Wood Lake to Basswood Lake

This trip heads up from Wood Lake through small neighboring lakes to Hoist Bay on Basswood Lake, where you have many opportunities to fish and explore its many bays and islands.

Detailed Route Info

From the Wood Lake parking lot take the gently rolling trail down to the lake. A fine bridge extends over the one extensive low area, and a second smaller bridge crosses a small intermittent stream.

On Wood Lake you can either stay at one of the five campsites or head to Hula Lake. The portage over to Hula is generally in good shape but the 150-rod portage to Good Lake is soft-bottomed and can become a mud pit during the spring or wet periods. The same goes for the portage over to Hoist Bay. A shorter portage leads out of the west side of Good Bay, but is sometimes impassable due to low water levels.

Once on Basswood you can either paddle west into Back Bay or east toward Lincoln Island. The majority of campsites are located to the east, although this huge lake has good campsites scattered in every direction. Basswood Lake looms large in the history of the Boundary Waters, and is a favorite destination for many paddlers.

After exploring this big lake, paddle and portage back to the Wood Lake parking lot, which includes portages of 87 rods, 150 rods, 51 rods, and 180 rods.

*Route information provided courtesy of Dan Pauly, and have been modified from his book, Exploring the Boundary Waters: A Trip Planner and Guide to the BWCAW. University of Minnesota Press, 2004