Backcountry Camping and Canoes

Quarter Line Lake campsite in the backcountry of Voyageurs National Park

NPS / C. Braton

The Park's 14 backcountry campsites are located on the interior lakes of the park's Kabetogama Peninsula, and require travel by water from any mainland boat launch to access the trailheads that lead to them. The backcountry areas of Voyageurs National park are wild, rugged, and breathtakingly beautiful. They offer more remote, secluded, and serene camping, hiking, and canoeing experiences, since they are less traveled than the frontcountry and the lakes here are smaller, protected, inland waters.

The park does not rent watercrafts of any kind on the large lakes to take you to the remote trailheads. If you do not have a watercraft, there are local businesses that offer water taxi service to and from the trailheads, as well as a variety of boat rentals, from canoes and kayaks to fishing boats and pontoons.

Voyageurs National Park has four water access points at the Rainy Lake, Kabetogama Lake, and Ash River Visitor Centers, and the Crane Lake Ranger Station. There are also public and private boat launches outside the park.

Each backcountry campsite has a canoe stationed at it that automatically comes with your overnight backcountry camping permit. Only in the Chain of Lakes area, an additional inventory of day use canoes are available for day use or to add to an overnight camping reservation on a first-come, first-served basis. Read below for more details on canoe locations and access.

 

The Basics of a Backcountry Camping Trip in Voyageurs

1. Do some research:
   • Have a basic understanding of parkwide rules and regulations before you start your trip. Our safety page shows camping supplies that can help make your time in the park safer and even more enjoyable.
   • You will need to arrange water transportation to get to and from the backcountry trailheads. If you don't have a watercraft, check out this list of local businesses to find a boat rental or water taxi service. Know that it may be more difficult to arrange water taxi or boat rental from a local business early and late in the season - call around ahead of time to secure safe transport to a trailhead.
   • View a map of backcountry areas to choose hiking distances that suit your abilities and campsites that suit your needs.
2. Plan ahead to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive specias (AIS) to VOYA's sensitive interior lakes:
   • No privately-owned watercrafts are allowed to be portaged into backcountry lakes and float planes can not land on them. Even if you paddle your own canoe or kayak to the trailhead, it must be left there until your return from the backcountry.
   • Only artificial bait may be used when fishing on backcountry lakes.
   • If you will be fishing on the park's large lakes (Rainy, Kabetogama, Namakan, or Sand Point) bring a separate set of gear that is likely to contact lake water (including fishing gear) to use on the interior lakes, or before using any gear on an interior lake, make sure that all gear has been thoroughly dried for at least 5 days or washed water at least 140 °F for at least one minute.
   • When leaving any lake, remove mud, aquatic plants and animals (including gelatinous or cotton batting-like material) from equipment and fishing line.
3. Make your reservation: Reservations for any given summer season become available the previous Noveber 15th at 9am CST. Go to the Voyageurs National Park Camping Permits page on recreation.gov. Here you can view campsite info and photos, search for campsite availability, and build an itinerary. The use of the canoe stationed at each backcountry campsite automatically comes with all overnight backcountry camping reservations. In the Chain of Lakes area only, an additional inventory of canoes is available from which two additional canoes can be added to a camping reservation on a first-come, first-served basis. Use these step-by-step instructions for a smooth reservation-making experience.
4. Print your permit within 5 days of your trip start date by logging into your recreation.gov account and selecting Reservations from the menu. Click on the Print Permit button next to the correct trip. This button is disabled until 5 days before your trip. Backcountry sites do not have permit display boxes, so keep it on your person and/or have a digital copy/screenshot as a backup.
5. Be sure you have the combination code and instructions for the canoe stationed at your backcountry campsite. If this information is not in your confirmation email or has not been emailed to you by one week prior to your trip, call a visitor center for help.
6. Parking: Campers can park overnight at visitor center parking lots free of charge during their permit dates, up to 14 days. There is also free public parking at the Woodenfrog state forest campground in the Kabetogama community.
7. Take a boat ride to the applicable backcountry trailhead. Visitors must either use their own boat, rent a vessel, or use a water taxi, as the park does not rent boats or canoes on the large lakes (Rainy, Kabetogama, Namakan, Sand Point, and Crane).
8. Follow a map and hike the backcountry trails to your backcountry campsite.
   • Getting to any of the Chain of Lakes campsites (Locator, War Club, Quill, or Loiten) requires the use of a canoe (and potentially portaging, depending on which lake you are heading to) after hiking the 2-mile Locator Lake Trail. Take only take the number of canoes from the launch point that you reserved when heading to your campsite, or you may very negatively affect the trip of someone else who has come a long way for their camping experience.
   • Most campsites along the Cruiser Trail (Jorgens, Quarter Line, Ek, Agnes, Cruiser, Brown, and Peary Lakes) can all be hiked to directly from the trailhead at the north end (Rainy Lake) or south end (Kabetogama Lake) of the trail. The Shoepack Lakes require he use of a canoe after hiking. Consult maps to know which trailhead is closest to your campsite and to know the hiking distances between trailheads and campsites.
   • Ryan and Oslo Lakes can be hiked to directly from their respective trailheads on the east end of Rainy Lake - these campsites can not be accessed from the Cruiser Lake trail.

