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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Group Forum: Other Canoe Camping Locations :: A brief stop at Sylvania

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oldgentleman

09/22/2009 06:30PM

On the way to the BWCA I stopped In Michigan's Upper Peninsula at the Sylvania Wilderness for the night. I'd never been there but my son had and also Dogwoodgirl's report increased my interest. I had heard it described as a mini Boundary Waters. They are alike in some ways but not in others.
For one thing you reserve a specific camp site. You don't wander around looking for one. The sites I saw on Clark Lake weren't visible from the water. There's a marker there to show you where your camp is. The camp sites are well back from the shore.
Another thing is that it's not rocky like the BW. The fire grates are set down in the ground, which you couldn't do at most BW sites. Also I saw a lot of sandy beaches. All in all it's nice and I'll probably go back sometime for a longer trip, but it ain't the BW.
I checked in at the entry post, got my permit and site and paddled out. I was at the closest one to the parking lot, but then it was really like a motel stop for me. Just wanted to see some of the place. How many motels could I have had my campfire and cooked my supper sitting on a log in the woods? In the morning I broke camp and had the canoe loaded back on the car before sunrise and headed for Ely, about a 6 or 7 hour drive.