You Can Still Canoe the Wilderness After Turning 40 or more!

Turning forty or fifty years of age, for many people, can mean retiring their canoes, backpacking and wilderness camping equipment forever.  We all begin to opt for less strenuous vacations and as a result lose touch with the Wilderness.  This doesn't have to happen.  Wilderness experiences still abound, without  the burden of carrying your heavy equipment and supplies for miles to reach tranquility.  Consider planning a vacation into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, (BWCA) in northern Minnesota.  Many Canoe Outfitters here offer a true Wilderness experience without your ever having to lift or portage a canoe.  Imagine stepping from your car, loading your canoe right at the dock, and then setting off on your adventure into the Wilderness in just a few moments time! 

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

The BWCA stretches over one million acres of breathtaking forests, granite cliffs, sparkling lakes, rivers and streams.  Over 200,000 canoeists and fishermen visit this jewel of wilderness each year.  The BWCA is located on the border of Canada and surrounded by the Superior National Forest  in the northeast corner of Minnesota.  Traveling far North to this pristine wonderland is well worth the effort.  The majority of the lakes and rivers in the BWCA are 'Paddle Only' waters. A few lakes here are designated to allow access for boats with 10 and 25hp motors   This restriction ensures that you can readily find campsites that are filled with the quiet solitude you yearn for. Permits for entry into the Boundary Waters are required for any overnight stay. 

Choose an Outfitter

Since the focus of this guide is canoeing the BWCA without having to lift or portage a canoe, it's best to begin by researching Outfitters on specific lakes that can assist in your adventure, this will then determine your Entry Point for your BWCA Permit.  The Outfitters listed below are just a few of your Outfitter choices when planning your canoe vacation.  Hundreds of Outfitters cater to BWCA visitors. The following Outfitters are mentioned specifically because they offer effortless and direct access into the BWCA on various lakes. Once you've chosen an Outfitter to assist in your canoe trip, you'll need to apply for an entry permit into the BWCA.

From Grand Marais northwest on the Gunflint Trail:

Seagull Lake - Seagull Lake offers near perfection for anyone seeking easy solitude.  Seagull Lake is divided into 25hp limit and canoe only areas. Seagull Lake offers the perfect balance of accessibility and wilderness. Moreover, this  lake is small enough for less experienced canoeists to manage.  Private coves and inlets abound, with granite cliffs and palisades rising above the lake in different areas.

Seagull Canoe Outfitters here offers canoeing options that range from canoe rental to complete canoe outfitting packages and tow boat launch service into the BWCA.  This facility is marvelous because the traverse from your car to their canoe dock is nearly effortless. Their tow boat launch service will transport you and your canoe into the wilderness on Seagull Lake without having to paddle added distances. In addition, this family oriented facility offers overnight lodging if you plan to arrive in the evening and would like to begin your adventure early the next day.

Saganaga Lake -  Saganaga Lake is located at the end of the Gunflint Trail and borders Quetico Provincial Park in Canada.  This lake is much larger than Seagull Lake and because of this, suited to more experienced canoeists.  On this lake you'll find the rugged, hard-core portaging canoeists, many of whom are setting off to find adventure in Canada.  Seagull Canoe Outfitters offers their tow boat launch service to this lake as well, offering several different drop-off locations.   Superior - North Outfitters is also located on this lake and offers canoe rentals, canoe outfitting packages, bunk-house style lodging and tow service as well.

From Ely northeast on Fernberg Trail:

Lake One - Lake One offers amazing opportunities to paddle deeper into the wilderness.  This lake is beautiful and known for it's cliffs and palisades as you paddle around many large and small islands.  Lake One is one of the most popular BWCA entry points and you're sure to encounter many more canoeists than Seagull or Saganaga Lakes.  But this is for good reason.  Lakes One, Two, Three and Four are all adjacent and offer hundreds of campsites to canoeists.  Here, after an hour or two of canoeing,  if you're lucky, you'll be rewarded with an enchanting island campsite for your paddling effort.

Kawishiwi Lodge and Outfitters is located on Lake One and again offers direct canoe access into the BWCA. Kawishiwi Lodge also has a level entry into the lake, making it easy to move your gear from your car into the canoe.  In addition to their canoe rental and complete outfitting services, they rent rustic cabins along the Kawishiwi River. This facility also offers the opportunity for a refreshing beverage in their lodge when you return from the wilds.

 

Moose Lake -  Moose Lake is located a few miles northwest of Lake One, and  it hosts many more Outfitters and is a much larger lake.  Also, Moose Lake permits the use of 25hp motors and consequently is a popular lake for fishermen.  But it is possible to find seclusion and the Wilderness experience here, if you're willing to do some hard paddling.  As with Saganaga Lake listed above, larger lakes require greater canoeing skills.  Moose Lake isn't the best choice for beginning canoeists.

Moose Lake Cabins & Campground is located on Moose Lake and offers canoe rentals, outfitting services, tow launch service and overnight lodging for canoeists as well as resort cabins. La Tourell's Moose Lake Outfitters is also located on Moose Lake and offers all outfitting and canoe services, as well as resort lodging.

