2000
Why Not Voyageurs? (a70)
by Brand Frendt
With the widespread damage left by the 4th of July storm in the heart of the BWCA and the serious fire warnings being issued by the USFS, some people may be considering trips to other canoe areas. Voyageurs National Park (VNP), just downstream from the BWCA, is a natural option. From my canoe trips there in 1998 and 1999 I would strongly recommend it.
The VNP has the same North Woods terrain and ecology as the BWCA, and has similar and maybe even broader human history - Indians, voyageurs, loggers, and more. The main lakes are big, which means a lot of paddling and not much portaging. To me the VNP is especially attractive for the freedom it offers - you pay nothing, no permit is required, and you camp where you want to (although there are prepared, marked campsites too).
In other words, you can wake up one June morning in Burnsville, get an urge to take a canoe trip, grab your stuff, drive about 5 hours to Ash River, put in without talking to a soul, and camp that night on Kabetogama or Namakan Lake, VNP. No permits or payments - just pure, unadulterated American freedom.
A practical note: from Virginia, MN to the landing at Lake One off the Fernberg Road is about 65 miles. From Virginia to the landings at Ash River or Kabetogama is 75 miles, mostly on a faster road. In other words, driving time is about the same.
Of course, every paddler also knows what is wrong with Voyageurs Park - motorboats. I took my Penobscot 16 onto Namakan twice on busy weekends. There were endless motorboats. Several times I had five in view at once. And they didn't slow down to reduce their wake as they passed. Nor did they wave.
But you know what? After a while I hardly noticed them. Like bugs, they made an ugly noise for 30 seconds, then they were gone. And I met some friendly motorboaters too.
Motorboats may be everywhere, but on my first trip I saw 15 otters! And the park is big enough that I found solitude in many places. One morning I was able to spend 30 delightful minutes floating motionless in the back of a small cove in Sullivan Bay off Ash River, observing a mother and 3 juvenile raccoons washing and eating crayfish while a beaver worked back and forth near shore. And all this time, every minute or two, a motorboat would roar by about 200 yards away, heading down the middle of the bay. Neither the animals nor I paid them the least attention.
So why not the VNP this year? Give the storm-ravaged, fire-threatened BWCA a break! Voyageurs deserves more attention from paddlers. This is a good time to check out Minnesota's national park.
