I've taken several trips into Quetico, but never been further west than Sarah. I have a large party that wants to go this year, and was thinking we might try Robinson as a destination. Does it get crowded on Robinson or would I expect to find the same numbers there I might find on Brent or McIntyre?

Thanks,

Alan

Timing is everything. I went thru Sarah/McIntyre in mid-May and the parts I were on were empty except for one tandem canoe on Sarah. Passed thru Robinson saw 1 tandem canoe.

There are about 10 campsites on Robinson according to the Paddle Planner but many more on Sarah and McIntyre.

I'd plan away but be ready to go into McIntyre IF you need too.

Just 2 cents worth here.  I have passed through McIntyre 4 times, and camped there one of those times.   Fishing was good, wind was horrible.  The trips were different seasons and the travel various times of day, and always an unrelenting wind from the South.  Maybe just my bad luck.

MB

Welcome aboard to QJ! 8-)

Rob is a pretty lake and is mostly a pass through. The north end doesn’t see much traffic. It has lakers, waldos, bass, and northerns. There’s 2 or 3 really nice camps. I think it could be a fun destination lake. McIntyre is a great option also. 8-) Deer is a sleeper.

Don’t know where you live, but if you’re coming to Copia, check out our gatherings and we can mark your maps.

Some people talk about going there a lot.  I stayed one night on an island in the north and didn't fish it.  I think it would be good to basecamp at.  If the wind is up there's some daytripping to smaller lakes in the neighborhood. There's Cecil to the east and you also could daytrip a loop into Bart to the west.

What month are you intending on doing this? I doubt you would have trouble finding a site, but I usually go in late August and September.

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There's Cecil to the east

I came out thru Cecil to Robinson. You'd really have to want to WORK on a day trip to go there via Robinson  ;) ;D ;D

Getting into Cecil via McIntyre is the easy way to go.

Thank you all for the replies! We're going to be there in early August, if all goes well, we'd land in Robinson on 8-2. We're probably going to be 8 strong this year, and we'd like to be close enough to eat dinner together, but don't want to overload a campsite if we can possibly help it.


I'm from Oklahoma, so the Copia is probably not something I can make, but if I did, I'd look you guys up!

The island on the north end of Robinson has two campsites on the south end.  They are close enough to walk from one to the other.  Might be worth checking for your group.

dd

DentonDoc wrote on Feb 9^th, 2019 at 4:50am:

The island on the north end of Robinson has two campsites on the south end.  They are close enough to walk from one to the other.  Might be worth checking for your group. dd

This could be where I stayed in 2011.  It's very large.

The biggest island on Robinson (north central area) has one beautiful, roomy campsite with both beach and deep water areas of shoreline.  Faces southeast.  Also campable on west side of same island on flatish rock area and is a short easy walk across island between them.  It is one of my favorite lakes and campsites.  I've been there several times and do not recall seeing many people.  I usually exit out the south end into Moose Bay off of Basswood River.

I also agree that the campsite on the big island is the way to go for a large group. Less traffic on the north part of the lake; most people pass through from Cecil or Tuck on the way to Moose Bay or Bart (or the other way). Beautiful clear water lake, I often spend the last night (sometimes first night) of my trips on Robinson and have quite often had it to myself. One of the finest exit lakes in the park (through Moose Bay to Mudro, have also done it through Kett to Moose Lake but that is not recommended). McIntyre Creek route to McIntyre and back through Cecil would be a fun unburdened day trip. Another good day trip would be through Kett to Tuck and back through Cecil (beautiful route!). Also possible to visit Ted through the unmarked and largely untracked "cooler" portage along the stream to "Little Ted".

Photo is looking north to the island that holds the big camp.

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Our outfitter has recommended the exit south down the Horse River to Mudro. I haven't done it, but I'm going to pitch it to the group. He assures me it's a one day trip out at around 14 miles.

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He assures me it's a one day trip out at around 14 miles.