 

Campsites and trails in the Backcountry of Voyageurs National Park

 

Backcountry Campsite Distances and Canoe Locations

Backcountry Campsite	Distance from Closest Trailhead	Is the canoe neededto reach campsite?	Canoe Location and Information
Locator Lake (B9)	2 mi hike + .75 mi paddle from Locator trailhead (Kabetogama)	Yes	These lakes make up the Chain of Lakes area of Voyageurs National Park. 10 total canoes (1 for each campsite plus 6 additional first-come, first-served canoes) are staged at the end of the Locator Lake trail.
War Club Lake (B17)	2 mi hike + 1.75 mi paddle / portage from Locator trailhead (Kabetogama)	Yes
Quill Lake (B15)	2 mi hike + 2.75 mi paddle / portage from Locator trailhead (Kabetogama)	Yes
Loiten Lake (B11)	2 mi hike + 3.75 mi paddle from Locator trailhead (Kabetogama)	Yes
Little Shoepack (B8) &Shoepack (B19)	1.7 mi hike + .3 mi paddle from Eks Bay trailhead (Kabetogama)	Yes	1 canoe on east end of Little Shoepack and 1 canoe on the south shore of Shoepack; these two backcountry campsites come reserved together
Cruiser Lake (B5)	4 mi hike from Cruiser Lake trailhead (Kabetogama) or Anderson Bay trailhead (Rainy)	No	1 canoe located at campsite
Agnes Lake (B1)	0.4 mi hike from Cruiser Lake trailhead (Kabetogama)	No	1 canoe located at campsite
Quarter Line Lake (B14)	0.5 mi hike from Eks Bay trailhead (Kabetogama)	No	1 canoe located at campsite
Jorgens Lake (B7)	1 mi hike from Eks Bay trailhead (Kabetogama)	No	1 canoe located at campsite
Ek Lake (B6)	.4 mi from Ek Lake trailhead (Kabetogama)	No	1 canoe located on south side of lake
Brown Lake (B3)	2.5 mi hike from Anderson Bay trailhead (Rainy)	No	1 canoe located at campsite
Peary Lake (B13)	1 mi hike from Anderson Bay trailhead (Rainy)	No	1 canoe located at campsite
Oslo Lake (B12)	0.8 mi hike from Oslo Lake trailhead (Rainy)	No	1 canoe located at campsite
Ryan Lake (B18)	0.6 mi hike from Ryan Lake trailhead (Rainy)	No	1 canoe located at campsite

 

A quiet evening in the Backcountry

NPS

How to Reserve & Access a Backcountry Canoe

Backcountry canoes remain stationed and locked at the backcountry campsites. Use of the canoe at each backcountry campsite is automatically included when you rmake your reservation.

