 7 year old daughters. We are taking the 3 man Wenonah Seneca with me in back, wife in front and the kids sharing the middle bench seat. Never done a "fully outfitted" trip but we are signing up for the easy route and letting Zups do all the work. I feel a little guilty but what the heck and we are traveling from San Diego to visit family in Minneapolis with this trip in the middle. With the base camp will be able to pack heavy with plenty of fun stuff for the kids. My 7 year old daughter fishes with a zebco omega which is a great little reel for kids so we plan to jig up some walley and try for some bass. And I am sure a big pike will find its way on her line to freak them out with its final runs. From what I have researched McAree a great 4 species lake that does not get a lot of attention since most people blow right by it on thier way to Argo/Darky/Wicksteed and further into the park. If you have any tips on making the most out of this lake please let me know...

Also, if you have any tips for Quetico with kids or camping with kids in general please share. Safety my #1 concern they are good swimmers but want to make sure they are in good swimming shape prior, know camp rules, always have lifejacket on, not mess around near falls, etc. But mostly just want them to enjoy being "unplugged" and in nature for a few days.

Will post a trip report and photos when we get back...Giddy up!

Glad you got it booked. Zup's is top shelf. Have a great trip and report back. (Four days will fly by, I betcha!) --Goose

We like these for the tent when camping with our little one.

They don't give off a huge amount of light, but enough to be helpful when trying to find stuff in the tent.

Link