8 people, 4 canoes, your only as fast as the slowest paddler/portager, that MIGHT be the toughest 14 miles you ever traveled.  ;) ;D ;D

Now you're scaring me solotripper! :) We did make it back to Prairie Portage from the island camp on the south end of Sarah last year, but this old man was pretty tired. Would this trip be worse?

goblu79 wrote on Feb 9^th, 2019 at 11:14pm:

Now you're scaring me solotripper! :) We did make it back to Prairie Portage from the island camp on the south end of Sarah last year, but this old man was pretty tired. Would this trip be worse?

I have NEVER been that way but looking at the route, I think it would greatly depend on how fast you move as a group and how efficient you portage.

I travel solo, did my FUBAR trip at 69 and made pretty decent time. 14 miles just paddling is one thing, multiple portages in something else entirely.

Then again you might have a crew that is up for the challenge? I just wouldn't plan it as a MUST get out that day trip?

Figure seven hours of paddling and portaging from Robinson up (not down) the Horse to Mudro- double portaging and steady but not crazed progress.

You guys have been super helpful. This bunch will have it's first meeting to discuss the trip in a few weeks and I feel like I can adequately describe the options. It's nice to have access to the collective wisdom of this place!

Solus, how does that work with permits when entering at Mudro but spending time in the Q?  Do you need 2 permits is all?  Maybe just a day permit for the BW for both entry and exit days?

The way to do it is to enter at PP do a tow to the Back bay portage to Pipestone bay. Have a Basswood River permit. Follow to Moose bay. On the exit, don’t plan to camp in bwca. The outfitters doing the tow will here the permit. 8-)

Thanks OS.  Don't you still need a day pass at least for exit day?  Also, I think Solus enters from there as well.  I could be wrong.

If you’re just passing through, no. If you want to camp, yes. Don’t forget your customs stop. 8-)

A couple of additional random Robinson thoughts.  I do a poor job of taking notes, so if my memory in in error, please correct me.

I have come out by the Horse River to Sandpit and Mudro several times, but generally did not enjoy it much. With the exception of the Chain Saw Sisters Saloon being at the pickup point parking lot.

I also believe a campsite on the North end of Robinson was the one Sigurd Olson referred to in one of his books as his favorite in the entire Quetico.  I believe it was directly West of Gardner Mountain, with a sand beach and tent pads nearly at water level. 

There was a walking path to another site just South that might work well for splitting up your large group.  I think the site may be K3 on PP.  We caught some nice Lakers in the N/S channel near the camp.

Corrections welcomed.
MB

I've only done the Mudro route a couple of times.  As a solo with kayak and with lots of small packs that need to be stowed in a larger one for portaging it is SLOW for me.  Several short portages on the route.   Took me all day to get to lower Basswood Falls and there can be additional canoe party traffic that slows you down too.  I have come in on the Fall lake route and gotten to Upper Basswood Falls in one day.  With a tow to Prairie Portage you can probably also make UBF in one day, it would be an all paddling day.  Good campsites near Upper Basswood Falls.

Regarding permits:  I have heard I shouldn't do it....but I get one BWCA permit to cover the whole time I will be out and get the Canadian permit at PP for the days I will be in Q.  With the additional RABC permit I can feel comfortable crossing the "border" at will on Basswood, Crooked, Knife, etc. and not be worried about camping in BWCA if conditions require it.  ;)

So, I'm thinking that with a Basswood River permit (and RABC) you could enter and exit through Mudro/Horse River and as long as you don't camp in the BW you don't need any more permits.

I think coming and going this way would be more portaging than coming from the border route but with the Basswood Lake route and a tow from PP you risk the wind stranding you on day 1.

The "trick" is getting the Q permit from PP without actually going to Prairie Portage.  The only alternative I can think of is to send one or more of your party up there via a tow to pick up and pay for the Q permit and then back to US mainland to start out elsewhere (everyone still needs an RABC).  Last time I went into Q ( 3 summers ago) they offered to sell me an RABC on the spot, rather than having to order it through the mail.  I assume they still do that  :-/  To answer your camping question...yes, as long as you stay off-shore you can paddle both sides of border with an RABC.  Not sure how that relates to being able to fish Canadian waters...I do not fish.
You are correct that wind could strand a canoe party but with a cockpit cover kayaking is not an issue in the wind, just more work if you are heading into it.

