Lower Arrow Lake 3
There is a benchmark on the nroth end of this lake as shown on MN DNR lake map. There used to be a campsite on this lakes west shoreline (just north of the middle of the lake), but it was probably obliterated during the fire. This is the deepest of the three Arrow Lakes.
This area was scorched by the 2011 Pagami Creek Fire that burned much of the southwestern part of the BWCA and was the largest fire in recorded history at about 100,000 acres (almost 10% of the entire BWCA).
There was a large fire in this area around 1863-1864. This fire is known as the North Kawishiwi River/Alice Lake/Cypress Lake/Saganaga Lake Complex. This burn began south of the current BWCAW's southern boundary near the town of Isabella, Minnesota.
Approach to Lower Arrow Lake (Arrow Lake 3)
You get here by starting in Lake Insula, traveling upstream, south along Arrow Creek. When you reach Middle Arrow Lake (Arrow Lake 2), continue south along Arrow Creek toward Lower Arrow Lake (Arrow Lake 3).
Bushwhack to Lower Arrow Lake (Arrow Lake 3)
This bushwhack consists of paddling along Arrow Creek. There will likely be obstructions to negotiate, but the route is obvious.
Exploring Lower Arrow Lake (Arrow Lake 3)
There used to be a backpackers campsite along the west shore of this lake. What is interesting is that there was never a hiking trail leading to Lower Arrow Lake (Arrow Lake 3). This backpacker campsite is shown on the 1993 Fisher F-4 map. It is possible that the icon was meant to be a circle (canoeist campsite) instead of the shown triangle (backpacker campsite). The Powwow Trail spur does pass fairly close to the south end of this lake, but it is over half a mile from the shown campsite icon.
There is a U.S. Geological Survey benchmark on the highest point of a 20 foot square ledge rock island, 90 feet west of a larger island in the very north end of the lake.
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