I ahve a question as I travel with my dog.  If I cross the boarder in my car and enter Canada, then travel to say Beaver House.  Do I have to go to the ranger station on Beaver house to enter the Quetico or can I use the paper work I receive from a Ranger station like in Atikokan?

Last year I entered from Nym into Batch - no worries. 

Am I thinking too much?

Bob.

Bob,

You can pick up your permit either at the station in Atikokan or the one At the Dawson Trail office on French Lake or the one on Beaverhouse lake.  They are available as early as the day before and I have used all three in the past to enter at Beaverhouse lake. FYI

Jimbo  8-)

Bob B. wrote on Feb 11^th, 2020 at 9:01pm:

I ahve a question as I travel with my dog.  If I cross the boarder in my car and enter Canada, then travel to say Beaver House.  Do I have to go to the ranger station on Beaver house to enter the Quetico or can I use the paper work I receive from a Ranger station like in Atikokan? Last year I entered from Nym into Batch - no worries.  Am I thinking too much? Bob.

I go in at BH all the time. I only registered ONE time at the BH ranger station and I was NOT impressed with the service at all.
  I come in from the East so stopping in Atikokan is no big deal. Coming from the west it's about 1/2 drive from where you would turn to go to BH entry.

  I think it's worth the drive to go to park HQ in Atikokan. You'll get good service and they KNOW the latest park conditions. If you enter BEFORE the park is open and you haven't registered on-line for that date, you can SELF-REGISTER at the park office.

Another thing is that depending on the time of year, paddling from BH put-in to the Ranger Station is NOT as easy as it may appear BASED on distance?

  The area you have to cross on BH is fairly shallow. When the wind is blowing out of the East/West and pretty good the chop in that area is heavy.

  I've stopped at the BH ranger station on the way OUT a few times. Ranger told me that the previous day they had to take the boat out and rescue 2 canoes that had capsized trying to get to ranger station!

   

I was told that   (You need to Login or Register would pick up your permit for a fee.  If you are coming from the west that would save a lot of time.

To be sure, the title of the thread suggests border crossing and the ranger station and park permit have nothing to do with crossing an international border.

Thanks Bill and all. I have not traveled the Quetico often and never near a ranger station.  It was unclear to me if I had to stop in and register at one and if so how much paper work I needed.

I get it now - should have from the get go - that I do not need to visit if I already have my park paperwork and have previously passed the border.

Thanks again all.

Bob.

Bob
Your last post sounds like you are confused.
You can get a reservation (to get a entry permit on a particular day) by mail.  You cannot get a entry permit by mail.  With a reservation you can pick up your permit the day of entry or the day before your entry from a ranger station or a registered outfitter. Without the entry permit you are not legal in Quetico.

Magic,

I have not typed well at all relative to this thread.  I should never post while at work, too little attention to detail.  I meant to respond that my confusion had more to do with the combo of border crossing and park permits.  I cross at Fort Francis and get permits in Atikokan or through VWP on Nym Lake.

I was unclear if I HAD to use the Ranger station on BH if I had crossed by vehicle in Fort Francis.  I have made my reservations with Atikokan or VWP then picked them up the day I wanted to put in, like you mentioned. 

Sorry I made a mess of this.  I appreciate all responses.

Bob.

The service at BH station has improved.  For a number of years the ranger was ED.  Ed was a very nice man, but had trouble handling the forms and registering could take a half hour.  His daughter now works at the ranger station in BH and she is very competent and helpful.  Last year I was late getting to the ranger station.  She was heading out went she saw my canoe.  She asked if I was going to register that day.  I said that I was late and sorry for getting there after 4 pm.  She took her boat back to the station and waited for me to paddle to the station.  I gave her a small tip for the service.

Yeah, that was Ed Ottertail.  He's a heckuva nice guy, a former Mountie, and was one of the elders over at LLC.  He ran the General Store on the reservation and also did some outfitting (ie. towboat service, shuttle service, etc.).  I used him a few times when my trips took me down towards LLC and got to know him a bit. 

I was surprised when I learned last Spring that Ed "was running the office at Beaverhouse."  No, "administration" would not have been Ed's strong suit.  You could never depend upon him to answer the phone of his "other businesses." More often than not, it was his towboat service that I was looking for and, half the time, it was "having work done on it."  Whenever I actually got hold of him, however, he was always true to his word. 

I ran into some Park rangers in the middle of Quetico many years back.  I think it was the very first time I had used Ed (Quetico Dave had recommended him for an LLC boat shuttle). They asked, "Who will be picking you up at Bell Island?" (for the tow back to the park office at LLC where my vehicle was shuttled). When I mentioned "Ed", they laughed.  One of them said, "You don't actually expect him to remember to pick you up, do you?"  I must admit, that comment gave me pause as my four person party sat on the floating dock at the bottom of the Maligne River, waiting for him.

As it turned out, Ed was late, sure enough, but he DID eventually get there.  During our wait, we actually had something of an adventure (which we would NOT have enjoyed, had he been on time).  The last page of a story I wrote back in 2003 tells the tale (see:   (You need to Login or Register ).  Incidentally, Stu Osthoff of the BWJ "censored" this particular page from my, "Of Inukshuks & a Stroll Through the Park" story, published that year (or the next).  I think you'll see why....

Anyway, I have ALSO heard great things about Ed Ottertail's offspring as park office attendants (both at BH and at LLC).  I met one of them at LLC.  Ed was/is a "character" but he certainly raised his kids well.

I suppose I could write VOLUMES of Ed Ottertail stories but that would just get us more offtrack.

Bottom line: if Ed's kids are manning the desk, you're in good hands!

Jimbo   8-) 

I've read that great tale before Jimbo but it was fun to do it again.
  One of the things that jumped out at me beside the dueling paddler scenario :-? :o ;D ;D, was the mention of filling your water bottles and the freshwater stream behind the BH Ranger station.

  Every time I've been there I did the same thing EXCEPT last time when I stopped to tell the rangers about the floating sunken boat/gas can at the Q put-in.

  I had my water bottles with me and the ranger said DON'T use that artesian spring in back because the water is UNFIT to drink!! :o ;D ;D

  I guess they had it tested. I wonder how long it's been bad or whether it was EVER good in the first place?  :-/