Camping and Fishing in the Almost Boundary Waters

Ever heard of the Boundary Waters? Probably. Ever been there? Probably not.

This is one of those areas steeped in tradition and folklore, everyone knows someone who has “gone to the Boundary Waters,” but few people themselves have actually done the dirty deed. Well, six Average Flatlanders packed up the cars, the fishing poles, and little pickle, and headed up to the North Country to explore the Boundary Waters area and find Bigfoot if possible.

What to know about the Boundary Waters (area).

So if you have never been to the Boundary Waters area there is a few things you should know.

• The Boundary Waters exists inside the Lake Superior National Forest.
• There are different rules for camping etc. depending if you are in the Lake Superior National Forest or the Boundary Waters proper.

So when looking at a map of the Boundary Waters https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/superior/maps-pubs you will see that the Lake Superior National Forest is very large, and the Boundary Waters has an official boundary that is in the far north of the area, and has separate rules for camping etc.

In the Boundary Waters area, you have to camp within designated Forest Service camp spots, you can’t just throw your tent anywhere you want. But, if you are in the Superior National Forest, you are able to do “dispersed camping,” aka you can camp wherever you want.

The reality.

If you are planning to go fishing and camping in the Great Boundary Waters area or in the Superior National Forest, I’m going to give you the reality of it.

For context, we did a few-day trips around Isabella, MN, specifically around Divide Lake, Dumbell Lake, and Hogback Lake and surrounding systems. The reality is that there a only a few drive-up campspots at places like Divide Lake and Hogback Lake, like when I mean a few, a handful. So if you’re going to come on a weekend, get there Friday early to get a spot.

Most other campsites are accessible by watercraft only.

Also, if you think you’re going to fish a lot from shore, think again. Some lakes have one or two spots you can fish from shore, the rest are surrounded by deep and thick woods, You can’t just bushwhack it and expect to fish the lakes. You have to have a canoe or another watercraft.

Hiking

Another thing. If you want to hike, stick to the Superior North Shore. Once you go inland to the deep woods of the Superior National Forest and boundary waters the hiking is more limited. A few of the likes, like Divide Lake and Hogback Lake, have some trails that run around the lakes that are wonderful little hikes, but they will not keep you busy all day.

More like a nice morning or afternoon hike.

The Truth

There is a reason most people stick to the North Shore. There is a lot to do, trails, beaches, etc. There is a reason people go to the Superior National Forest and Boundary Waters area to canoe. Because you need to have a canoe to explore and enjoy that deep woods area.

The Superior National Forest and Boundary Waters area is not for the week of heart, especially for campers and explorers. You should have a well-defined plan of where you are going to camp and recreate, and have one or two backups in place. You can’t reserve most camp spots, and it gets busy, busy for the middle of nowhere, and the lack of good drive-up campgrounds creates a rush on a Friday afternoon.