Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
( BWCA or BWCAW? )

The US Forest Service began using the name "The Boundary Waters Canoe Area" in place of "The Superior Roadless Areas" in 1958. The "W" in BWCAW came along in 1978 when Jimmy Carter signed P.L. 95-495 into law. Battles over that "W" (wilderness status) for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area continue to this day. Few people call it the BWCAW. Usually it's the Boundary Waters or the BWCA. People choose to forget that "W" at the end. WHY? Perhaps it's because you can still carry a cooler from your cabin or resort to your motor boat and fish parts of the Boundary Waters planning to fill that cooler with the fish you caught on a bobber 'n minnow. You can't do that in Quetico.

For those willing to portage a canoe, supplies and other camping gear; latrines, campfire grates and the BWCA's close proximity to life's modern conveniences seem to make all the difference in the world. Those looking for solitude need only consider the Boundary Waters sees five times as many visitors as Quetico in a given year. That ratio is surprising, considering each roughly covers a similar 1.1 million acres of lake studded boreal forest. Then again it might be the simple fact that using minnows is allowed when fishing in the BWCA.

I've been asked not to sell the BWCA short on its wilderness qualities. There are many places where one can go and not see folks, or see very few. Those willing to work a little harder than the average BWCA paddler can find Quetico style solitude in the Boundary Waters with a little extra effort.

Superior National Forest Website