Hi all, my name is Eddie, and I'm new to your forum. I live in Minnesota, and am wondering/taking a pole, of the best places to enter the Quetico for a first timer. I have all my own equipment, and have been to the Boundary waters many times over the past 28 years, mostly twice to three times a year, for at least a week at a time, and normally on different route each time. So let me know what your thoughts are, and why. I'll probably want to do a lot of fishing, and be entering from the Boundary Waters side. Thanks in advance for your comments.

Easiest entry from the US side is thru Prairie Portage.  You will need an RABC as there is no Canadian Customs there. 

If you can't or don't want to get an RABC then you can enter either thru Saganaga or else thru Crane Lake.  If you enter thru Crane lake you will almost certainly want to use Anderson's (my recommendation) or Zups to tow you from Crane Lake to your entry point on the eastern end of Lac LaCroix

There are many excellent trip options from any of these starting points.  If you can advise more specifically as to the length of trip you'd like and how hard you'd like to work (plus what species of fish you prefer to catch) I'm sure that you will find plenty of route suggestions forthcoming.

Our trip will be for a week, and we're willing to do what we need do to reach solitude. We both like to fish for all species of fish but are more interested in Walleyes and bass. Lake trout wouldn't make me cry either :D. We don't really want to do three mile long portages, but work isn't a foreign word to any of us. Thanks again.

If you are going thru Prairie Portage, Agnes is an easy lake to get to and has a nice mix of walleye, trout, and bass.  It also has some epic cliffs and at least 7 sets of pictographs that I know of, if you are into that sort of thing.  Downside:  It's big water and you will generally see people around, but not as bad as the milk runs in the BWCA.  If you do Agnes, you should either enter or leave thru the S-Chain and be sure you take a day or three in that chain to fish.  Most folks pass right thru in their hurry to get in or out of Agnes and that's a mistake.

If you want to see fewer people, take a tow from Moose Lake to Washington Island or Back Bay on Basswood and float the Basswood River.  The first portage is a doozy (1 mile) and there's hordes of people on the river sometimes, but once you finish the river, turn north at Moose Bay and head into Robinson Lake.  You'll leave the crowds behind.  From there, McIntyre for sure, and beyond that just as far as you want to go.  Brent, Suzanette, and Conmee all offer good fishing.  Or just stay on McIntyre if you're lazy...fishing is good there too.  Then work your way back down to Sarah (also a good fishery) and then out to North Bay of Basswood and back to Prairie Portage.

The Man Chain is also a good trip out of Prairie, or so I'm told.  I'll finally get around to trying it this year.  Head up thru Birch and Carp to the Man Chain and then round the horn at Saganagons and back down McEwen and a small chain of Lakes to Louisa, Agnes, and out if you are not averse to many portages but fewer people on the return leg.  If you want an easier trip, head up the border through Knife and Ottertrack and then loop back through the Man Chain. 

And that's just a few of the routes out of Prairie.

Out of Saganaga, heading up the Falls Chain to Kawnipi is very popular for good reason.  Fish in Kawnipi are plentiful and stupid. The main drag of Kawnipi and the lower ends of Kawa and McKenzie Bays see a fair number of canoeists but the other bays are equally good for fishing if not better.  Best campsites are in lower McKenzie Bay, which is a nice basecamp from which to explore the lake.  If you want an easy trip, head east on Saganagons and just base there and fish.  Very few people head off that way from what I am told and Saganagons has plenty of fish.

If you go thru Crane Lake, you really can't beat the Iron/Crooked/Rolands/Argo/Darky/Minn/McAree loop.  Spectacular waterfalls, great fishing, and some sweet pictos on Darky highlight the route. The tow is pricy, but worth it as the west end of Quetico sees fewer canoeists than the central and eastern regions.  Or just head up the Maligne River to Sturgeon Lake, or over to Poohbah. Sturgeon is a walleye factory and Poohbah has a nice mixed bag of fish.

Snow_Dog wrote on Mar 30^th, 2012 at 11:25pm:

Easiest entry from the US side is thru Prairie Portage.  You will need an RABC as there is no Canadian Customs there.  If you can't or don't want to get an RABC then you can enter either thru Saganaga or else thru Crane Lake.....

SD offers several excellent route options but I will make one correction to the info he has provided. You do need a RABC to enter at Saganaga (Cache Bay).
The only practical southern entry that does not require an RABC is Crane Lake but then you must make a stop at customs on the way in.

Isn't there still a customs station on Sag for all the motorboaters?  I know it's a little bit of an extra paddle to get there but not too bad.

The stop at Canadian customs/immigration near Crane Lake took me only 5 minutes; they come right out to your boat at the dock.  If you're starting at Crane Lake, your shuttle boat goes very little out of your way to get you to that dock.  That's true whether you then head north to pick up a van to Beaverhouse or head south to get to LacLaCroix as described above.
   On the return trip, American customs/immigration is only a couple dozen yards from Anderson's boat dock.  Anderson's boat shuttle is handled so as to be efficient, flexible, and friendly. On the way in, we stopped at the Ranger Station at Beaverhouse to register, pay our fees, and get our fishing license. 
    Some of the folks from here in Colorado, head for Ft Frances and then Atikokan, register, pay fees, get fishing license there, and then head to Beaverhouse and paddle a circle trip.  That is convenient for those of us who'll be driving through western MN anyhow.  And you don't have any shuttle boat expenses and you don't have to make the little detour for the Beaverhouse Ranger Station.  Normal tourist delays at Ft Frances for immigration/customs, but it doesn't have a high volume.

