BIG LAKE CAMPSITES: Campsite 1 (#2099): On the west shore of the lake (this is a BWCA campsite and requires a permit) Campsite 2 (#2029): Middle of largest island (not in the BWCA) Campsite 3 (#2028): On south tip of largest island (not in the BWCA
Campsite 4 (#2098): On the smaller south island (not in the BWCA)
Big Lake is not in the BWCA, so motorboats are allowed. The lake is home to two popular resorts: Big Lake Wilderness Lodge, which is located in the northwestern part of the lake, and Lodge of Whispering Pines. That resort is in the northeast corner of the lake. A number of cabins and homes dot the shoreline of the lake. The southwestern shoreline of the lake, starting just south of Big Lake Wilderness Lodge is the only shoreline along the lake that is in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. It is along this shoreline that you'll find the only official BWCA campsite on Big Lake. This is also the only campsite on the lake not located on an island. Camping at this site requires a BWCA permit. The other three campsites on the lake are standard issue U.S. Forest Service campsites. No permit needed.
Entering the BWCA from Big Lake offers up fairly limited route options. The main impediment is that any extended route will require traversing some extremely long and difficult portages. Big Lake is a difficult paddle when the wind is up, so plan accordingly. It takes about an hour to paddle across the entire lake from the entry point to either the Portage River or to the Lapond Lake portage.
Fishing is decent on this lake, especially for walleye. The Minnesota DNR stocks the lake regularly with walleye fingerlings. Fishing is typically for numbers rather than size in this lake. The water is mildly bog-stained.
There are two obvious inlets and one outlet on Big Lake. The only outlet being a creek that connects Big Lake to the Portage River. This creek is easily navigable and there is no portage required to go from the lake to the river. A small creek flows into the southeast bay of Big Lake from Agassa Lake. Another very small stream feeds the lake along the northern shoreline of the southeast bay. This creek originates at Chorus Lake.
There was a large fire in this area in 1894 that burned through about 65,920 acres. This fire is known as the Chad-Cummings-La Croix Boulder Bay-Crooked Lake Complex. It burned some of the shoreline of Big Lake. Another small fire which furned from June 19 to July 29, 1991 was the Baldpate Fire. This fire consumed 496 acres of mostly jack pine forest about two miles to the northeast of Big Lake. This fire burned in the area previously affected by the 1894 fire (Heinselman, 1999).
Currently much of the shoreline of Big Lake consists of middle-aged Norway pine and some white pine (including some large specimens) (Beymer, 2006).
References:
Beymer, Robert, Boundary Waters Canoe Area – Volume 1 – Western Region (Berkeley: Wilderness Press, 2006), 63, 64, 67, 70.
Heinselman, Miron, The Boundary Waters Wilderness Ecosystem (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1999), 57, 146.
Pauly, Daniel, Exploring the Boundary Waters (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005), 65.
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PADDLING FROM BWCA ENTRY POINT 7 TO CAMPSITE 2029
Big Lake from the canoe landing at BWCA Entry Point 7.
Paddling across a wide open part of Big Lake from the entry point landing to the campsite located near the middle of the lakes largest island.
This is the canoe landing near the middle of the island. Huge campsite with lots of shoreline to roam. Visit the Campsite -or- Explore Another Route ***********************************************END OF ROUTE***********************************************
PADDLING FROM CAMPSITE 2029 TO BWCA CAMPSITE 2099
View from Campsite 2029 mostly toward the east.
Round the south tip of the large island in the north part of the lake and then make from the north tip of the island at the entrance to the southwest bay (where the Lapond Lake portage is located). From that point, paddle west until reaching that shoreline and follow it south to the only BWCA campsite on Big Lake.
View to the northeast. The Big Lake Wilderness Lodge is not far past that point that juts out from the left. The point obscures it. Visit the Campsite -or- Explore Another Route ***********************************************END OF ROUTE***********************************************
PADDLING FROM BWCA CAMPSITE 2099 TO THE LAPOND LAKE PORTAGE
View southeast from BWCA Campsite 2099.
Follow the western shoreline of Big Lake southward, passing the outlet of the creek that connects Big Lake to the Portage River. Make for the Lapond Lake portage, which is just east of the creek outlet at the south end of the southwest bay of Big Lake.
Hmmm, this looks fun. The landing for the Lapond Lake portage. Fortunately, the rest of the portage is rather nice. Portage to Lapond Lake -or- Explore Another Route ***********************************************END OF ROUTE***********************************************
PADDLING FROM THE LAPOND LAKE PORTAGE TO CAMPSITE 2028
View to the north from the Lapond Lake portage. The entrance to the portage river is just to the left, several hundred feet to the west down the shoreline from this point.
Paddling to the north and then northeast until reaching the south tip of the large elongated island in the north part of Big Lake. On the south tip of that island is where you'll find Campsite 2028.
Peering south from the point at the small island to the south/southwest of this campsite. Visit the Campsite -or- Explore Another Route ***********************************************END OF ROUTE***********************************************
PADDLING FROM CAMPSITE 2028 TO THE BWCA ENTRY POINT 7 LANDING
Gazing to the northwest. Big Lake Wilderness Lodge is faintly visible to the far left along the distant shoreline.
Paddle up the east shore of the island and then change your heading to the northwest making for the BWCA Entry Point 7 boat landing. Explore BWCA Entry Point 7 -or- Explore Another Route ***********************************************END OF ROUTE***********************************************
Route Connections for Big Lake
From Big Lake you can portage to Lapond Lake. You can also paddle into the small creek located in the southwest corner of the southwest bay of Big Lake. This creek leads to the Portage River. Go this direction if you are headed to Duck Lake. Finally, you can walk up the road from the BWCA Entry 7 landing on Big Lake to the BWCA Entry Point 19 parking lot. This is the entry point for the Stuart River. From here, you can take the long portage to the Stuart River itself.