These are just some of the lakes and Outfitters available to you in planning a Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Experience. The Minnesota Office of Tourism offers several guidebooks to assist in choosing your destination, equipment rental and interim lodging.

Several websites are also dedicated to BWCA Outfitter Information.

Boundary Waters Entry Permit

Once you've chosen a BWCA Lake as your destination, a BWCA Entry Permit is needed.  Entry Permits are issued through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Organization, in association with the National Forest Service, Superior National Forest.  Entry Permits were established to limit the use of wilderness resources, preserve the wilderness into the future and to ensure a true wilderness experience in the BWCA.  Boundary Waters Entry Permits are managed by several Forest Service Ranger Stations.

Entry Points into the BWCA are categorized by geographic area and managing Forest Service Station.  Each Entry Point into the BWCA is designated by a number and there is a quota for canoe party entries per day, which vary by location. Each Permit is restricted to the entry point, entry date and length of trip into the wilderness. Currently there are two fees: Travel Permit Fee $12, USFS User Fee: $10.  It's wise to plan your trip to the BWCA well in advance to secure your permit.  When planning to make a reservation through BWCAW Organization, be flexible in your entry dates.  Reservations can be made over the phone.

Phone: 1-877-550-6777

Mail:

BWCAW Reservation Center

P.O. Box 462

Ballston Spa, NY 12020

Many more regulations apply to canoeing and camping in the BWCA.  The BWCAW Reservation Center will be happy to provide complete information to you when you call or write.

Comfort and Adventure

Canoeing in the BWCA can be an exceptional adventure, and by utilizing the Outfitter of your choice, you'll now be able to add greater levels of comfort to your experience.  In choosing just one wilderness lake for your campsite or campsites, you are now able to bring luxury items that you'd never bring with you on a backpacking or portaging canoe trip.  There should be plenty of room in the canoe for your cooler, a good cookstove, a couple of lawnchairs and that extra deep sleeping pad that we all now require after having turned 40.  Another possibility is to tow an additional smaller canoe behind, enabling you to carry even more storeholds for your venture into the wildland woods.   

The Wilderness Experience

Tranquility - Canoeing to your campsite offers a new world of camping experiences to those of us that often find car camping trips less and less desirable.  As car campers, very often we're faced with camping next to huge RV's with generators and exhaust fumes that ruin our interaction with nature.  Car and campground camping have become so popular that it's difficult to find any quiet or solitude, even in remote locations.  All too often I have been kept awake by midnight revellers around their campfire.  Nearby campers singing and carousing til dawn can ruin any camping trip.  Canoe camping allows you to touch the wilderness on your own terms, without the sounds and other disturbances of the modern world.

Wildlife - Now that you've paddled far from the maddening world, your chances for finding wildlife have increased hundredfold.  It's quite common to see moose along the shoreline in the morning, grazing casually in the misty reeds.  You may be lucky enough to hear the wolves howl in the night or find their tracks along your lakeshore.  Almost nothing on earth is as stirring as the call of the loons on a wilderness lake. Deer are plentiful in the BWCA woods, as well as countless other critters that you'll find in your journey.

Fishing - The fishing opportunities in the BWCA are abundant.  Northern Minnesota is reknowned for some of the best fishing in the country.  You'll be fishing for walleye, bass, panfish and northern pike. Imagine how those fresh fish will taste back at your campsite. A Minnesota Fishing License is required for fishing in the BWCA, your Outfitter can assist you here if you haven't got a license.  Other fishing regulations can be learned through the BWCA Organization or through your Outfitter.

Swimming - The BWCA is the perfect place to swim!  The lakes are pure perfectly clear and clean enough to drink from, literally.  Lake water in smaller channels or on the leeside of islands is likely to be the warmest.  Depending on the weather during your trip, swimming in your wilderness lake could be one of the most refreshing experiences of your life.

The Aurora - It's possible that all your efforts in creating your North Woods canoe vacation will be met with a most heavenly gift.  Depending on Sun Spot activity, you may be one of the luckiest people in the world and view the Northern Lights.  Few experiences on this earth are more thrilling.  I hope this happens for you.

For More Information:

Boundary Waters Listings on Ebay

Books on Boundary Waters

Ebay Guide: Safety Standards While Canoeing

Ebay: Fishing in Minnesota

Superior National Forest

8901 Grand Ave.

Duluth, MN 55808

(218) 626-4300

Explore Minnesota Tourism

121 7th Place E

Metro Square, Suite 100

St. Paul, MN 55101

phone: 888-TOURISM

I sincerely hope you contemplate planning a Boundary Waters canoe vacation.  It offers the best of both worlds, wilderness with ease.  The benefits of finding this level of natural solitude with some effort on your part are unrivaled.  You're sure to return to the modern world  smiling, refreshed, enervated and alive.

Acknowledgements:  I would like to thank Debbie Mark from Seagull Outfitters for her generous permission to use the photos in this guide. Other photos used are public domain.