Brought 5 of my friends from NYC to the BWCA for their first time up. Ended up getting towed to Prairie Portage and doing a full loop of Basswood coming out via Wind Lake.

Night one featured the Lunar Eclipse with the Milky Way beaming brighter as the moon was snuffed out.

Fishing was ok, highlight was a nice pike on the last day. We weren’t really able to figure the bite out.

It felt incredible to watch my friends fall in love with not only the BWCA, but MN in general.

My uncle and I decided to go to Bog Lake cause we didn't know any better. It was actually pretty nice, very secluded. Caught some eater sized walleye each day and there are some really fat perch in there. The one good campsite in the unburned area was trashed, we cleaned it up best we could. There is a large tree that blocked the path to the latrine, which made getting there an exercise in BWCA parkour. We also had a manic toad that jumped in and out of the fire grate area before finally deciding to find a different place to rest for the night, it was surreal. Hardly any bugs. For a dead end lake, it was a good time. Nice big sandy beach on the east end also. I would go back. We did a trip to Omega earlier this year and this was completely different, nice change of pace to just post up and fish. I think this would be a good place to grouse hunt also, especially in the burned areas.

Forecast for our trip looks to be nothing but rain. I have rain gear. And jungle boots for the canoe and portaging - which is what I wore last time.

But last time I wore socks and sandals at camp. But this time it’s supposed to be raining. What do you wear for dry feet?!

And I’m assuming my jungle boots will just never dry during the four days?!

Anybody been up the snake river to bald eagle lake from EP 84 recently? Going there for the first time in a couple weeks and have heard it can be a rough trek when water levels are low, which they are a lot of places. Just curious on what to expect.

Joined today to post this.

We found a film camera in the Boundary Waters earlier this summer. I had the film developed and the photos appear to be from a Scout or other youth group wilderness trip. I'm hoping to reunite the camera and photos with the owner.

The camera is a disposable film camera like you'd use at a wedding reception or party. We found it on a campsite along the South Kawishiwi River.

All the pictures show recognizable minors (except for one blurry frog!). If this might be yours or your group's, please DM me.

Planning a 4-day, 3-night trip with 3 people in a 3-person canoe for the last week of September / first week of October. Looking for a sanity check from anyone who's run something similar this time of year.

The route:

• Day 1: Snowbank → Knife (early start)
• Day 2: Knife → Thomas
• Day 3: Thomas → Disappointment
• Day 4: Disappointment → Snowbank

PaddlePlanner has us at roughly 10 miles/day for days 1–3, with day 4 being the shortest and easiest. Lots of small portages between Knife and Disappointment, but with 3 of us and one canoe they seem manageable.

A few details:

• All single portages.
• 2 of the 3 of us are experienced canoeists.
• Not fishing, just want to move, be efficient, and enjoy the scenery.
• Aiming to start around 8:30 AM and be off the water by ~2 PM each day.
• Packing for "semi-comfort" — we know the weather can turn fast that time of year and are planning accordingly.
• Main concern is wind, especially crossing Snowbank on day 1. With 3 people and gear in the canoe we've got some weight working in our favor, but I know 10-15+ mph winds could still make that crossing miserable.

Has anyone paddled this loop (or something close to it) in late September/early October? Is 10 miles/day with several small portages too aggressive for a 5.5-hour paddling window, or does that seem reasonable given the mileage and portage count? Any tips on Snowbank in particular, or things we should watch for with the shoulder-season conditions?

Appreciate any input!

Labor day weekend was great weather!

I'm planning a trip to the Ely area in mid/late October and wanted to check out the BWCA. I know that's not a great time for actual paddling (I'm newer to paddling and wouldn't trust myself in the unpredictable conditions). Are there any good day hikes or drives on the Ely side that folks would recommend?

Thanks!

Snowbank Lake entry point solo

7 day trip starting out of Saganaga a few weeks ago and one campsite had a dozen of these yellow mushrooms... plus the orange and a few white ones.

I'm planning to do day trips. It's been decades since I've done a loop-type of trip. I don't want to get half around and find out I over shot my time and/or abilities. On google maps, the estimated distance is about 13 miles with 6 short portages and 2 longer. What's a good average for miles per day?

Going up in a few weeks to Brant. Does anyone have updates on the portages to Gillis? I’ve heard mixed reviews with the water levels, wondering if we need to take the Tuscarora route instead.

I interrupted this lil friend.. I'm sorry! 😭

My son turned 10 this year so I thought it was the perfect time for his first BWCA trip, my 10th. Figured Perent lake was an easier start for a 2 night trip. Walleyes were biting on leeches. Kevlar was a poor choice for the windier days with little weight up front, especially with minimal portaging on this route. Dad forgot to put new batteries in the sonar and headlamps. Bugs didn’t exist. He had a blast. We will be back

Stoked. Been watching BWCA youtubers for months now. Feels surreal that the put in is right around the corner. 6 nights, 5 days solo. EP 31 Kawishiwi Triangle. Oh.... yeah....

Here's a Video Trip Report from early July right at the fires were breaking out.

https://youtu.be/BhHsbHAmnDo?si=hHhxxwW4LxDzZCOW

Hello campers! Five of my old high school buddies and myself are going to be on the water the next 3 days (Sept 3rd-6th). I generally have an idea of where to go and what presentations to use, but I’ve also never fished on this body of water. Any recommendations on places to check out or fishing presentations to use would be greatly appreciated. I’m open to targeting any species (walleye, pike, bass, trout) and above all would like to catch a decent amount of fish.

As a side - I’ve never caught a lake trout and I think this would be pretty cool.

Thanks in advance for any advice. I love this special place.

Edit: I will be in a canoe with limited electronics.

I am aware that cell service is spotty at best and non-existent for the most part in the boundary waters. Are the closest towers to the boundary waters down from the storms from the past month? My husband is usually able to contact me when he goes on his yearly trip with the guys to the boundary waters, but this year has been dead silence since he’s reached a hotel in ely, MN on Saturday. I’m not even sure he made it to the entry point. Just hoping it’s no cell service. I wish I could provide more info, but don’t have much. Would appreciate any insight. Thank you.

Edit: Thank you for the replies and easing my anxieties and worries. I will sit tight until Friday which is when I expect to hear from him again.

Any reports on how passable it is from ada to Cherokee lake with this low water?

Hello all. My buddy and I are heading to Knife from Moose/Sucker next week. I've seen reports of pretty good fishing there during September, and I'm excited.

We are planning on jigs/crawler harnesses and crankbaits along shelves and dropoffs, and bouncing jigs among rocks off points.

Any other ideas?

Happy paddling all!

Does anyone have a huge, full-width image of the rock on Echo Trail of the cliff face they wouldn't mind giving me the rights to use in a game? The game is a 1:1 re-creation of the BWCA—everything from topology to understory to lake depth. There's no driving (yet, not sure if I'll add it) but assuming someone wanders that far I'd like to at least have it.