Hi everyone! Looking for some information on this entry point. Outfitters, trips options, fishing, is it crowded, the usual. My plan right now is to go in the second week of July, backup plan is sometime in August. Thanks for any information that you can provide.

Edit: I'm planning on a 5 day trip, and hope to move every day.

Brandon

Outfitters - Closest 2 are Sawbill Outfitters at Sawbill Lake and Sawtooth Outfitters in Tofte at the start of the Sawbill Trail.

Is it crowded? - Not usually. There are only 3 permits per day.

Trip options - Without knowing how many days you have here are 3 suggestions: Shortest to Longest.

Cherokee Loop - Baker north to South/North Temperance and then west to Cherokee Lake. Head south out of Cherokee to Skoop, Ada and Sawbill Lakes. Then turn east through the "fire lakes" - Smoke, Burnt and back to Kelly and then south to Baker.

Winchell Lake Loop - Baker north to South Temperance lake. Head east through Brule to the "Cones" (South, Mid, and North) to Cliff, Wanihigan and Winchell and Omega. Head west through Omega to Kiskadinna, Muskeg, and Long Island. Head back south through Gordon to Cherokee. Here you can head east back to North/South Temperance and then south the way you came in. OR you can head south through Cherokee to Skoop, Ada, Sawbill, and then east through the "fire lakes" (Smoke, Burnt,) to Kelly and out to Baker.

Frost River Loop - Head north to South/North Temperance. Head west to Sitka and Cherokee. Head back north through Gordon to Frost Lake. Head west through the Frost River to Afton Lake. Head south from Fente Lake through Hub, Mesaba, Hug, Duck, Zenith, Lujenida, Kelso. East through Sawbill to Smoke, Burnt, Kelly and back south to Baker.

I will leave the fishing to others depending on your reply to the trip options above.

Baker to the burning lakes is a good short trip, but more likely to be less secluded. It is a weekend trip so expect other weekenders. I do hear that you can catch walleye there though.

Base camping on the Temperance lakes works too. You can check out Cherokee, Brule, North and South Temperance. If you are into trout fishing, you can even go to Wench off Brule.

Cherokee, like was already stated, is great and you could even base camp there and explore the surrounding area.

Loops and basecamps are great. I personally like to travel a bit further each day when I do travel so I feel like I never get the time to explore an area and see certain sights, like waterfalls or cliffs, unless I base camp for at least a night. I would just recommend that you have several different plans you can throw into action on the trip depending on weather and how everyone is feeling.

quote Michwall2: "Outfitters - Closest 2 are Sawbill Outfitters at Sawbill Lake and Sawtooth Outfitters in Tofte at the start of the Sawbill Trail.


Is it crowded? - Not usually. There are only 3 permits per day.


Trip options - Without knowing how many days you have here are 3 suggestions: Shortest to Longest.


Cherokee Loop - Baker north to South/North Temperance and then west to Cherokee Lake. Head south out of Cherokee to Skoop, Ada and Sawbill Lakes. Then turn east through the "fire lakes" - Smoke, Burnt and back to Kelly and then south to Baker.

Winchell Lake Loop - Baker north to South Temperance lake. Head east through Brule to the "Cones" (South, Mid, and North) to Cliff, Wanihigan and Winchell and Omega. Head west through Omega to Kiskadinna, Muskeg, and Long Island. Head back south through Gordon to Cherokee. Here you can head east back to North/South Temperance and then south the way you came in. OR you can head south through Cherokee to Skoop, Ada, Sawbill, and then east through the "fire lakes" (Smoke, Burnt,) to Kelly and out to Baker.

Frost River Loop - Head north to South/North Temperance. Head west to Sitka and Cherokee. Head back north through Gordon to Frost Lake. Head west through the Frost River to Afton Lake. Head south from Fente Lake through Hub, Mesaba, Hug, Duck, Zenith, Lujenida, Kelso. East through Sawbill to Smoke, Burnt, Kelly and back south to Baker.

I will leave the fishing to others depending on your reply to the trip options above.
"

Thanks for the information! I edited my original post to include number of days I will be in the BWCA. Without looking at a map, it sounds like the Cherokee Loop, or maybe Winchell Loop are possibilities. I have not been in this area of the BWCA before, so will be fun to see new territory.

Besides the info already provided, there is a small USFS campgrounds on Baker Lake outside of the BWCAW so you may not need accommodations the night before. For a five-day trip, moving every day, go with the Cherokee Loop as described by Michwall2.

