Quetico and Boundary Waters Canoe Routes

Quetico and Boundary Waters Canoe Routes from our base on Seagull Lake

Worried about selecting the best Quetico or Boundary Waters Canoe Routes for your group? So you’re new to the entire Boundary Waters experience? Or you’re new to the Gunflint Trail? Or just looking for a change of scenery for your next canoe trip? Well, your options are quite numerous, and no matter how young or old, there is a canoe route out there with your name on it. Plan your BWCAW or Quetico canoe trips right here online with maps and we’ll help you select the best Boundary Water canoe route.

What’s your ideal Canoe Route?

Some of you come for the world-class fishing, some of you like the peaceful solitude offered by the Boundary Waters setting, and others of you set off in search of the many wildlife viewing opportunities. Or maybe you are looking for a combination of all of these aspects provided by a Boundary Waters adventure. Whatever the goal of your vacation, it can be found inside the two million acres that make up the BWCAW and Quetico Parks.

On the eastern side of the BWCAW/Quetico, specifically the end of the Gunflint Trail, you’ll find it to be less congested than other areas of the wilderness. This is mainly in part because you have to drive a little further to get up to us. But that’s the way we like it because here is where you’ll get away from the crowds of people and find the solitude that so many of us seek. When describing their ideal canoe trip to us, many paddlers give us the same outline. It goes like this:

“We’d like to be on smaller lakes with fewer portages and experience good fishing where we can see waterfalls and cliffs but yet not see any other groups of people.” Yes, this would most definitely be ideal, and we can come pretty close in most cases to fulfill these requests. The idea of the Boundary Waters is to get away from people and the real world and not have to answer questions related to work, maybe find that secret fishing hole, or view a moose feeding in the shallows adjacent to your island campsite. This is all entirely possible in the Boundary Waters. And your chances of this happening will increase mightily as you get further away from the large numbers of people that flock to the more easily accessed BWCA entry points on the western side of the park. The correlation is simple. The fewer people you see, the better wilderness experience you’ll have; and this is exactly what the end of the Gunflint Trail provides.

So for those of you unfamiliar with our area, these route descriptions will attempt to shed some light on a few specific Quetico and Boundary Waters Canoe Routes that could provide you with your next Boundary Waters experience. Again, these are a choice few routes that will help whet your whistle and we’d be glad to talk with you more in detail about any of these routes or one of the many others not listed here.

To gather more information about the route of your choice, discuss your best route with other paddlers on our interactive discussion board. Pose questions and get them answered from other paddlers that have traveled before you.

Need help selecting a route for your group? Give us a ring. 218-388-2216 We love to help plan the best canoe trips that fit your abilities and experience to make the most of your time in Quetico Park and Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.