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The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) supports close
to 2,200 campsites. With that in mind, one can only quickly come
to the conclusion that the BWCAW is a camping paradise. There
is no place anywhere east of the Mississippi with as much wilderness
or as many camping opportunities all in one concentrated spot.
Fall
Lake Campground
The vast majority of campsites in the BWCAW are
backcountry sites which require you to obtain an entry permit.
There is one main drive-in campground in the BWCAW, and that is
Fall Lake, which we have covered on it's own page.
Permits are required to enter the Boundary Waters
Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). Self-registering permits are available
for day use, but if you plan on spending the night in the wilderness
and camping you need to have an entry point permit. You can make
a reservation( there really isn't much choice in this or you could
be left out cold) at 1-877-550-6777. There is a $12 nonrefundable
reservation fee and a $32 refundable reservation fee per group.
Permits must be picked up the day before or the day of your planned
entry at Forest Service or permit issuing stations. Also, new
for 2008 are trip fees. For one adult, the fee is $16. For one
"youth: (0-17)the fee is $8. There is also a seasonal fee
card covering multiple trips for $64 per adult, $32 per youth.
This system keeps traffic in flow and creates a "first come,
first serve" campsite system. Keeping entry point numbers
low ensures there will be a nearby open campsite somewhere on
your route. The campsites are logically arranged throughout the
wilderness.
When camping in a large wilderness, you need a good
sleeping bag and a good tent. There is a very popular combo used
by Parkcamper.com, which we highly recommend.
The
Marmot Sawtooth 
is a fantastic 15 degree down bag that will
keep you warm when it counts. It packs fairly light as well. It's
common experience that sleeping bags aren't exactly rated to the
temperature as advertised. With this bag, the rating is right
on the money. A good 15 degree down bag will cover all of the
situations you can run into in the BWCAW spring, summer and fall.
The Mountain Hardwear
Hammerhead 3 
is an amazing 2 person convertible tent with versatility that
will keep it useful even in colder weather. I've been in this
tent under days of severe storms in Glacier
National Park and there wasn't a drop in the tent.
Another must have is of course a good
life jacket. 
Please continue to
Page 2 for some of the rules and regulations of the
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
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