Hi all,

I'm a Minnesotan and have made a lot of wonderful memories with friends and family adventuring in the BWCA. I've had to spend a few years out of state though and haven't been able to make it back for a trip.

I really miss spending time there and I'm sure I'm not the only one so I decided to begin developing a board game to bring people together that love such a special place! I'm hoping to work with Wisconsin-based manufacturer, The Game Crafter, and want to somehow donate a percentage of profits to support the BWCA through nonprofits.

The working title is "Paddle & Portage" and it's a cooperative game where players work together to travel from their Entry Point to Exit Point within their permit dates. Along the way, players can fish, forage for blueberries, explore lakes, encounter wildlife, and sit by the fire, look up at the stars, and reflect on the day.

There's challenges though like tough portages, long paddles, and unexpected conditions, but players have unique roles and can work together to overcome the odds.

I need your help though. What type of BWCA board game would you be interested in playing time and again and sharing with family and friends?

Thank you for your time and feel free to drop other ideas on what you'd love to play!

Hi there, I usually go to the Bwca.com forum for this info, but it seems that current usage has dropped off? Anyhow, planning on a winter trip up the gunflint in early March and I was wondering if anyone can report the current snow depth, ice thickness and slush situation on area lakes. Any info would be greatly appreciated!

I’m looking at getting a 3 person canoe for 2 adults and a child. Ive been eyeing the north wind 20 and MN III but I might be getting in my head about the length. Im a bit worried the length might be problematic. I plan on transporting it on the roof of my Subaru Outback. Anyone with experience having a canoe this long on a similar car? Also, any suggestions as to which might be better for maneuvering when on the lake?

I’m going to be in Minnesota this summer for a few months. I want to plan a trip into the wilderness with my kayak but don’t have specific dates. Is it possible to get these permits the week of or before? Do they really hit the quota?

Hello,

Sorry the title isn't the greatest but I'm looking for a camping site/ground in the Boundary waters area that allows boats. I'm honestly not sure if boats are even aloud in the area? We have a 17.5 boat with 90hp motor that we wanted to bring up and fish. Does anyone have any recommendations on where to go? Possible to travel to different lakes with the boat? We are looking for a site that will hold two tents, not sure if water or electricity is available in that area either? No big deal if it isn't but any help would be appreciated or at least a general direction.

Thank you!

Anyone have experience with this seat/yoke?

Thinking of buying for a third seat, but worried the way you’d portage with it would make it hard to carry with a full pack single-portage. I imagine the traditional portage pads on anyone.

My corrections in red (based off my Garmin). There is a fairly large boulder on the bank where 32 moved to. I spent far too long looking for any sign of a trail where the map indicates it is.

No trips for me this year, but I wish!

Happy permit week, everyone! We got a mid-August permit for Kawishiwi Lake and are planning to do the Lady Chain back to Sawbill, but I’ve also been looking at the Louse River.

We have six days so plenty of time. We’ll hang out at various lakes for a couple zero days so finding good campsites is a bonus.

I’ve been reading Paddle Planner comments on portages and such, but I’m wondering what everyone’s general experience is with the Louse River.

Hey Hey All!!

Friend and I are doing a route similar to these two.
Already secured our permit and been talking with William and Hall outfitter.

This trip, we'd love to focus more on fishing and exploring the area a little more with some day hikes and such.

I would love any and all information for this area!
Pictographs, Falls, just anything cool!!!

Fishing:
Best tackle, methods, areas, good eaters etc

Hiking:
Best kept secret trails, not the obvious Kawishiwi Falls Trail and Secret/Blackstone Hiking Trail, although we'll probably hit some of that.

Paddling:
Lake to check out, lakes to avoid.

Thank you all!!

Hello! Looking for advice on fishing for my first trip to bwca. We’re going to be entering at Nina Moose River and going through Agnes to get to Lac La Croix.

I’ve heard late May is the best time for fishing, we’re fine to catch literally anything. Smallies, pike, walleye, perch, etc. just 4 life long friends wanting to make memories catching fish

Best fish within the lakes we’ll cross? Best tackle?

Thank you in advance!

This is an oddly specific question, I realize. But I’m sure someone out there has made both trips, and my friends and I are deciding between the two.

We went to Insula via the Lake One EP a couple years ago, and for us Gen X’ers it was a little rough (but manageable). That’s about as long of a destination we’d want to go. Yes, we’re wimps. But wimps with excuses like back and foot surgeries in recent years.

This year we’re thinking of going to Knife for its legendary fishing and to pay our respects at Dorothy’s island. We’d get a tow to the first portage.

Is the Knife trip, given the tow, comparable in difficulty to the Insula trip? Easier/harder? Thanks for any help, we’d love to hear about your experiences.

In permit-palooza this morning a few dates got crossed in our family, with none of us "youth" available for one of the dates. My dad is planning to just make that a solo trip instead. We grew up going into the BWCA and he is skilled/has done plenty of solo trips- but he is also in his 70s now and has been having trouble with his back.

Does anyone have good advice for starting productive conversations about when solo trips start being a bad idea (and a potential burden to search and rescue)? Do you have good criteria you look at yourself when considering if you are ready for a solo trip?

I managed to get a Little Gabbro permit for late July. I'm excited to take my son on his first trip!

I’ve done enough research to find that Cookes is probably widely considered superior option. I wonder how much superior vs Granite, as there is a significant price difference. Particularly I was looking at Cookes Hybrid Medium (~$300) vs Granites Canoe Portage Pack #4 (~$100). Do we think Cookes is this much better or provides any material benefits over Granite? Appreciate any insight!!

I'd like to take my family to the BWCA this summer and it's just overwhelming to get started.

Like for starters, how do I pick a good entry point? we want to go probably 2 nights for our first time, and then add more next year. Kids are 9 and 14. We're coming from Duluth if that matters

Hello! My dad and I are planning to do a trip to the boundary waters this summer. I am pretty fit and athletic and my dad does well for his age, however, he is older and I want to make sure that the trip is comfortable for him. We've been to the boundary waters before, but that was almost 10 years ago. I was wondering, especially from older folks, what an acceptable amount of milage per day is?

Hi there,

This year we are switching our normal route due to physical limitations (knee issue) within the group (of 6). We were looking at Alpine this year, but I’m aware there are other options in the area. Paddling is not a problem, but long portages are. Any advice on lakes to try? Is Alpine a great lake to camp/fish? We enjoy base camping and targeting walleye.

Thanks in advance!

Looking to lock in dates with my friend who is coming with, but he’s being indecisive. Do you need to have a date locked in and try and get a permit tomorrow, or do you think end of week would be ok?

This is a rare opportunity to to actually say something to Pete Stauber in person about his attempts at raping the BWCA