Bear Head Lake – a wilderness experience with the comforts of a state park
Paddle, fish, hike, canoe-in or stay in a camper cabin, and enjoy a Boundary Waters landscape with state park amenities.
BWCA
Forest Service finalizes BWCAW entry point permit cuts
After pressure on lakes and campsites in recent years, the Forest Service decided to cut about 37 BWCAW permits per day across 27 entry points.
Boundary Waters Wildfires 2021
Superior Hiking Trail closed, Boundary Waters closed due to fires. Updated maps, photos from fires in Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Superior National Forest as official information is available. Greenwood Fire grows, Moose Lake Fire detected…
Fires force full Boundary Waters closure for first time in 45 years
Forest Service shuts down wilderness area as large wildfires burn and drought continues, efforts to find visitors by canoe, float plane.
Walter Mondale – a legacy of wilderness protection
An influential advocate for protecting northern Minnesota’s natural treasures, instrumental in Voyageurs National Park and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area we know today.
Forest Service changes Boundary Waters permit process to increase Leave No Trace awareness
Permit holders will be required to receive training this year to help prevent problems seen last summer.
Icy Wonderland
“I could hear the ice shattering like panes of glass as it came ashore… One moment you can see an endless expanse of skim ice and with a shift of the wind it can be gone, waves lapping the shoreline – sculpting ice as far as the eye can see.”
Path of the Paddle traces route along Canadian wilderness waters
Over 680 miles of canoe route through northwestern Ontario from Thunder Bay on Lake Superior to Whiteshell Provincial Park in Manitoba.
Orchids of the Northwoods – Lady’s Slippers and beyond
“It all began by happenstance…The trail was overgrown, littered with fallen boles, when I noticed a glimmering iridescence unlike anything I had seen before. I had stumbled upon on one of Minnesota’s most common orchid species, the stemless (pink) lady’s slipper, glimmering with rain drops…”
Boreal Birding in the Bogs of Northern Minnesota
The sun casts its auburn spell on the red osier dogwood of a sedge meadow…we head to a bog that attracts many boreal winter birds to the area, particularly in Cook, Minnesota. Why do they come to the bog? How do they live here? What attracts birds to this habitat in northern Minnesota?
Microplastics found in Boundary Waters may threaten wilderness wildlife
Researchers find plastic particles at numerous sites in the wilderness, confirming another way humans are affecting the wilderness and its ecosystem.
Choose Your Own Adventure – Fall Hike on the Upper Gunflint Trail
A fall hike along the edge of the Boundary Waters. Ada Igoe shares one of her favorite trails, easily accessible from the Gunflint, on marked ski trails through aspen and jackpine to incredible vistas…
Wilderness Voices: Kelly Beaster
“While I create each drawing, I get to re-visit past trips and adventures, and I notice things from the drawing itself that I didn’t from the photograph, details that were always there, but the drawing has brought out new details…”
Wilderness Voices: Travis Novitsky
“Some of my most unforgettable moments are sitting on the shores of a boreal forest lake on a calm night with no wind, watching the northern lights dance overhead while the haunting calls of loons echo across the water.”
Teenagers invited to enter wilderness essay contest for a chance to win a “no parents” Boundary Waters trip
An essay contest for high school students seeks to encourage outdoor experiences and promote paddling to a new generation.
Winter Patrol in the Boundary Waters
How is the BWCAW patrolled in the winter? When snow covers Boundary Waters lakes and portages, wilderness rangers turn to sled dogs, snowshoes, and cross-country skis to complete their work…
Somali youth explore winter in the BWCAW
A collaboration between Wilderness Inquiry and youth advocacy group Ka Joog takes kids into the Boundary Waters to share new experiences…
Environmental groups sue to stop PolyMet, strengthen Minnesota mining regulations
Eight organizations file lawsuits to challenge permits for the state’s first copper mine and revise rules.
The Banadad Ski Trail – from historic logging road to winter wilderness experience
Snow underfoot, dark pines above, a white path beckons cross-country skiers into the Boundary Waters and offers glimpses into its past.
Former Forest Service leader calls for continued protection of Boundary Waters
Retired leader of agency who took steps to prevent mining pollution from harming the wilderness says continued protection is important.