The Portage between Poplar Lake and Skipper Lake

Portaging Direction: From Poplar Lake to Skipper Lake

You can stand in the water easily enough here, as long as you pull in close to shore. The lake bottom is solid. You must lift gear up a bit onto the rocks.

This is a long portage, but the trail is in great condition. The path gains about 20 feet near the start as it pulls away from Poplar Lake. After that it is mostly level. However near the middle there a slow, but perceptible gain in elevation of about 50 more feet over a 500 foot stretch of trail. The rest of the trail is flat to Skipper Lake. There are some large trees and evidence of the 2010 fire along the trail. This fire was a prescribed burn used to clear blowdown that was the result of the July 4, 1999 windstorm.

A large table rock serves as the landing at Skipper Lake.

Now that you've made it over the portage, visit: SKIPPER LAKE

Portaging Direction: From Skipper Lake to Poplar Lake

Easy put-in/take-out on this side of the portage.

This portage is mostly level, but there is a downhill section going in this direction near the middle. The portage passes through an area that was subjected to a prescribed burn in 2010. Other than its length (just shy of one mile), this is a relatively easy carry.

The landing as you come down a short slope to the shore of Poplar Lake. It gets deep, deep enough anyway, just beyond those rocks you see in the water.

Now that you've made it over the portage, visit: POPLAR LAKE

Return to the BWCA Portage List