Since there wasn’t a posting for Sylvania Wilderness in this forum yet, I thought I’d start one.

I went to the Sylvania Wilderness in 1999. It has been my only trip there. I’ll go back some day. Since Sylvania is just as far or farther than the BWCA for me, I’ll probably go again when I’m physically no longer able to do the BWCA.

Sylvania is near Watersmeet, Michigan, just over the Wisconsin border, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It is a very easy wilderness, especially by BWCA standards. At one time it was an exclusive hunting and fishing club. The portages between lakes are the old roads that served the club, and the lakes are small and close together, so portaging between lakes is easy.

Along the two largest entry point lakes are public beaches, picnic areas, campgrounds, etc. To me Sylvania feels like a compromise between the BWCA and a state park -- which isn't all bad. Because of the trails, you can always walk out if need be. And because campsites are assigned at the ranger station, there is no racing for the last campsite on a lake or traveling until midnight looking for a site.

Still, there remain a large number of rules and regulations to obey: There are very restrictive special fishing regulations, and a maximum of 5 people are allowed per camp unit (though a maximum of 10 people are allowed to travel together). Also, like a State Park, you need to buy a vehicle pass for your car and camping fees are charged per night.

Here are some more points:
• Small wilderness -- 18,327 acres
• 35 landlocked lakes are fed by springs, precipitation, and bogs
• Only Six of the lakes are over 250 acres in size
• 84 designated campsites in 29 locations
• Every campsite has 2 or 3 individual camping units within it (others campers may be within 100 yards). Each unit has a box latrine, tent pad, and fire-grate.
• Hardwood forest contains many trees which are over 400 years old. Very different than the flora of the BWCA.
• 27 miles of hiking trails connect the lakes
• Located in the Ottawa National Forest in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

My son and I went there last summer during the height of the fire restrictions in the BWCA. We had a great time! I did a lot of hiking, Jesse hung around camp and built up the woodpile, we both really loved the old growth forest.
It seems like it would be a good place to do a first solo trip, or a trip with young kids.

Bannock, do you get to pick your camp sites? Also, are you able to travel from one site to another, or is it all basically base camping from one site? Thanks for the info.

Yes, you do get to pick your camp sites. However, that is done in the rangers' office prior to your trip, or via mail if you get a reservation. They will show on a map which sites are available (they are all named) and you choose.

You can travel from one site to another, however, that is set up in advance. So for each night you have a campsite assigned to you and you need to make sure you get to it because someone else is probably assigned to the site you're currently on for that night.

It sounds restrictive when you're used to the BWCA, but then again, there is no worrying that you won't get a site, that you have to find a site early, or you need to race someone to it. It's not as bad as it sounds.

Here is a map of Sylvania Wilderness. The little teepees are the “29 locations” of the “84 campsites”. The locations are named – for instance “Bass”, “Pike”, “Badger”, “Fisher”, etc. It is one of these locations that you are assigned. Obviously most of these locations have more than one campsite, the average is close to 3 campsites per location. Those individual campsites within the location are not assigned (at least they weren’t when I went several years ago).

For example, you may assigned Badger for night #1. When you get there, there will be 3 campsites. You get to choose which one, or one may already be taken, in which case you have a choice of the two remaining, or two may be taken, in which case you have to take the last one.

My canoeing career started in Sylvania, before I discovered Boundary Waters. I have only good things to say about that park. some other things to consider: 1: When launching on Crooked, you might see an OCCASIONAL motor boat because the resorts located on the north shore of Crooked are grandfathered onto the lake. BUT they are very respectful and have never been a problem for our family canoe trips. 2: Deer Island Lake has some GREAT bass fishing. go to the northeast end. you will find a bay with some large wood pilings that are left over from an old logging camp. The bass lay in there very thick in the spring. 3: Barbless fishing, except on Crooked last time I checked. 4: Sylvania also has a nice pull up campground you can settup the family in while you go out for a couple days -- or for a "night before" "night after" type deal. 5: Believe it or not, last time i took my wife there to introduce her to canoe camping, I forgot the tackle box. Wasn't a big deal, we canoed to the truck, went into town and bought some lures, had breakfast at the CASINO, and were back on the water by 11 a.m. 6: There is ONE outfitter local that I know of, nice guy, but steep prices for heavy boats: I ran into some guys that paid 37 bucks a night for an Old Town Penobscot. Bud p.s. It was pretty nice not feeling rushed to secure a campsite, but less adventurous.

