Restroom at Entry Point: Yes (outdoor biffy - campsite style)
Entry Point 20 - Angleworm Lake
Kawishiwi Ranger District
Take Highway 116 (the Echo Trail) from Ely, Minnesota to the Angleworm Lake/Angleworm Lake Trail parking lot. This is 17 miles from Ely.
This is a shared parking lot for Entry Point 20 - Angleworm Lake and Entry Point 21 - Angleworm Trail. BWCA Entry Point 20 is for overnight paddlers. The Angleworm Lake Trail is a loop on a stick trail. Follow the trail/portage to the lake, then loop around the lake on the Angleworm Lake Trail and then come back on the same portage/trail to the parking lot. About a 13 mile hike. Long day hike or a nice weekend backpack.
There is a primitive restroom at this entry point (just like you will find at campsites out in the BWCA). The entry point sees relatively low traffic from paddlers. However it can see a lot of traffic from hikers, particularly on weekends.
It is 716 rods from the parking lot to Angleworm Lake. This is almost two miles. This is one of the longest portages in the entire BWCA. The trail is easy to follow and in good shape. It is also flat in most places with a few minor hills to go up and down. There is a marshy area where the trail crosses Spring Creek, but this has been mitigated with a dual plank wooden crosswalk.
Exploring the Entry Point
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Signage along the Echo Trail road marking the parking lot for the Angleworm Lake Trail (BWCA Entry Point 21) and BWCA Entry Point 20 - Angleworm Lake. Agassa Lake is not a lake in the BWCA. It can be reached by a well-maintained portage of about 160 rods. There is an official U.S. Forest Service campsite (just like you find in the BWCA) on Agassa Lake. No permit needed since the lake is outside the BWCA.
Parking lot for this entry point (September 2020).
Entry point has a fairly small parking lot. It can be overflowing on nice fall weekends when lots of hikers are here. The actual portage starts in the foreground and leads off to your left (September 2015).
This is the bulletin board as of September 2020. Portage starts just to the left of the sign.
A short stroll around the parking lot to see the layout.
The former bulletin board for the entry point (September 2015).
You can barely make out the start of the Angleworm portage just to the left of the bulletin board. This is also of course the start of the Angleworm Lake Trail (old bulletin board shown - September 2015).