I have managed the Robinson entry a number of ways. A few times I've convinced Canadian authorities to jus let me enter the park (out of season) via Mudro. They were reluctant but I explained how close the entry was to my house and they relented. I have paddled up to PP and dumped my deposit in the box and left with a permit the day before. I have added cash to the self-permitting station after my trip.

To get a RABC on the spot you need to go to a Canadian Customs station. To my knowledge the only station near the park is at Crane or LaCroix on the west end. Quetico Park personnel have no customs duties or authority..

For the B-dub I just fill out two self-issue permits- a day permit for the day I enter the park and a entry point #30 (entry from Canada) for the day I leave.

Offhand I think the journey from Robinson to Mudro is greater the 14 miles.

I have visited the site referenced by Mossback on the north end of Robinson. It is at a pinch- a level  sandy point with nice trees that makes a narrows with a couple of islands closing the pinch. Nice location though a touch beaten down. Great fishing in the area. The aforementioned island site has more space, but there is plenty of flat tent spots on 'Sigs" site.

TomT, I was thinking of entering through Mudro to short cut to Argo last summer and talked extensively to my outfitter about it.  Q permits (Basswood River) are available on-line/via outfitters, RABC's via mail - as you well know.  It's the camping fees you need to pay at the ranger station.  They were going to let me ride a tow up/back to PP and pay the camping fees the day before the entry permit, said they do that somewhat frequently with no issues.  This is a lot like Solus described, but would have been in season.  For the BW, they said just a day permit, unless camping overnight.  It would have been a BIG stretch to get up through Friday Bay and the border in one day and you'd need a crack crew.  Robinson would be more do-able for sure.  We ended up going in via McAree on a Crane Lake tow.  There was a bit more money involved in doing that one.  Several ways to fillet that fish - as the rest have alluded to - some just involve more money.

pd

??? While we are on this subject I have wondered if you can pick up and pay for a Q permit BUT make your entry date for a day or a few LATER than the day you actually have paid for it?  As for instance it might take a day or three in BWCA before you get to your planned Q entry location.  ???

Going in to Q on the North side I usually pick up the permit the day before I go in.

Thank you MP.  I guess I knew that...temporarily forgot since I usually go into Q the same day I get the permit.  BUT I am wondering about...say I go to pick up and pay on the 10th but do not want to actually set foot into the Q until the 15th.  Will they issue ahead to accomodate my plans??

IC,

I think you'd be wise to talk it through with someone in the Quetico Park office.  I believe they'll want to know that you are "making reasonable progress from wherever you enter the park systems to your actual entry point."  At least THAT's how that worded to me, sixteen years ago, under similar (but not exactly the same) circumstances.  Here is what happened.

I accessed Quetico via Beaverhouse (before Beaverhouse was technically an official part of the park, I believe; anyway, there was/is no permit for "Beaverhouse").  I wanted my actual "entry point" to be Three Mile Lake.  The usual way to do that is to hire a local outfitter to run you down to Three Mile via Flanders road (they dump you off at Wisa Lake).  I've done it that way before.  This particular trip, however, I wanted to camp a couple nights on the west end of Beaverhouse, then paddle down the Quetico and Namakan rivers to Three Mile Lake.  So, I asked the folks at the Atikokan Office for a entry permit dated three days later.   

They didn't want to let me do it that way.  I asked, "How, then, SHOULD I do it?"  They huddled up and came back to me with a permit  dated for that very day... and then asked me to make "reasonable progress" from Beaverhouse to Three Mile Lake.  "Reasonable progress" went undefined, so I said no more about my intent to camp a couple nights on Beaverhouse.  Clearly, they did not want me "making waves."  Maybe they just wanted "park fees" for those three days. Anyway, they opted to play Sergeant Schultz, seemingly preferring to "know nothing" about what I actually did. 

