I am looking for any info on the town of Lac la Croix, overnight camping, parking, the road traveling to the town. Thank you in advance for any info on your experience in putting in at this point! Bill

Lac La Croix is a lake accessed from the town of Ely usually from the East and Buyck on the west using the Echo trail (mostly gravel). Using the Moose River north or the Little Indian Sioux River to access the route to Lac La Croix. There is an Indian Village on the Canadian side on the Namakan River. There are a few good Nat'l Forest Campgrounds on the Echo Trail... Echo Lake, Lake Jeanette and Fenske Lake come to mind. All are pretty good places to camp. I don't recall any showers or luxuries, but nice camping spots with an outdoor toilet. Are you thinking about car camping, or paddling into the BWCA? The best bet is to get a Superior Nat'l Forest map that shows these places. Google Superior National Forest and that'll get you to their website... The BWCA is a part of this forest. Need to know what your looking to do...

Oh, and if your paddling in from the puttin's I listed there is parking. You do need to get reservations to go in the BWCA... Well, at least a permit, but this area is popular so I'd make reservations if that's what you plan to do.

My main destination is Pooh Bah, with lower Sturgeon a secondary destination. I'd just as soon drive around into Canada and give them my money over what looks like a $200 boat ride from Crane lake per person. We are going in late May, it is a very light time to enter the park as far as people go and I am interested in the shortest canoe route into the park. From a google earth map it looks like there are plenty of roads around this reservation with landings on the lake close to the ranger cabin

Lac La Croix Ranger Station (at the LLC First Nations VIllage) is responsible for 4 entry points - you'd be wanting to reserve #42, Malign River if Poobah is your destination.  There are only 2 permits per day issued for each of the 4 entry points run out of LLC, so the recommendation to make a reservation.  

See thread below on  Quetico Res....       in general bw/q forum

Entry #43 is the only ohter viable option from LLC if Poobah is your destination, though of course, you can get there from anywhere.

I've never used the LLC ranger station, but it seems to me I recall reading somehwere that you can lock your vehicle in a "cage" there.

The road is reasonably decent,  gravel, if you don't get run over by a logging truck

bigpike wrote on Jan 18^th, 2011 at 5:45am:

My main destination is Pooh Bah, with lower Sturgeon a secondary destination. We are going in late May,

Late May eh? Pooh Bah....lower Sturgeon :question

Going for big pike bigpike? You will have to let us know how you do. If you feel more comfortable you can PM me and if you catch big ones galore we could be freinds ;D.

I dare say most LLC traffic accesses from Crane lake, MN.  There are outfitters who will tow you to anywhere on Canadian LLC, including the vilage.  You will be on the lake in 1 hr either by a tow up the Vermillion river, or ride accross Dawson portage.

By the time you compare mileage, time traveling, vehicle saftey, gas....it's a no-brainer for me.

wally wrote on Jan 18^th, 2011 at 1:51pm:

I dare say most LLC traffic accesses from Crane lake, MN.  There are outfitters who will tow you to anywhere on Canadian LLC, including the vilage.  You will be on the lake in 1 hr either by a tow up the Vermillion river, or ride accross Dawson portage. By the time you compare mileage, time traveling, vehicle saftey, gas....it's a no-brainer for me.

I thought of that too, but was too lazy to include that tidbit of info as I was called out on a fire run in the middle of typing my post. I never see that much traffic on the "Little" Vermillion River like I do the other entries.

I should have looked for more responses above Wally's...  :P I have to agree with Wally... The tow into LLC would be the best route because of where your going, especially on your way out with all them big pike.  8-)

bigpike,

How long are you in for?
I understand your wanting to get in park as fast as possible, but coming from LLC village on the Canadian side, may or may not be the fastest entry?

Are you planning on paddling from LLC or  arraigning a tow over to the Maligne River? The winds in May are usually out of the E-NE, on LLC that can mean some big water. I know there is a Native Tow Operator working out of LLC village, I believe his name is Ed Ottertail. Others here might have his contact info. Last I heard/read, he would take you anywhere on LLC for $100 US.

You'll also be fighting the current going up the Maligne, which depending on winter/spring rains can be formidable.
If you have some time, you could go in at Beaverhouse. A long day with luck, or a day and the half would put you on the lower Sturgeon.
I'd go thru Badwater, down thru to Bentpine creek, which exists west of the lower Sturgeon. Other than Badwater, the portages are short and the lakes small enough, wind shouldn't be a problem till you hit Sturgeon. They're all walleye/ NP lakes.

