Entry Point 1: Trout Lake Daily Quota: 14 Closest Ranger Station: LaCroix Ranger District in Cook Location Trout Lake is accessible from Vermilion Lake. From Ely, follow State Highway 1-169 west through Tower to its junction with County Road (CR) 77, about 4.5 miles west of Tower. Turn right on CR 77 and continue for 12 more miles until you reach the public landing on Moccasin Point. There you will find a large private parking lot operated by Moccasin Point Resort, with gasoline pumps, telephone booth, snack bar and store. A fee is charged to park there. Description Public campgrounds on or near Vermilion Lake's south shore are located at Tower-Soudan State Park, McKinley Park, and Tower Park, all just north of Highway 1-169, just outside of Tower. There is also a National Forest campground at Pfeifer Lake, 10 miles southwest of Tower. Any of these will provide you with a convenient place to spend the night prior to the canoe trip. All are less than 20 miles from the public access to Vermilion Lake. Camping fees are charged at all of them. Trout is the largest lake within in the boundaries of the BWCAW. More than 40 campsites can be found on the lake's 78 miles of shoreline. Throughout these route descriptions, words on a page often are challenged to give a true sense of scale and scope. Keep a current map at hand since the distances between some of these campsites can be significant. To access Trout Lake, you must first cross part of Vermilion Lake. Located near the southwestern corner of the BWCA, Vermilion is a very popular lake, dotted with private cabins and resorts. It is particularly attractive to boaters, many of whom travel into Trout Lake, where there is a 25-horsepower limit on motor size. Motors are not permitted to travel beyond Trout Lake itself. What does all this mean for you? On the one hand, you may encounter some noise and congestion, mostly in the form of motorboats, on Trout Lake. On the other hand, if you are seeking a quick escape to solitude, you can find it at the Trout Lake entry point if you don't mind sharing the first two large lakes with boaters and if you don't stop on Trout Lake itself. You can quickly pass through one of the busiest lakes in the Boundary Waters and into one of the least traveled and most pristine areas in the wilderness, offering as much peace and solitude as anywhere else in the BWCAW. If you can tolerate the first and last days of these two routes, you will surely find a wilderness trip from this entry point to be outstanding. Trout Lake is also one of the most available entry points in the entire BWCAW. The supply of overnight travel permits is usually much greater than the demand for them. If you are looking at the last minute for a good wilderness canoe trip, and most other entry points are filled up, consider Trout Lake as a fine alternative. The Trout Lake area was affected by the 1999 windstorm. In some places more than 50 percent of the trees were knocked flat. Excerpted from Boundary Waters Canoe Area: Western Region by Robert Beymer, Louis Dzierzak All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
