Well, I just got my BH/Quetico Lake permit for a put-in Aug 7.  (I've never been this late getting a permit, but got it easily even for a peak-season Saturday!)

I'd originally planned to go Stanton Bay thru the B-chain to Oliphaunt & somehow out Walter/Jesse, etc.  With just me & my 3 kids going, I wanted easy/medium/hard route options.  "Easy" was to bail out thru Deux Riviers -- but I hear that's a 2 hour mud-slog, so that was enough to tip me over to my other close-contender route, BH-Nym.

We'll be doing a late afternoon put-in @ BH so:
- any recommended campsites in the western end of Quetico Lake? (Goal is to make it east of Eden Island into the narrow section.)  Backup options?  This is a 1-night site, so a premium site is not needed.
- do you still need to check in at the Ranger Station on BH?  (I haven't been there since 1989.)

Other thoughts:
I think the easy/Medium/Hard options are:
Easy: Jean & backtrack to Oriana/Jesse
Medium: Burntside/Rouge/Jean Creek/Lonely Creek/Walter, etc.
Hard: Yeh-Lonely

I could be wrong about ranking these & would like to know why (creek levels / portage conditions, etc...)

This is an 7-night trip w/a short first day.  My canoe will have my strong-but-not-big 12-yr old in front (his 2nd trip, but first as a primary paddler), so I'll be doing extra work & probably be slow on the water.  The other canoe will be 20 & 16 yr old - both strong & their 4th & 3rd trips.

Any "don't miss" stuff right along the route like pictos or great cliff jumping spots?  PM's on fishing spots would be cool too!

Thanks in advance!

-Tom

PS: thanks for all the advice on the route I'm now not using too!  It'll get used another time...

You either have to check in at the Beaverhouse ranger station or the headquarters in Atikokan.  If you check in at Atikokan,  they radio to the ranger station when they expect you to arrive, color of canoes and number.  They watch you go in.  Have a great trip,  going there on the 17th of July.  Been through there many times.  Great pictographs (4 sites) all worth it.  Caribou, otter rising out of the water, hand smears etc.   If you want to see them all, head north before Eden island and you can paddle the north shore of Quetcio lake and see them all.  Kim

You can also check in at the Dawson Trail pavilion on French Lake anytime after 2 pm on the day before your put-in. It's a half-hour drive east of Atikokan (maybe out of your way), but the Atikokan office closes in late afternoon (4 or 4:30), while the Dawson Trail info centre stays open until (I think) 7:30 pm.

You really do want to pick up your permit  in either Atikokan or at Dawson Trail the day before you go in. Not only is the Beaverhouse station a bit out of the way, but you also run the risk of arriving after a big group, and having to sit and wait while their paperwork gets done.

Greetings, Tom.
We have been in that area many, many times.
There are at least 4 camp sites on the east end of Beaverhouse that you can use for backups. 2 of them are west facing beach sites, one is on the large Island east of the ranger and 1 is on the west facing point on the N shore near the Q river. On Q lake, there are quite a few sites in the Eden Island vicinity. Think E and W facing points. Once you get beyond the Eden Island area, there are just a couple of sites in the narrow part of Q lake, until you get towards the East end of the lake.
Another route option would be to go up into Cirrus then Kasakokwog to McAlpine to Pickerel. Sue falls would be a don't miss on this route. There are some good cliffs on Cirrus with deep water under them for jumping off of. I have graphed 300 feet of water in Cirrus Lake. (Deep enough to drown in.)( My kids used to freak out when I told them about really deep water that we were passing over. )
Fishing is great on Cirrus as well as most of the lakes in that area. Lakers in Beaverhouse, Q, Cirrus.
Port between Cirrus and Kasakokwog is fairly long and hard, good size hill. There are some nice sites on Kasakokwog. Traveling W to E, should give you tail winds on the large lakes. The nice thing about Cirrus is that it is off the main travel routes that are heading east. We spent 3 nights on the middle section of Cirrus in July 2008 and saw not one canoe.
All of the various route options that you mentioned, I have done with my wife and kids. Some of them the kids were very young and we did fine. Burntside and Lonely are a couple of our personal favorites. Good fishing, nice camps with views....
Tom, whatever route that you choose, your group will do fine.
Take your time and let the 12 year old set the pace, you will have fun.
Have a great time.
GeneM

Tom,
your logic works for me. I would agree with your assesment of the 3 routes. I have done them all and based on your group, you have probably ranked the routes correctly.
Have fun.
GeneM