From there you can go down Maligne, portage east in Poohbah, and either return the way you came, or go up thru Jean Creek, into Jean Lake at up to Quetico. Wind should be at your back there.

Or you could go from Poohbah down to Maligne and paddle to LLC village if you so inclined. If you have more than one vehicle your options would be enhanced.

I guess your time frame will determine the best course. If you fish the Lower Sturgeon, be sure to head up to where Jean Creek empties into Sturgeon Lk. There is a decent island/peninsula campsite just east of that area. I saw 2 guys just hammering the big pike there one year. Everyone was picture worthy ;D

To legally access PoohBah from anywhere in US, you must clear Canadian customs, and have a valid entry permit. If you use a tow from Crane Lake, they will stop at Sandpoint L (customs), and Native villiage (permit & fishing liscence).

To paddle up from Moose River bypasses both, and if caught, you could forfeit your whole outfit. I would not take that risk. It would cost a whole lot more than the tow.

My son and I did Beaverhouse to Poohbah via Jean and returned the same way in late-June a couple years back.  Took 2.5 days to get there and 2.5 days to get back.  Could be done in 2 days each way with favorable or no wind.  

I could imagine the Maligne being very fast in May.  Even late June we had one very difficult swift where we almost didn;t make it upstream.  After 2 tries, qwe made it.  Our fallback was to float down to the LLC village and pay for a drive up to Beaverhouse.  

We also fought a westerly gale all the way across Quetico Lake and almost didn't make it through Beaverhouse back to the car.

Great memories though...and the 3 days of fishing on Poohbah were simply amazing...big fish all over.

Another option is get an RABC, BWCA and Quetico entry permits and paddle from EP14 or 16 to the LLC ranger station....I've toyed with this, but have yet to actually do it.

Old Salt wrote on Jan 18^th, 2011 at 4:47pm:

To legally access PoohBah from anywhere in US, you must clear Canadian customs, and have a valid entry permit. If you use a tow from Crane Lake, they will stop at Sandpoint L (customs), and Native villiage (permit & fishing liscence). To paddle up from Moose River bypasses both, and if caught, you could forfeit your whole outfit. I would not take that risk. It would cost a whole lot more than the tow.

At the time I suggested Moose River I didn't know about PoohBah... He originally asked about LLC.
And am I missing something? What happened to being able to buy fishing licenses and permits next door to customs on Sandpoint? Did that place close?

The RABC would take the place of a customs stop. My bad.

RABC is cake, and all of the Crane lake operators will also stop at Customs on Sandpoint for ya.  And Sandpoint customs is quick to boot.  Heck, most operators will even run you 1 bay N to Sandpoint lodge for liscenses and (me) Crownland permits as well.

pine_knot wrote on Jan 18^th, 2011 at 7:48pm:

Another option is get an RABC, BWCA and Quetico entry permits and paddle from EP14 or 16 to the LLC ranger station....I've toyed with this, but have yet to actually do it.

I have done this several times.  It works well but takes 2-3 days to paddle to the LLC Ranger Station from Crane Lake or the Echo Trail entries.

So it seems there are no easy ways into Pooh Bah, is there any other access options we have other than Crane Lake or Lac la Croix? We do have 10 days to paddle total. You guys have me a little spooked on the current flow of the Maligne. It certainly is an intriguing lake to get to.... Thank you guys again for the input, I appreciate it!!

RE: current on the Maligne in spring

Didn't Stu (Boundary waters Journal   (You need to Login or Register) stop trying to run his guide service up through the Maligne in spring because of heavy current.

It is probably 50/50. Somebody will know conditions. Then have a plan B if it seems a little dicey. Should be a fair amount of daylight that time of year if you want to put in big days to get there.

bigpike wrote on Jan 20^th, 2011 at 3:49am:

So it seems there are no easy ways into Pooh Bah, is there any other access options we have other than Crane Lake or Lac la Croix? We do have 10 days to paddle total. You guys have me a little spooked on the current flow of the Maligne. It certainly is an intriguing lake to get to.... Thank you guys again for the input, I appreciate it!!

You never mentioned how many are in your crew? Having more than one vehicle would expand your options.
I mentioned going in thru Beaverhouse/West bay/Badwater/Bentpine Creek/Lower Sturgeon. Traveling solo, with 2x on portages, I made it from Beaverhouse to Lower Sturgeon in one day, stating at 7 am to about 5 pm. Even if you stopped 3/4 of the way, your looking at no more than a day and a half tops.
If you had a vehicle stored a LLC, you could arrange for a pick-up at Bell Island. From Lower Sturgeon, a day should put you on Poohbah. A day from Poohbah to Bell Island or less.
No easy way there other than fly-in.
I'd rather paddle small lakes/short portages, than fight a heavy current going up the Maligne. Going from Badwater to Jean and then down is dicey when the wind is out of the E/NE, which is the usual spring pattern.