Bannock:

Would this location be good for a week long scout troop trip? The main camp looks like a great base camp. We could then do day, overnight or hiking trips from there. Am I on the right track with this?

Yeah, I think so, though remember I was there 9 years ago, so things may have changed.

The main campground on Clark Lake is like a state park with all the ammenities -- perhaps just a hair more rugged. You could hike or paddle to your heart's content as long as you returned to the campground by night fall. I don't know if they have a group site or not. If not you could get regular sites, but I don't know what the limit per site is.

To do an overnight trip into the wilderness you'd have to check in at the rangers' station to get a campsite assigned and pay a fee.

I think it would be a wonderful approach for scouts -- camping, canoeing, C&R fishing, and hiking all from a campground that had drive to sites, picnic tables, water spigots, and outhouses. Then if you had an advenureous few that wanted to do a canoe camping trip for a night or two, you have that opportunity as well.

I'd call the Ottawa National Forest and discuss it with them, but I think it would be a great scouting trip.

I should point out, too, that the special fishing regs do NOT apply to Crooked Lake (at least they didn't 9 years ago). So if the scouts really wanted fish to keep, they could fish there. A Michigan Fishing license, of course, is needed. They used to sell licenses in 24 hour increments ... at least they used to. In fact, if scouts decided they wanted to fish the next morning and didn't have a license, you could drive them 10 minutes out of the park to purchase a license.

Sylvania is a great substitute to the BWCA. I used to live in Minneapolis like many on these forums, now living in Milwaukee I am faced with a 9 hour drive to BWCA or 5 to Sylvania.

You can make reservations online to reserve a specific campsite, LOON is the best IMO and it books up fast! You can use this link http://www.recreation.gov/campgroundMap.do?topTabIndex=CampingSpot&search=site&contractCode=NRSO&parkId=75414&criteria=new or go to Recreation.gov and go from there if my linking skills are sub par.

From Oct. 1 to the End of April its first come / first serve and free to camp there!

All bass are catch and release and as stated before Deer Island has lots of nice smallies in the 15 to 18 inch range.

As Bannock mentioned there are double campsites, most are fairly secluded from one another but close enough for convenience if you are running larger groups. I know UW Stevens Point has a few large student trips up there.

Nice beaches for swimming, though the water is always frigid due to the depths, and the lack of water flowing in or out of these lakes.

On a side note: The Paulding Light is nearby and totally worth checking out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulding_Light

Like I said, its not the BW but as close as you can get, a lot easier to get in and out, so its not bad for a quick 4 day weekend jaunt, I do 3 of those a year to Sylvania and than I do my 8 day BW trip.

Check it out sometime, a lot of history in that area as well.

PS- I know im new to these forums, well from a posting standpoint, ive been a lurker for quite some time! Feel free to correct me on any false info, or if you would like more information, feel free to ask, I know a large amount about Sylavania! Jeff

Since this was posted I spent one night in Sylvania on my way to the BDUB last September. I used it as a Motel just to have been there. My camp was at the Ash 1 site, about a 5 minute paddle from my car. Sylvania is about 10 hours from home and 6 hours from Ely. My initial impression was that it was more sand and less rock, more deciduous trees and fewer conifers. It's very pretty. Kind of a pocket wilderness. I hope to take my wife there for a short trip, since it can be less strenuous than most BW trips.

Fun to read about. I like the idea of reserved sites, rarely paddle BW in the height of the season for that reason - too many people, too much competition for solitude. Love the UP in general, and usually cross it once a year or so. Will look for a chance to try it out!

