Minnesota

Fall Lake — Superior National Forest

The easiest drive-up springboard into the BWCA. Launch directly from camp for a day paddle, or stage a full wilderness trip with Ely outfitters who tow canoes to the entry points just up the chain.

Voyageurs National Park — Boat-In Lakes

A national park explored only by water. Paddle or motor to island campsites on Rainy, Kabetogama, and Namakan lakes, threading quiet bays and island channels right along the Canadian border.

Bear Head Lake State Park — Ely

Calm, motor-limited flatwater just outside the permit-and-portage Boundary Waters — a natural place to learn to paddle-camp without entering the wilderness. The BWCA begins just to the north; Bear Head is the practice run.

Itasca State Park — Headwaters

Paddle the glassy surface of Lake Itasca, then drift the first narrow yards of the newborn Mississippi where the great river begins its 2,300-mile run to the Gulf — a quietly extraordinary few paddle strokes.

Split Rock Lighthouse State Park

Hike the Superior Hiking Trail along the shoreline beneath the cliff-top lighthouse, with wide-open overlooks stretching down the Lake Superior coast and the Gitchi-Gami State Trail connecting northeast toward Beaver Bay.

Gooseberry Falls State Park

Walk the interlinked trail system past the Upper, Middle, and Lower falls in quick succession, then follow the loop upstream to reach Fifth Falls — a wilder cascade tucked into the birch gorge above.

Tettegouche State Park

Climb to Shovel Point's sheer cliff edge above Lake Superior, then push inland to the High Falls of the Baptism River — the tallest waterfall entirely within Minnesota — on the park's rugged Superior Hiking Trail miles.

Temperance River State Park

Trace the narrow basalt gorge — swirling potholes carved by the river's force — down to Superior's shore, then climb Carlton Peak for the North Shore's finest unobstructed panorama from the summit.

Winnie Campground — Lake Winnibigoshish

Big Winnie is a legendary walleye factory: roughly 58,000 acres of shallow, fertile lake with a boat ramp right from camp. Walleye, yellow perch, and northern pike make it one of Minnesota's most reliably productive big-water fisheries.

Fall Lake — Superior National Forest

Fall Lake itself fishes well for walleye, smallmouth bass, and northern pike from the boat ramp — portage into the BWCA lake chain beyond and lake trout open up in the wilderness water upstream.

Bear Head Lake State Park

A quiet, stocked wilderness-edge lake with a boat ramp and rental boats — productive walleye and panfish water close to Ely, without the permit and portage commitment of the Boundary Waters lakes just to the north.

Jay Cooke State Park — St. Louis River

Cast the wild St. Louis River for smallmouth bass and walleye below the rapids, where the current runs over tilted slate ledges — technical river fishing in a hardwood gorge that most lake-focused anglers overlook entirely.

Voyageurs National Park

Wolves and moose range the park islands, bald eagles nest along the lake shores, loons call at dusk across Rainy and Kabetogama, and the dark northern sky above the Canadian border delivers aurora on clear nights.

Itasca State Park

Old-growth pines shelter white-tailed deer, nesting loons, and rich forest birdlife; the Wilderness Drive at dawn is the best shot at a black bear sighting in the park's quieter north end.

Jay Cooke State Park

A large hardwood forest above the St. Louis River gorge draws migrating warblers and raptors in spring and fall, with beaver dams visible along the quieter interior trails and deer common at the forest edge by dusk.

Winnie Campground — Chippewa National Forest

Bald eagles patrol the big lake in numbers — the Chippewa National Forest supports one of the densest nesting eagle populations in the Lower 48 — with loons and waterfowl crowding the shallow bays throughout the season.