If you haven't seen it already? Maybe there will be some helpful information Here

I'm a fan of the Cherokee loop as well. I'm also a fan of the little campground at Baker entry point. There are only about five sites, but if you get there relatively early in the day, snagging one shouldn't be a problem, and there's no charge to stay in them. Most of the sites overlook Baker Lake, and Horn Creek runs by the bottom of the campgrounds and is a pretty sound to fall asleep to at night. If you go in August, you will likely be sharing the campground with bear hunters who are scouting and baiting in the area, and while it may be a bit loud at night, they're generally good guys in my experience. Coming back through the fire lakes will give you some good walleye fishing, particularly on Smoke, and Cherokee is good for northern and lake trout. If you plan to stay on Cheerokee (and you should, because it is gorgeous) just be aware that it is a destination lake with a fair amount of traffic. Don't wait until too late in the day to find a site there or you'll have to take what is left. Good days to hit Cherokee are on a Sunday when people are heading out, and early in the week. You'll have less traffic.

quote TuscaroraBorealis: "If you haven't seen it already? Maybe there will be some helpful information Here "

Thanks! I actually read this report here and on another site. It was part of what got me interested in the area.

quote 1bogfrog: "I'm a fan of the Cherokee loop as well. I'm also a fan of the little campground at Baker entry point. There are only about five sites, but if you get there relatively early in the day, snagging one shouldn't be a problem, and there's no charge to stay in them. Most of the sites overlook Baker Lake, and Horn Creek runs by the bottom of the campgrounds and is a pretty sound to fall asleep to at night. If you go in August, you will likely be sharing the campground with bear hunters who are scouting and baiting in the area, and while it may be a bit loud at night, they're generally good guys in my experience. Coming back through the fire lakes will give you some good walleye fishing, particularly on Smoke, and Cherokee is good for northern and lake trout. If you plan to stay on Cherokee (and you should, because it is gorgeous) just be aware that it is a destination lake with a fair amount of traffic. Don't wait until too late in the day to find a site there or you'll have to take what is left. Good days to hit Cherokee are on a Sunday when people are heading out, and early in the week. You'll have less traffic."

Thanks for the info on the area, and the campground. I wasn't entirely sure about where to stay the night before, but that is probably a good option. Allows me to get on the water early in the day. Entry date I am looking at is early/mid-week, so hopefully getting a site will not be too much of a problem.

Thanks again,
Brandon

South temperance lake western most site is magical.

We picked our permit up the day before at the Tofte Ranger Station and camped at the Baker Lake Entry Campground. The day we went in we had planned to travel to Cherokee but the weather was terrible so we ended up camping on South Temperance. Turned out to be a great trip as the weather broke briefly enough to day trip to Brule and Wench Lake on the 2nd day. The other 2 days we spent fishing S. Temperance in the rain and it was great, we caught a ton of fish.

We saw some groups pass through, but we were the only group camped on the lake for 4 straight days.

Excellent area and the entry point campground is a hidden gem of the BWCAW.

quote nicek: "South temperance lake western most site is magical. "

Bring a camera! I've seen moose on three of my four trips to Baker Lake. Also a wolf at the entry point once.

RM

Sounds like a great area. Looking forward to exploring it! Thanks everyone for the info

Both Sawtooth and Sawbill Outfitters are top notch to work with.

I've been to the area a few times and love it.

June 2014 I entered at Baker and camped on Jack w/ my older daughter at age 9 and it was an awesome trip. We saw 5 moose from the entry point to our campsite on Jack and saw moose multiple times each day on Jack. Caught lots of walleye on Jack also. Weird thing though was on Wed. when we entered all sites on Kelly were taken and there were tons of canoes out and about. But on Sat. when we were exiting Kelly only had 1 campsite occupied.

June 2015 I entered at Sawbill and camped on Smoke w/ my younger daughter at age 7. Smoke is a nice lake with some nice campsites and we caught some walleye.

I have camped on Sawbill in Oct. a few times also and one year we daytripped up to Cherokee and back. I really liked that stretch of river and small lakes in between.

Doing the Cherokee Loop solo is on my short wish list because I would love to see Burnt Lake and the stretch from Weird Lake to Cherokee which I haven't seen yet and the parts that I have seen I'd love to see again.

Did one trip out of Baker in late Sept. one year. We included Davis (skipped Winchell), and after Long Island, we popped into/out of Frost, then down to Sawbill and back thru the Fire Chain. Nice loop. Saw very few people for Sept., you may have busier lakes in July....like the Temperances, Cherokee, LI.

quote TuscaroraBorealis: "If you haven't seen it already? Maybe there will be some helpful information Here "

Sounded like a good trip, thanks for sharing!