It is a very nice area. High lake is crystal clear, spied on a school of bass about 20 feet deep. They also have similar out of season camping regs as the BWCA.

How close are the campsites to one another? Thinking this might be a good place for me to try out a solo trip, but I don't want to solo where I'd be right near other sites. I guess I don't mind them being near one another, exactly...but going easily from one to the other would bug me. Does that make sense?

We spent a week there last August and found some sites were close to each other and others weren't so close. Most of the sites listed on the map actually have two different sites (i.e. Osprey 1 and Osprey 2). The two sites are actually different sites, don't share fire rings or thunder boxes, but they are situated by each other. We found some sites closer to each other than others, and some lakes quieter than others. Clark and Crooked Lakes have a lot of traffic on them and others like Loon and the ones south of it did not have much traffic. The portages were fairly easy, mostly sand. Camping in the old growth forest was unique with lots of old trees and they make a very, very loud noise when they fall. We camped on Loon and Mountain Lakes while we were there. I can provide more information if you are interested. Most of the lakes have restrictive fishing regulations, and you can only keep bass on Crooked Lake.

check the online map, its pretty clear which sites are nearby to others. I very good idea for anyone wanting to try solo, easy in and out, civilization nearby, decent sites, very pretty.

hummm?

I'm very seriously considering a long weekend trip to Sylvania this year and would like to spend a day paddling and portaging the circle route of Crooked, Mountain, East Bear, West Bear, Kerr and High Lakes.

Does anyone have any thoughts on that route?

Are there any campsites worth considering as being more private than others? I've seen that many of the sites are actually sites for two groups, although separated by a bit of distance and, obviously, trees.

Jackfish, the only comment I have is that the scale of the map is different from what you may be used to for the BWCA. The lake sizes are a lot smaller than you may think. The entire route you proposed can probably be paddled in an afternoon, certainly less than a day. Still I think you will enjoy it.

The only campsite I've stayed at in that area is Badger. It was fine. I'm sure most sites are like it.

Thanks Ken. I think I'm going to give it a try - either solo or with someone. Not ever having done a solo, it would probably make for a great first trip, but having my wife (if I can convince her to go) or a couple of the kids along would be fun, too.

I have enjoyed the Wilderness for what it is: a great introduction to wilderness tripping. I think you are never much more then an hour or 90 minutes from the parking lot with few rough portages, length being the only challenge ona few. The lakes are small and this is good for Sylvania is what it is, and that is Good.

hummm?

Jackfish-

I used the Crooked-High-West Bear-East Bear-Mountain and back to Crooked Lake loop as an intro to wilderness canoeing for my son-in-law and two young grandkids (7 and 5 at the time) last year. I have been there a number of times, but this was their first trip. We camped at a Forest Service camp ground a few miles away, and did Sylvainia day trips. That loop can easily be done in a day, even with going slow to let the kids play in the water at the put ins and take outs. they never got bored, never too long in the boat, or too long on a portage. The younger one broke trail for us, and the older one carried the day pack so they had jobs. We spent a good deal of time letting them play in the lakes (all sandy beaches at the put ins), and stopped at one of the unoccupied camp sites for lunch.

When going to Sylvania, if you want to camp, and have a more secluded camp site, pick one of the more remote sites such as the ones on West Bear or East Bear Lakes.

None of the portages are particularly treacherous or overly strenuous, but it is a good days workout doing that loop.

High Lake on a windless day is absolutely stunning. Like paddling in a swimming pool, it is so clear. I've never seen a fresh water lake like it.

High lake is amazing, its stunning to watch fish swimming 10-15 feet below you.

We spent four days at Sylvania last year. As expected, you don't get the same kind of remoteness as in the BW but it was still a very nice trip. The portages are very doable and while there was quite a bit of traffic on the lakes we didn't hear a lot of noise from others.

The campsites are further away from the water. This is one major drawback for me. It's more like camping in the woods, you can't even see the water from some campsites. Other than that the sites are very nice.

