TOWN LAKE CAMPSITES: Campsite 1: (#885) - The only campsite on the lake. It is along the lakes south shore
Town Lake is a single portage off of Cherokee Lake. This portage is marked as 10 rods, but it is harder than that. It requires a 5 rod portage, a short paddle across a pretty pond, and then a 10 rod portage. Once on Town Lake you will be greeted with a fairly large lake stretching west to east. The south side of the lake is buttressed by a slow rising hill. This hill rises up behind the lakes single campsite, which lies near the middle of the south shore of the lake. Town Lake is the least scenic lake along the route between Cherokee Lake and Brule Lake. Fishing is reported to be descent in Town Lake. There are moose in this area, as signs of them were visible along the portage between Town Lake and Vesper Lake. It is the only lake that has a campsite along the route over to Brule Lake. Because of this, you will want to plan accordingly, as traveling will be slower. This is because all the portages from Town Lake to Brule Lake are rugged. Some are really tough, particularly the portage from Town Lake to Vesper Lake. The going may be difficult, but you'll be traveling through a very scenic part of the BWCA that sees few other paddlers.
While not marked on recent BWCA maps, there used to be a maintained portage from the east shore of Town Lake up to Cash Lake. This portage was about 40 rods long and is just south of the creek in the northeast corner of the lake. All but the very southwest shoreline of Cash Lake was burned in a fairly recent forest fire. From Cash Lake there is another former portage leading to the northwest up to Gunstock Lake. This portage was probably about 50 rods long. You can continue all the way up through Cleft Lake and Jay Lake to Ash Lake (assuming you can find the old portages or are willing to bushwhack). The lakes between Cash Lake and Ash Lake were only minimally affected by the forest fire, if at all. Note that you cannot legally camp on any of these lakes north of Town Lake, since they have no designated campsites and they are not in a Primitive Management Area.
Town Lake is fed by several lakes all through small creeks. These lakes are Gunstock Lake, Cash Lake and Vesper Lake. Town Lake itselfs drains to the west into Cherokee Lake through another small creek that spills over a small set of rapids visible from the portage route.
Town Lake was once known as Jay Lake, as noted on maps dated from the mid-1960's or earlier.
References:
Beymer, Robert, Boundary Waters Canoe Area – Volume 2 – Eastern Region (Berkeley: Wilderness Press, 2006), 77.
Pauly, Daniel, Exploring the Boundary Waters (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005), 262.
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PADDLING FROM THE CHEROKEE LAKE PORTAGE TO THE ONLY CAMPSITE ON THE LAKE
Looking east into Town Lake from the Cherokee Lake portage landing.
Setting off from the Cherokee Lake portage, you paddle east on Town Lake staying with the lakes southern shoreline. You reach the lakes only campsite after paddling across about half the lake. You pull up to shore and check it out.
View is toward the northwest from the campsite on the south shore of Town Lake.
Standing at the campsite on the south shoreline of Town Lake. Your gaze is toward the northeast. The formerly maintained portage to Cash Lake is in the notch to left of center.
A full view of Town Lake as seen from the only campsite on the lake. Visit the Campsite -or- Explore Another Route ***********************************************END OF ROUTE***********************************************
PADDLING FROM THE LAKES ONLY CAMPSITE TO THE VESPER LAKE PORTAGE
You bid farewell to Town Lakes campsite and make the short paddle down the shoreline to the Vesper Lake portage.
The portage to Vesper Lake can be found in the shallow southeast part of Town Lake. Before hitting the portage, you take in the view down the south shore of Town Lake toward the west. There used to be a maintained portage to Cash Lake about 400 feet north of the Vesper Lake portage. There is a small creek that trickles in just north of the old Cash Lake portage. So if you paddle up to that creek from the Vesper Lake portage, you have passed the Cash Lake portage (bushwhack). The condition of that portage is unknown, but expect a lot of blowdown. The Minnesota DNR used this portage to do a fish survey of Cash Lake in July 1990. There used to be portages to the lakes north of Cash Lake too. Portage to Vesper Lake -or- Explore Another Route ***********************************************END OF ROUTE***********************************************
