I just want to see what answers I get to this question.
What if you were taking someone to Quetico, and you know it will be the only time they will ever get to visit the park? Where would you take them?
Assume that they are fit and capable trippers, and you have 6-10 days to give them the tour. Assume they want to experience as much as possible, fishing, huge pines/cedars, pictographs, picturesque lakes, awesome fishing (smallmouth over 5 lbs!).

Where would you take them? What entry? Must see lake? Must fish lake?

Waiting for responses to feed my planning dreams...

Assuming 10 days and a flight or shuttle...my route would go from French Lake to Cache Bay, or vice versa. Would paddle Pickerel, the B-chain, Sturgeon, Russell, the Poet's Chain, Kawnipi, the Falls Chain, Saganagons, Cache Bay. --Goose

Really looking forward to seeing other responses from Q veterans on here

Agnes to Russell to Kawnipi to Falls chain to Man chain. Could access this loop through Prairie Portage or Cache Bay. You could cut off the Russell lake arm if needed.

Our first trip to the Quetico was in 2000, we put in at French Lake and base camped on Russel. Hands down our favorite trip and we stopped going to the BWCA. Age is catching up with my Dad and we just returned to the BWCA because of health issues. We've done fly-ins, Wabagimi, Kopka River, and Woodland Caribou but the Russell area is our favorite place. We have done several two week trips from French and prefer to go through the sturgeon narrows into fred, nan, bear, cub, and make our way back to Keats and Russell. I should add we are fisherman and Russell is hard to beat. Of all the campsites and parks we've traveled the campsite on the point where the Maligne exits Russel is our all time favorite. Great view and pike/walleyes can be caught from shore.

I think I'd go in at Prairie Portage to Agnes Lake, up to Kawnipi, then down the Kahshahpiwi chain to Kahshahpiwi Lake and out from there. There are a ton of variations on this basic route, particularly how you get to Agnes to start, how you go from Agnes to Kawnipi, and how you get back from Kahshahpiwi. But basically Agnes and Kahshahpiwi are some of the coolest lakes in the Q, and are shockingly lightly traveled (except maybe Agnes around Louisa Falls, which is worth visiting anyway).

Prairie to Piwi , up to the Poets Chain, check out Chatterton Falls, Fred, Camel, Death March Portages, Conmee to MacIntyre and Sarah and down and out back to Prairie.
My time traveling far is slipping away with age. This trip is one I want to make one more time before my body says enough of the longer trips.

Thanks for the routes so far! Keep them coming!

BTW: Is it possible to only go to Quetico one time?
Once you drink the Kool-Aid................

If I only had one trip to show them I'd do a shuttle with Anderson's form Crane to a Lac La Croix entry. The shuttle is pretty cool but costly.

Brewer Rapids--up to Wickstead or Darky---Brent/William--Suzannette--Burt--Back down to Ted--Gardner Bay out through Bottle/Rebecca Falls Curtain Falls area. Lots of other options off of this

Nice Waterfalls, good fishing, most of the trip is not many people. Pretty lakes.

T

I had always wanted to do a cross-Quetico trip so my son and two friends did a trip from Beaverhouse to Jean, did the Yeh-Lonely portage, past Chatterton Falls and the Poet's chain to Kawnipi, down the Falls Chain to Saganagons, then down the Man Chain and out at Prairie Portage. We got someone to shuttle our vehicle from Beaverhouse to the Moose Lake landing. I would do that trip, or one similar, again in a heartbeat.

I have done over forty trips into Quetico and I really don't think it matters where you go. It really depends a lot on your objectives: fishing, exploring, resting or something else. There really isn't any area of the park that I would discount. What really decides the success of a trip is the weather, your health and your abilities. Where ever you choose to go, enjoy it! You never know when it will be your last trip.