I thought picking a campsite beforehand had it advantages (you don't have to worry about where you are going to sleep) but it obviously makes you less flexible (we didn't like our first night's site, but there is no changing it once you're there).

Ooraminna- You are correct about their campsites. The campsites are back from the water's edge (for the most part). This was done purposefully in an effort to not "spoil" the wilderness feel and looks of the lakes by having tents and tarps visible from the water. I agree with you that I would find the campsites more enjoyable if they were located at the water's edge. However, I can understand their reasoning.

I was just up there last weekend, and had a very good time. I took one of my young grandson's and my son-in-law. We appeased the little guy by letting him spend the morning at their swimming beach, and he appeased us by letting us paddle the rest of the day.

It isn't the boundary waters, but it is a very pleasant place, particularly manageable for day trips.

Just returned from a 4-day, 3-night trip to Sylvania. First experience paddling there and was very pleased with the experience. Certainly different from the BW or Q, but nice in it's own way. Portages were state park-like trails through the woods and the landings were certainly accessible enough. Didn't experience any rocky or extremely muddy landings.

We paddled the northeast section of Sylvania - Crooked, High, Kerr, West Bear, East Bear, Mountain and Crooked again. A real nice place to paddle and get away.

Bump

Thinking about a trial BW trip with the Kids here. Not as far away and has been described as "BW light" maybe just what we need to get our feet wet. Any advice on outfitters or not, lakes, or otherwise. Please post away.

Thanks,

Jerry

Was there for 5 days last July after Webelos camp with my son, a couple of his friends, and their dads.

Its similar to the BW, yes. Portages were pretty easy to find and walk. Campsites are not first come, first served but rather reserved on a rolling 6 month window ahead of time. The 'Loon' campsite on Loon Lake is supposedly one of the best sites but practically impossible to get.
We stayed at Bobcat on High Lake, which is clear to 30' and deeper. The site was plenty big to fit 3 tents. Thunderbox was one of the newer rectangular thrones with a lid.
Firegrate was circular and the top was level with the ground, there was a fairly large cooking surface on a pin hinge that would rotate over and cover about half the fire pit. Difficult to cook on because of the low clearance between the bottom of the grate and base of the firepit.

Fishing regulations are similar to the Q in that no live bait & barbless hooks are the rule, but go further in that your plastics cannot be scented or salted.

You are limited to a max of 6 people in a campsite, however most campsites are paired and some share a common landing. The reservation website actually lists in the description of some campsites as being good for larger groups that want to camp near each other. The reservation website also has somewhat helpful descriptions of all of the campsites and whether they're good for swimming, how the landing is, if they're decent for breezes, etc. Most campsites will be set away from the water, so its not uncommon to not have a view of the lake.

Sylvania Outfitters is the only outfit in the area, and they're just a short drive down the road. They rent aluminum, royalex, and kevlar canoes and their prices are similar to BW outfitters. They will deliver your canoe to either of the public landings for an extra fee and at the end of your trip you just leave the canoe there.
They can help with fishing licenses and tackle issues/questions. They also sell lake depth maps, however most are readily available for free on the Internet similar to MN Lakefinder's depth maps.

You will need to pay $5/day parking in the park per vehicle. 4+ day stays you'll just receive an annual parking sticker, useful if you think you'd go back the same year.

All of the maps online aren't that great, but the USFS has a large accordion style map which is probably 24x18 or so in size.

I wrote a trip report about our adventures which you should be able to access using the trip reports link under my name. I also spent a fair amount of time building a Garmin MapSource file with portage and campsite locations I'd be happy to share if you're interested.

All in all I'd totally recommend Sylvania as an introductory trip to flatwater canoe tripping, or if you don't want to drive quite as far as Northern MN. I may be back there next summer with my daughter for her first canoe trip, possibly.

Wow Great info thanks!

I make at least 1 trip a year to Sylvania. It is 4 to 5 hour closer than the bwcaw for me. I love the park. I take a lot of people for their first wilderness trip to Sylvania. Just get your reservations in early. For fishing tip call Bob or stop in at Sylvania Outfitters, he will fill you in on all the good fishing areas. Check it out!