You can run the North shoreline of Beaverhouse even in windy conditions. Once on Quetico lk, you take the short sand drag over on the peninsula separating the lake from W. Bay and your at the Badwater portage. Long but mostly flat and not a bad as it's been made out to be.
I've done it solo 2x, took about 1 1/2 hr double portaging. A few mud holes and the ever present ominous spirits :o, but not a big deal, just keep you head down and give no mind to the the feeling you being watched :-?
Nice campsites on the Lower Sturgeon and good fishing.
Depending on your level of paddling skill, fighting up the Maligne in normal spring conditions can be nerve racking. Putting rusty paddling skills together with treacherous water is a recipe for bad things to happen. Taking a longer but easier Northern route gives you a chance to get you Mojo working and if you do take a spill, you in far more forgiving water ;)

solotripper wrote on Jan 20^th, 2011 at 4:26pm:

bigpike wrote on Jan 20th, 2011 at 3:49am: So it seems there are no easy ways into Pooh Bah, is there any other access options we have other than Crane Lake or Lac la Croix? We do have 10 days to paddle total. You guys have me a little spooked on the current flow of the Maligne. It certainly is an intriguing lake to get to.... Thank you guys again for the input, I appreciate it!! You never mentioned how many are in your crew? Having more than one vehicle would expand your options. I mentioned going in thru Beaverhouse/West bay/Badwater/Bentpine Creek/Lower Sturgeon. Traveling solo, with 2x on portages, I made it from Beaverhouse to Lower Sturgeon in one day, stating at 7 am to about 5 pm. Even if you stopped 3/4 of the way, your looking at no more than a day and a half tops. If you had a vehicle stored a LLC, you could arrange for a pick-up at Bell Island. From Lower Sturgeon, a day should put you on Poohbah. A day from Poohbah to Bell Island or less. No easy way there other than fly-in. I'd rather paddle small lakes/short portages, than fight a heavy current going up the Maligne. Going from Badwater to Jean and then down is dicey when the wind is out of the E/NE, which is the usual spring pattern. You can run the North shoreline of Beaverhouse even in windy conditions. Once on Quetico lk, you take the short sand drag over on the peninsula separating the lake from W. Bay and your at the Badwater portage. Long but mostly flat and not a bad as it's been made out to be. I've done it solo 2x, took about 1 1/2 hr double portaging. A few mud holes and the ever present ominous spirits :o, but not a big deal, just keep you head down and give no mind to the the feeling you being watched :-? Nice campsites on the Lower Sturgeon and good fishing. Depending on your level of paddling skill, fighting up the Maligne in normal spring conditions can be nerve racking. Putting rusty paddling skills together with treacherous water is a recipe for bad things to happen. Taking a longer but easier Northern route gives you a chance to get you Mojo working and if you do take a spill, you in far more forgiving water ;)

Thank you Mr Tripper, I like your idea the best, I do have an outfitter friend who could pick us up / drop us off at the put in and we would get to see a whole nother sectcion of Quetico we have never seen, it is just me and 1 other going.

I think Poohbah is on the Native's fly-in list. That's the easiest, quickest way in or out.

I'm guessing the Maligne will be full of water in the spring.  We have already had a full winter's worth of snow and still have 2-3 months more to look forward to.  
If you exit the Maligne you won't need a tow to the LLC village, it is just a few miles due west of Bell Island.  You might have to plan to get there when an agent is on duty to get your vehicle out of the locked wire enclosure.   :)

If you firm your plans to go in the route I suggested, be sure to do a search on the lakes you'll be traveling thru.

There are numerous trip reports that hold info about that route.
I don't think you'll lack for campsites or fishing going that way.
Badwater is a destination for some coming out of Beaverhouse becasue of it's rep as a walleye lake.

That time of year it shouldn't be an issue as you'll be passing thru.
If you don't exit via Maligne to LLC village, I consider going back thru Jean Creek/ Jean lk and west down Quetico lk.

You can make it to Jean lk easily in a short day and depending on wind, even make it to the east end of Quetico in a long day. From there you should have wind at your back, and a nice ride back to Beaverhouse.

Search that route in trip reports, lot's of good info there.