I agree with many others here. Cherokee Loop would be a great trip for you. My trip buddy and I did this route although we started in Sawbill and went to Cherokee and then back through Temperance and Fire lakes. But it is a great trip. The scenery is great, and so is the fishing. Having had a lot of trips to Baker and the fire lakes. Since you are traveling in July camp sites could be tricky on the Fire lakes and as stated Cherokee is a destination lake so you may not get one of the best sites, but most of the time there is one to be had. I am not sure if you are fishing or site seeing, but I will hit both.
Walleyes : (From my experience) Best lake of the loop is Burnt, with Cherokee, S Temperance, Kelly and Peterson having good quantities.
Bass (Small Mouth): Pretty much all of them have this fish my biggest were caught in Kelly and Burnt
Lake Trout: Cherokee is the only lake on the loop with these(unless you day trip to Frost)
Pike: Most of the Lakes have them N Temperance, Sawbill, Kelly and Smoke are your best lakes(and the South end of Burnt).
Perch: Have caught these in Cherokee, Sawbill and Smoke
SIGHT SEEING: On your way, stop and see the abandoned gold mine between Kelly and Jack. Right at the end of the portage when you are laying down the canoe at Jack, there is a little pathway by the tree on the left(West). It is maybe 50 yards into the forest. S Temperance is a beautiful lake to explore you can day trip to Brule and do some cliff jumping. Cherokee is by far the most picturesque in the trip. Lots of islands and some small falls. You can also find some rocks in Smoke, Flame and Sawbill to jump into the water and cool off from. For a day trip option head to Frost for more Lake trout and Pike, but there is an awesome beach there also.
Hope this helps and sorry for the book. If you want more fishing tips feel free to email.

quote fishinfool71: "
Hope this helps and sorry for the book. If you want more fishing tips feel free to email.
"

No need to apologize, that was great information. I appreciate all the detail.

fishinfool mentions an old abandoned gold mine back in the woods, kind of cool to explore. A very short walk from the portage. You can walk into it for a ways until the shaft goes downwards and is filled with water. Lots of artifacts lying around. Some pics in the link below.

I think the Baker Lake entry is a great choice, it's really got almost everything:
Easy access/portages
Good fishing opportunities
Lake paddling and long narrow river like stretches
Excellent wildlife/moose viewing chances
A few different route options for loops or out and back
An awesome little campground right at the entry point
Less traveled than many areas

Here's our trip report if you are inerested:



Baker Lake entry

quote lindylair: "fishinfool mentions an old abandoned gold mine back in the woods, kind of cool to explore. A very short walk from the portage. You can walk into it for a ways until the shaft goes downwards and is filled with water. Lots of artifacts lying around. Some pics in the link below.

I think the Baker Lake entry is a great choice, it's really got almost everything:
Easy access/portages
Good fishing opportunities
Lake paddling and long narrow river like stretches
Excellent wildlife/moose viewing chances
A few different route options for loops or out and back
An awesome little campground right at the entry point
Less traveled than many areas

Here's our trip report if you are inerested:

Baker Lake entry "

Thanks for the link. Awesome trip report. Loved all of the pictures.

I love Baker Lake as an entry point and agree with other posts. I Alpo like the campground ... if you get good, considerate fellow campers. Generally weekdays are good, But I have run into all night partiers on Friday and Saturday nights during the summer. If you're there on a Friday or Saturday, and sites are set up with no one in them during the day, and it looks like they may be party sites, I recommend staying at Sawbill or Crescent Lake the night before your trip even though it may cost a few dollars.

quote Bannock: "I love Baker Lake as an entry point and agree with other posts. I Alpo like the campground ... if you get good, considerate fellow campers. Generally weekdays are good, But I have run into all night partiers on Friday and Saturday nights during the summer. If you're there on a Friday or Saturday, and sites are set up with no one in them during the day, and it looks like they may be party sites, I recommend staying at Sawbill or Crescent Lake the night before your trip even though it may cost a few dollars."

Good to know. Current permit has me going in on a Tuesday, so I am hoping that is not a problem.

Thanks

went in Baker Lake in late sept....on a gorgeous weekend....and that campground was full.....as were all the campsites up through Peterson and Kelly. The portage into Jack put all the people behind us. Everybody was hanging near the e.p. just for the weekend.

Ditto on the outfitters. I've used both and have always been happy. If you're starting/ending at Baker, it might be easier to just use Sawtooth since it will be literally on the way. If you want to use a shuttle to do a loop and end at Sawbill or elsewhere, then Sawbill would be the better bet.

As for a route, consider that the toughest portages in the area are probably the Kelly to Burnt portage (which I haven't done), and the Sitka-Cherokee portage (which I have done). It's hilly and there is one tricky slope toward the Cherokee side and a tough landing on the Cherokee side.

The portage from Jack to Weird is neat and very pretty.

There are a few nice sites on South Temperance.

Cherokee is one of my favorite lakes in the BWCA with many nice sites.

We did the Cherokee loop starting at Sawbill this past September and absolutely loved it. We spent our first night on Cherokee, second on North Temperance (after finding all sites on South Temperance full), and third on Kelly. We really would have liked an extra night or two to do a little more exploring so 5 days sounds perfect.

We thought the Cherokee-Sitka portage was by far the hardest. The Kelly-Burnt is longer but I don't remember it being real difficult. My shoulders just got tired because of the length and we were single portaging heavy loads.

The more I hear about this entry, the more excited I get. Sounds like a good one, especially once you get a couple portages in. Thanks everyone!