Quetico - Pickerel Lake Loop

Summary
With great camping, world-class fishing and a good mix of large lakes and small bodies of water, this route gives a nice sample of what the northeastern part of Quetico can offer. Because Pickerel is so large and connects with Batchewaung Lake, this is also an area where kayakers can enjoy long stretches of open water and no portages.

Overview
Plan on traveling the day before, and staying at Dawson Trail campground, right next to the ranger station, where you should also plan on picking up your permit the night before. The reason is that Pickerel Lake is large and subject to winds, so you’ll want to get started early in the morning. For those wishing to make a little distance after a day of traveling, consider staying at “The Pines” campground right on Pickerel Lake.

Paddle southwest across Pickerel Lake and take wide sandy portage to Doré Lake then the Deaux Rivières portage to Twin Lakes. Coming out of Twin Lakes, the Deaux Rivières may be low and muddy if it’s late in the season or at low water). The north arm of Sturgeon Lake has fantastic fishing and camping, so this is definitely a place you want to stay.

The portage into Russell Lake bypasses a set of rapids and brings you to a huge campsite at the top of narrows, right before you enter main body of lake. On the other side of Russell is Chatterton Falls, one of the highlights of the trip and a place you’ll definitely want to spend time at exploring. Traveling into Alice and back north to Pickerel to completes the loop. This part of the trip includes the Bonhomme and Savage Portage, which are a whopping 1200 and 1570 meters each! So be ready for a workout! A concrete, man-made dam between Bisk and Pickeral is an unsightly marker that you portage around to bring you back to Pickerel Lake.