My opinion?  While there's a chance this still could be a gray area in park policy, I suspect they'll issue you the permit for the date you want IF you explain your situation. There must be dozens of folks who do this every year (either individually or through outfitters).  I've got to believe there's a way to handle it.

Jimbo   8-)

If and when I go into Quetico again (I hate paying $15+ dollars nightly, to sleep on THEIR rocks when I am not even on their rocks!)  Hmmmm.....I wonder if they have a senior citizen's discount?  Perhaps a frequent paddler discount?....Probably not.  Thanks for the input Jimbo  :)

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I wonder if they have a senior citizen's discount?

  I consider the BIG difference between the US and Canadian dollar a discount.
15 CA is about 11.25 US.
You guys that can drive into the Q and out again on ONE tank of US gas make out too. You fill your gas tank in CA, you'll have sticker shock the first time.  :o :'( :'(

You have a couple persuasive points raised...unfortunately at PP the Q entry fee is closer to $20.00 per night so I was thinking of the "discount".  I've also found the BWCA border areas are not too busy (except in a few spots) so the feel of being in the wilderness is still there; and for me with old age discount card, etc. my BW permit cost is only $8.00 for the entire 2-3 week trip  8-)

One other question for you guys. Since our group is going to be fairly large, I'm looking into alternate sites for us. Has anyone stayed on the campsites in the middle of Tuck Lake?

We were exitting via Sandpit/Mudro, coming from Sarah.  We stopped to spend our last night at a campsite the south end of Moose bay.  It was horrible, very buggy.  So we did some exploring and moved to a campsite just down river a little on basswood.  From that site, the exit through to chain saw was a reasonable exit day for us.  I would not have liked to have done it starting from Robinson, but we are relative wimps with repsect to making distance, compared to some on here.

If camping in the basswoord area the last night and particularly with a large group, it might be nice to have a BWCA overnight permit in case having a few more camping options on basswood come in handy.

goblu79 wrote on May 8^th, 2019 at 10:04pm:

One other question for you guys. Since our group is going to be fairly large, I'm looking into alternate sites for us. Has anyone stayed on the campsites in the middle of Tuck Lake?

If you don't get any responses here, go to PaddlePlanner look there. They have those campsites you mentioned and reviews of people who used them.

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Thank you Solotripper! I've looked over those on Paddleplanner, and there are some reviews (from Joe Schmeaux I think).

Camp L5 on Tuck could accommodate a large group. Site is high above the water on a large flat area atop a twenty foot cliff. Great, dramatic views. Numerous tent sites. Best landing access is to the north of the site. Good swimming off of ledge rock close to the water some 100 yards south of the main site. Only drawback to the site (beside the steep scramble up the slope to get there) is that the woods are so thick behind the campsite that using the "facilities" can be a bit of an ordeal.

On Robinson HN and HV are average sites capable of handling large groups. J9 is a beautiful site also capable of large groups. JR is an extended site or multiple sites- the main location is on the bump on the east side of the island not at the southern tip. This is the best site for large groups on Robinson. It is vast. Also a very pleasant site, especially for a big group.

The site GN on Moose Bay is well used with dramatic elevated view across Moose Bay. Good place for big groups. Room to roam. A note that Azalea means Crooked Lake rather than Basswood Lake in his post. I routinely spend my last night on Robinson (or first night in the  off season) when exiting via Mudro. It is about 7 hours of travel at moderate pace double portaging from the middle of Robinson to Mudro landing.

Solus wrote on May 14^th, 2019 at 9:39pm:

A note that Azeaea means Crooked Lake rather than Basswood Lake in his post.

I am not sure where Crooked officially ends and Bassword River begins.  To me, the waterway below moose is narrow like a river, so I consider it part of Bassword River.

azalea wrote on May 16^th, 2019 at 4:59pm:

I am not sure where Crooked officially ends and Bassword River begins.  To me, the waterway below moose is narrow like a river, so I consider it part of Bassword River.

Sorry. A misread. Rivers typically are preceded by a definite article in shorthand speak eg. "The Mississippi" or "The Basswood"- lakes are unadorned.