Paddle planning: BWCA permit reservations open Wednesday

It’s a good time to be thinking about a summer canoe trip in Minnesota’s north country — and not just because of this winter’s historic warm weather. Reservations for trips into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness open 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Anyone planning an overnight trip into the BWCA between May 1 and Sept. 30 —whether it’s in a canoe, motorboat or on foot along hiking trails — is required to obtain a quota permit.

To preserve the wilderness character of the Boundary Waters, and to prevent overcrowding and damage to natural resources, the U.S. Forest Service limits the number of people who can enter the BWCA on any given day. It also disperses visitors by restricting the number of permits it issues at different wilderness entry points.

As a result, permits often get snapped up quickly, especially for popular entry points. Competition for permits grew even more intense when, starting in 2022, the Superior National Forest reduced the number of quota permits available by about 13 percent, to address complaints about overcrowding and resource damage.

Permits will be available at www.recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777.  

The Superior National Forest publishes a BWCAW Trip Planning Guide and offers several tips when making a reservation.

• Be prepared. Register for a Recreation.gov account if you don’t already have one. Make sure you know how to navigate the site.

• Have a plan. The Forest Service recommends having at least three different options, for both dates and entry points, in case your preferred date and point of entry isn’t available. Make sure everyone in your group is available during those dates.

• Be adventurous. Longtime BWCA travelers have their favorite lakes and campsites. Don’t get fixated on having to secure a particular entry point on a particular day, advises Cathy Quinn, acting wilderness program manager for the Superior National Forest. “There’s really no bad place to go in the Boundary Waters, you really can’t go wrong. So consider exploring a new area.”

Forest Service officials also strongly encourage visitors not to book trips on multiple dates if they don’t intend to use all the permits.

Outfitters say they see people booking “prospective” permits in January, because they don’t know exactly what dates they will be available later in the summer.

Then, later in the year, they either cancel the permits they don’t want, or simply fail to show up. In 2022, the Superior National Forest reported that that the number of cancellations and no-shows roughly doubled from previous years.

“We’re seeing an uptick in people blocking out trips that they don’t necessarily intend to use,” acknowledged Quinn. “We just want to make sure people all have a chance to go and experience these wild places, and so [we] just ask folks to only only book what they think they’re going to use, and let other people have a chance.”

And if visitors do have to cancel a permit, Quinn encourages them to do it as far in advance as possible, so others have an opportunity to use that permit (and to get a refund).

Other reminders: Group size is limited to nine people, with no more than four watercraft. Visitors are also required to practice Leave No Trace etiquette, and watch a series of videos before entering the wilderness.

The Superior National Forest also publishes an extensive trip planning guide to assist visitors.