Best fishes, Mike

Thanks Mike, So I am guessing by the picture, and the screen name, that you fly fish for small mouth? I might try to throw the fly rod in since there is a restriction on live bait. It has probably been 15-20 years since I have used the fly rod, and my skill was questionable then, but never too old to try new tricks right? The bait that I see in the picture does not look like a popper, what would you suggest for a variety of Bass "flies"?

Jerry

Will send email tonight.

Turns out my BW trip for this summer got turned into a Sylvania trip instead. We're there 8/10-14 in Birch on Clark lake. Got skunked last year for eater fish, so we're going for less restrictions on bait on one of the two unrestricted lakes.

I 2nd the suggestion for calling Bob for tips, or rentals if you need that.

Inspiration has just come to me. How much fun would it be for me and the kids to create our own poppers, and then try to catch fish on our home made creations during our trip?

I called Sylvania Outfitters today and the lakes are open. I have a reservation for this weekend and wanted to check.

Heading to Sylvania in a few weeks. I'll be sure to report back.

I've been there several times and it really is a special area. It's a great place to introduce people to wilderness. It has all the feel of a wilderness with few human noises (motors on crooked lake and other paddlers) and some crazy easy portaging.

My son (currently 2yrs old) will be introduced to wilderness in Sylvania.

And yes, Clark Lake felt big until I went to BWCA. Overall it's about 2 miles long and roughly 1/2 mile wide.

Just got back from a 3-night trip in Sylvania. Bugs were bad (as expected) with a 8/10 rating. Yesterday and today there were some flies starting to buzz around. Black, with a horse fly or two. Area was very wet and the lakes were much higher than years past.

Had some rain, nothing terrible. But both Friday and Saturday saw 5mph or less winds and some great paddling. We did a Clark-Crooked-Mountain-Bear Lakes loop.

Stayed at Maple 1. Which is really really close to maple 2. Could see maple 2 very clearly from our campsite and toilet. A good mosquito nursery behind these sites. Maple 1 had good tent pads for 1 large and 2 small tents. A good site space-wise and closer to the water than others I have been on.

Looked like they closed a few remote sites due to bear activity. One guy came back to find a bear in his tent apparently. Had none of those issues with the blue barrel and did hang a few things for good measure.

I was on Whitefish July 11-14. The water level on Whitefish Lake is 3 to 5 feet lower than in previous years, a beaver dam must have blown out. I had been to the Perch sites on two other occasions, but was unable to paddle straight to them because the shoreline looked so different. We didn't even bother checking out the jumping tree because we figured the water would be too shallow. On the positive side, does open up a lot of easy shore fishing.

There was a lot of rain several weeks ago. Buddy told me there was 4-5" overnight when he was in. It looks possible there is an outlet in the SW corner?

Behind my property up north was a beaver dam taller than me...perhaps 8ft tall and 50yds across. It let go when the place got 12" of rain in 24hrs. Road some ways below had 6 or so feet of water come across it.

Were there any additional mention of the bear issues when you were there, letsgoagain?

How was fishing on Whitefish? We're going to be a short paddle and a couple portages away.

quote mirth: "Were there any additional mention of the bear issues when you were there, letsgoagain?

How was fishing on Whitefish? We're going to be a short paddle and a couple portages away."

The ranger mentioned the bear issues, some were pretty recent. I looked at the list of sites where they had been spotted, and they seemed clustered on mountain and crooked lakes. We took extra care to keep a clean camp. Fishing was good, but not great. A few walleyes to go with the smallmouth. We were the only ones camped on Whitefish that weekend, there were 3-4 fly-fishermen with float tubes that hiked in and fished everyday.

How crowded would you describe it?

quote Jeemon: "How crowded would you describe it?"

It can be somewhat crowded on the two lakes with launches, Clark and Crooked. The other lakes are virtually empty most of the time. You get a number of folks that are day paddling on the two entry lakes, but don't want to have to portage.

