Editor 
Ten days after wildfires closed the entire BWCAW, the Forest Service is reopening day-use access at select entry points starting Monday, July 27. Overnight camping could partially resume next week if the weekend brings no major fire activity.
Check this page for daily updates: extreme fire conditions drove explosive growth across the forest, wilderness fires have crossed the international border into Canada, and crossed into Minnesota from Canada, according to the Forest Service and MNICS.
BWCAW permits are cancelled through July 24, and the closure order now formally runs through October 1, or until rescinded. The Forest Service said this week that it is assessing opportunities to reduce the closure in areas where conditions allow.
Citing continued dry conditions and wildfire activity, the Superior National Forest is issuing an Emergency Forest Order banning campfires within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), effective 12:01 a.m. Saturday, July 11, 2026, until rescinded.
The Forest Service estimates the Little Knife Fire at 6,000 acres on the US side, part of a fire totaling about 30,000 acres.
Quetico Provincial Park has closed Dawson Trail Campground due to nearby forest fire activity, according to the park’s alerts page. All backcountry entry stations are also closed.
The USDA Forest Service is closing public access to portions of the BWCAW to protect public health and safety. One order closes three wildfire areas surrounding the Bear Trap, Thumb, and Wolfpack fires in the LaCroix Ranger District, affecting 13 entry points; a second closes 15 lakes in the northwestern Gunflint Ranger District, effective July 12, due to a wildfire in Quetico Provincial Park.
Quetico Provincial Park has evacuated and shut down a sweep of lakes across its north end as forest fire FOR015 sends smoke — at times heavy enough to degrade air quality — over the park.
A small wildfire detected in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness last week is now fully contained, the Superior National Forest said in its final update on the fire July 5.
A wildfire broke out on the afternoon of June 1 near Burntside Lake. Driven by hot, dry conditions and light southeast winds, it spread quickly to an estimated 30 acres by evening.
A love letter to Gitchi-Gami, and a lyrical new addition to northwoods children’s books. Created by two artists with deep roots in the Lake Superior region, the book celebrates the landscape, wildlife, and heritage surrounding the big lake.
A rapidly spreading wildfire northeast of Two Harbors has forced mandatory evacuations, damaged structures, and closed a major stretch of Highway 61. Driven by dry conditions and high winds that sparked fires across the region, crews are working to contain the Stewart Trail Fire. Here is what wilderness travelers and North Shore visitors need to know.
We eagerly await each year’s announcement from the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness—images that capture the people, seasons, and quiet moments defining canoe country, and remind us why this landscape deserves protection.
The fight to protect the Boundary Waters has reached a critical turning point. Following a Day of Action at the Minnesota State Capitol, all eyes are now on the U.S. Senate…
A recent analysis of lake trout and walleye from the EPA’s Duluth laboratory reveals a rare environmental bright spot: PFAS levels in Great Lakes fish have declined significantly since the late 2000s. While Lake Superior can take almost two centuries to ‘flush,’ this study suggests the biological food web is responding much faster to industrial phase-outs than previously thought.
A federal judge has ruled in favor of the U.S. Forest Service in a lawsuit over motorized towboat use in the Boundary Waters, bringing a resolution to the legal challenge filed …
Does the government shutdown have you worried about your travel plans? If you’re heading to Minnesota’s North Shore and Boundary Waters region, you’re right to wonder how it might affect your trip.
A fire detected September 10 is burning on an island of Wood Lake within the BWCAW, partially contained, according to the USDA Forest Service. The fire is suspected to be human-caused and is burning in an area that is difficult to access. Some portages, lakes and entry points are closed.
September 3 marks the anniversary of The Wilderness Act of 1964, a landmark piece of legislation in American conservation history, which established a national policy to protect wilderness areas for future generations. The act included protections for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, which is not only the largest wilderness area east of the Rockies, but also the most widely used.
A 72-acre prescribed burn was in progress just south of the BWCA, and declared a wildfire when a spot fire started beyond the planned burn area.