West Pipe Lake
Tofte Ranger District
West Pipe Lake is a very shallow lake and seldom visited lake that is part of the "Pipe" chain of lakes. That chain of lakes consists (from west to east) of Stem Lake, Tobacco Lake, West Pipe Lake, Pipe Lake and East Pipe Lake. The lake can be tough to paddle if the water levels are low since it fills up with aquatic vegetation. It may be possible to follow Pipe Creek a short distance west to Tobacco Lake if water levels are high, otherwise you will have to bushwhack it if you're interested in being one of the few people to ever see that lake.
Only really old maps show the portage between Pipe Lake and West Pipe Lake which is no longer maintained. The portage is still there, but it can be a bit difficult to follow since it is so overgrown. Recommend bringing a compass/GPS with you if you venture it.
Pipe Lake and West Pipe Lake are not connected. Water from Pipe Lake flows to the east into East Pipe Lake and water from West Pipe Lake flows west through Pipe Creek into Tobacco Lake. West Pipe Lake is the source of Pipe Creek. Pipe Creek flows generally west for about 2.7-miles until it flows into the north end of Kelly Lake (which is part of the Temperance River).
Exploring West Pipe Lake
Routes to locations on West Pipe Lake are shown below:
No routes defined yet!
Click on the photos below to see the full resolution image - Use your browsers back button to close photo and return to this page.
Standing on a peat bog looking west from the Pipe Lake portage.
View is to the west. You can probably see about 80% of the lake from this location.
View towards the northwest from the Pipe Lake portage.
This view is towards the southwest.
Looking south in this image.
Another picture looking towards the south.
Route Connections for West Pipe Lake
From West Pipe Lake, you can portage to Pipe Lake or you can paddle a small creek (this is actually Pipe Creek) to Tobacco Lake, assuming the water is high enough. Otherwise you will have to bushwhack over to that little lake.
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