I can't speak to fishing but consider a Beaverhouse entry.  No rabc and you can pick up your permit day before. Large parking lot.  Instant solitude unlike PP.  All of snowdogs suggestions are great also - I've done them - and especially liked the Man Chain and back through McEwen and Louisa last July.  Saw no one for three days from Falls Chain to Agnes. Also from pp, route through North Bay and Isabella to Sarah and then maybe Conmee - Williams - Darky is hard to beat.

Snow Dog hit it for me

...Praire to Agnes...some solitude, lakers and walleye, smallies.  Even push on to Kawnipi for walleyes that offer themselves to you (but less solice).

...Robinson is a gereat idea and you can find some solice there.  I'd paddle in from Horse, or you tow up to Jackfish bay end of tow, or grunt it out and paddle yourself in from Fall lake landing (I'd argue Mudro route is quicker)...I think Mudro to Robinson via Horse river is a doable day if you are experienced, as you say.

Wow!!! Some really great suggestions, thanks everyone. Keep them coming. Now if I can only get the weather to cooperate, and give me some higher water, few bugs ;Dj great fishing, and lower winds. I'll be ready to go. I have two Boundary Waters trips planned this year, and one to Voyageurs. Next spring will be my first trip into the Canadian wilderness, and I'm excited to try it. Thanks again.

buy (or go to your library and check out) Robert Beymer's guide to Quetico Park.  Its full of info on sugested routes with time involved, fishing info, portage info, picto locations -  that way, you get a very good overview of the park and might find one area or another that appeals to you more

M_M,
Has a great suggestion. Lots of good info in that book. You don't need to follow his routes exactly either. Using his info and a park planning map you can lay out a route that gives you what your looking for in a wilderness trip.

I'll vote for Robinson as well. I usually go in from Praire Portage with a tow to Back Bay and we're setting up camp by about 3:30 pm. If your going to base camp and fish, Robinson is a great choice. The Island at the North end has the best camp site, but there are at least three other good ones. The lake is great for trout, smallies and has some huge pike. The area around the Tuck River mouth has some nice smallmouth spawning areas. There are also some great small lakes that you can portage too with minimal effort and Tuck Lake is great for smallmouth. If you decide to go there, back track to Moose Bay off Crooked for some good bass action as well.

Here are two Videos that will show both entries recommended:

This is a PP entry into Agnes via Meadows and up to McKenzie Bay in Kawnipi and back down to Agnes and out the S-Chain

  (You need to Login or Register

This is my trip from last year entering at Crane and via Jet Boat to Bottle Portage, through the Roland Chain, Argo, Darkwater, Brent, McIntyre, Robinson, Tuck River and we exited Via the BWCA - Horse River ~ Mudro

  (You need to Login or Register

I'm not a fisherperson but I hear Louisa is a great trout lake and just within first night range of PP and pretty high on solitude.

Well I heard there are no fish in the Quetico, lots of people, really overcrowded, and the bugs are bad, and the bears eat people...... :)

SunCatcher

Bill, great idea for a 4 day base camp!  Now I'm thinking a late summer trip to Robinson or Louisa.

I was at Robinson in 2007.  Very clear water, and no one else around (this was the last week of June).  The bugs weren't bad.  We were only there one night, but caught several smallies from the shore.  We saw a Moose on Bart, just over from Robinson. 

wally wrote on Mar 31^st, 2012 at 3:12pm:

Snow Dog hit it for me ...Praire to Agnes...some solitude, lakers and walleye, smallies.  Even push on to Kawnipi for walleyes that offer themselves to you (but less solice). ...Robinson is a gereat idea and you can find some solice there.  I'd paddle in from Horse, or you tow up to Jackfish bay end of tow, or grunt it out and paddle yourself in from Fall lake landing (I'd argue Mudro route is quicker)...I think Mudro to Robinson via Horse river is a doable day if you are experienced, as you say.

I don't understand how you can paddle in from Horse Lake.  Isn't Horse in the BWCA?  I thought you had to pass through a customs ranger station to enter Quetico?

Yeah, you are correct, Rocky.  It's got nothing to do with customs but you have to get a permit from the ranger station.  There's no customs at PP, so the RABC is your ticket into Canada but you still need to get your ticket into the park.

An exit via Horse can be done though.  You have to jump thru the proper hoops on your way in but you can exit any old way you like.

Theoretically, it might be possible to take a motorboat up to PP, pick up your permit, then motor back out and drive around to Mudro or someplace like that to start your trip.  But you'd better make it to the Q on the first day.  I don't really know, though.  Just conjecture on my part.

I heard that sippin' water from a hoof print will make you almost as crazy as drinkin' fracked Ogallala water.    Pardon me,Suncacher knows what I mean.         Would someone please expound on RACB concerns for me?  I seem to be picking up a negative vibe on them. Thanks. :-X

Easy

Paddle in from Horse on a day permit through BW.  You can make canada (moose bay) in 5-6 hrs.

RABC...lets you cross into canada without going through customs.  It is a canadian document that pre-clears you through canadian ports-of-enntry.   Takes 4-6 wks to get one in mail.  It is good for 1 yr.

Q fees are paid in either 2 ways.  Pay an Ely outfitter to drop your fees in the PP box post season.  Or you go up to PP on a tow day before and pay your fees in person.   Probably more ways to do it than that.

You can also pay your Q fees over the phone with a credit card.  Maybe even online?

I would definitely recommend calling the Q office as the reservations people don't know their bums from their elbows.

Louisa does have pretty good lake trout fishing in it, we base camped on the large northerly island last year. Pretty lake and VERY deep. It can be reached from PP in one day, Louisa falls portage can be taxing though. We saw only one canoe go by when we were there.

The S chain is a nice route option as well. It depends on the time of year you are planning on going through, but you can get solitude there and the fishing is pretty good.