I've camped on East Bear Lake and saw just a couple of other canoes passing through in three or four days.

However, this coming year the road will be closed to the launches, so...

I have been to the BWCA a dozen times. On my trip to the Sylvania last year, I saw fewer people than on any of my BW trips. I still prefer the BWCA but Sylvania is an excellent alternative because it cuts 5 hours out of the drive time...each way! Great for short trips.

I would not consider the area crowded by any stretch. That said, most campsites are grouped in twos and you can often see or hear the other campsite, but this is not the rule. There are some that are spaced appropriately.

No way I would consider not going because it's too crowded...

Has anyone stayed at campsite Cedar #2 on Clark Lake? What did you think of it? Was it buggy? What about swimming?

When are you headed up ? I am going the 3rd week of may. I can check it out for you.

Headed to Loon the last week of June with my 10 yo daughter. The Loon Site on Loon is impossible to get...I tried. So we are in one of the Osprey sites. Looking forward to a great trip.

quote Miketheflyguy1: "When are you headed up ? I am going the 3rd week of may. I can check it out for you."

Not until August. But if you could look, that would be awesome!!

On recreation.gov it says it's a good site for swimming with a beach, and that is important to my kids. It also says it can be wet in spring. Another point of concern to me: how close is the Cedar #1? Can the sites be seen from one another?

I am tripping alone with my two girls...I would really rather not feel close to other people. Also, my younger daughter is just a loud person. I would not want to bother folks, and while I will calm her down if she gets crazy, I'm also not spending my trip constantly ragging on her to be quieter...she can't help having a loud voice.

I wonder how easy it is to get one of the non-reservable sites, if one were to head in on a weekday. I get nervous about that, though, so I might rather have a reservation. I'd rather not be so close to the put in, but what the heck, right? This is me tripping with my two girls for a good time, not some contest. :)

Any tips on day trips and cool stuff to see would be great.

I spoke with the guy at Sylvania Outfitters. He said it's a good idea to reserve a site in advance and upon arrival we can switch to a non-reservable site if we want to (when I say non-reservable I'm referring to how they can't be reserved ahead of time...you still must "reserve" it when you check in at the Wilderness).

So we now have reservations and are all set. Yay!!

Nola, the campsites on Clark Lake are different then the BWCA. They are, for the most part, not visible from the lake. Although most have two sites, they are not so close together that you would feel like you are imposing on someone else.

Clark Lake is great for swimming. There is also a real, honest to goodness swimming beach at the north end of the lake, complete with shower rooms. The kids will have plenty of swimming opportunities.

Skeeters shouldn't be a problem in August and the wilderness is full of old growth giant hemlocks.

swimming at Clark Lake

Clark Lake shoreline

The SE shore of Clark is also an expansive beach.

quote Miketheflyguy1: "When are you headed up ? I am going the 3rd week of may. I can check it out for you."

Mike,

I don't think the bass season opens up until May 24th this year so you may want to postpone your trip.

The season opens the last Saturday in April, statewide. Bass are catch and release. At least that is what the web site says.

From the Michigan DNR

"Bass are protected by a closed season from Jan.1 until the Saturday before Memorial Day, though anglers are allowed to catch and immediately release bass as soon as walleye season opens (the last Saturday in April in the Lower Peninsula, May 15 in the Upper Peninsula)."

I just spoke with Bob Z. at Sylvania outfitters and he said that you can catch bass in Sylvania after May 15th if you release it immediately.

The law used to read that you could not "target" bass prior to the Saturday before Memorial Day but you would not receive a citation if you were Walleye fishing and inadvertently caught a bass as long as it was released. Guys ran into problems when they were fishing a lake that did not contain Walleye (all but Whitefish Lake) and claimed that they were Walleye fishing.

Good Luck Mike and by the way, we both lost a friend when James V. was killed on his bike. I worked with him at in the fly shop at BPS in Gurnee for a few years.

Will

I put up a trip report of our latest Sylvania trip on my blog. I'll try to also put it up on the bwca.com trip report section when I get a little more time.