This lake is in its final stages (intermittent lake) and is now mostly a large shallow bog. The "lake" is sometimes referred to as the "Howl Swamp". The only part of the lake with sufficient water for paddling a canoe is found right between the two portages linking Howl Lake to Tuscarora Lake and Hubbub Lake. This area of open water exists because of a very large beaver dam that literally extends all the way across Howl Lake. If this beaver dam were washed out, the water in Howl Lake would pour into the western end of the lake, requiring a very mucky portage across the lake bed or perhaps a paddle through much shallower water. This probably happens from time to time so don't expect to have an easy paddle crossing this lake/swamp.
Older maps show the Howl Lake portage as a single 255 rod portage extending right through the lake. Until at least 2006, there was a boardwalk that extended across Howl Lake (Beymer, 2006). This boardwalk fell into disrepair and disappeared sometime after 2006. Most current maps now show the portage as two separate 125 rod portages, interrupted by a short paddle across Howl Lake (or Howl Swamp).
Howl Lake's water flows out a small stream on the west end of the lake down to Tuscarora Lake. What is left of Howl Lake seems to receive some flowage from ponds to the north up around Contest Lake (another intermittent lake).
References:
Beymer, Robert, Boundary Waters Canoe Area – Volume 2 – Eastern Region (Berkeley: Wilderness Press, 2006), 61, 124, 136.
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PADDLING HOWL LAKE FROM THE HUBBUB LAKE PORTAGE TO THE TUSCARORA LAKE PORTAGE
Howl Lake from the Hubbub Lake portage. The Tuscarora Lake portage starts straight across this belt of water at the tree line on the otherside. It is not easily visible from this vantage point, but along the left side of the waterway before you is a beaver dam. This beaver dam extends across the entire lake. Without the beaver dam, this is probably a mud sucking portage of epic proportions. Go Beavers!
From the "middle" of Howl Lake, this is the view to the east of the lakes basin. There isn't a beaver dam looking in this direction.
As you paddle from the Hubbub Lake portage side of Howl Lake over to the Tuscarora Lake portage, you can see that there is a beaver dam extending all the way across the lake (on your left). The marsh grass hides the dam somewhat (grows on top of it in places), but the beavers have built all the way across.
This is the view to the west. You can make out the beaver dam that holds back this water a bit, particularly just right of center of the view.
Standing on the Tuscarora Lake side of Howl Lake. The beaver dam runs all along the front of that grass line extending all the way across the lake. The dam is more obvious when out on the water. Portage to Tuscarora Lake -or- Explore Another Route ***********************************************END OF ROUTE***********************************************