The Chain of Lakes is the only area that has an extra inventory of canoes that can be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis for day use or adding onto your camping reservation so your group can have more than one canoe. During the process of reserving a backcountry camping permit on the Chain of Lakes (Locator, War Club, Quill, or Loiten Lake campsites), the reservation website will ask if you wish to add more canoes. Simply select the number of canoes you need for your group in addition to the one canoe that comes with your camping reservation (maximum is 2 additional canoes).

To rent a Chain of Lakes canoe for day use only (not in association with a camping permit) click on the Reserve Day Use Rental button on recreation.gov's VNP Camping Permits page and select your dates to view availability.

All other backcountry campsites have only one canoe at them, so to reserve the associated canoe for day use, you must reserve one overnight at the site you choose.

Whether you reserve a canoe with a camping permit or for day use, you should receive a confirmation email with the combination code and instructions to access your canoe. If you do not, call a visitor center or stop at one during business hours. Do not hike into the backcountry without the codes you need.

 

Invasive Spiny Water Fleas—which can harm fish habitats—inhabit Rainy, Kabetogama, Sand Point, Namakan, and Crane Lakes. However, they are not currently found in Voyageurs' Backcountry Lakes.

Minnesota DNR

Why the Park Provides Backcountry Canoe Rentals

Kabetogama, Sand Point, Namakan, Rainy, and Crane Lakes contain the invasive Spiny Water Flea. Using canoes already staged in the backcountry helps prevent this detrimental species from spreading to fish habitats in the sensitive backcountry lakes. Plan ahead and follow these best management practices:

• No privately-owned watercrafts of any kind are allowed to be portaged into backcountry lakes, including boats, canoes, kayaks, tubes, floatplanes, etc. Even if you paddle your own canoe or kayak to the trailhead, it must be left there until your return from the backcountry.
• Only artificial bait may be used when fishing on backcountry lakes.
• If you will be fishing on the park's large lakes (Rainy, Kabetogama, Namakan, or Sand Point) bring a separate set of gear that is likely to contact lake water (including fishing gear) to use on the interior lakes, or before using any gear on an interior lake, make sure that all gear has been thoroughly dried for at least 5 days or washed water at least 140 °F for at least one minute.
• When leaving any lake, remove mud, aquatic plants and animals (including gelatinous or cotton batting-like material) from equipment and fishing line.

 

Other Important Backcountry Information

• Use only the number of canoes shown on your permit (no additional canoes). This ensures that other visitors can access their own reserved canoes.
• Print your official camping permit from your recreation.gov account within 5 days of your trip. It is required to have this with you while camping and will contain the combination code and instructions needed to access your backcountry canoe.
• Bring 1 life jacket for each person in your backcountry canoe and wear it.
• No pets allowed on backcountry trails.
• Return the canoe and paddles to the same location you found found them and leave the canoe overturned and locked.
• You may check into your backcountry campsite no earlier than 12pm noon on your arrival day, and must depart no later than 11am on your day of departure. Be mindful that the next visitor may be waiting for your canoe to be returned to the launch area.
• Maximum group size is 6, and the maximum stay is 7 days per year in the backcountry
• Bring rope to hang your food 10' up and 4' out from a tree in case a bear pole is not present

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Backcountry Camping FAQs

Make a Reservation for the Backcountry

There are two ways to get a permit:

• Online at www.recreation.gov (Google Chrome web browser is strongly recommended)
• Call 1-877-444-6777

After you get your reservation:

1. You will get a confirmation email. Be aware, though: this email is not your permit.

• You can view your permit by logging onto Recreation.gov and clicking "My Permits" in the upper right corner.

2. You can print your permit up to 5 days in advance of your trip.

• Refunds are not available once your permit is printed, so be certain that your plans are finalized and your group is prepared before printing.
• To print:
  1. Log into your recreation.gov account
  2. Click on the "down" arrow next to your name in the upper right corner
  3. Select "My Reservations"
  4. Click the "Print Permit" button next to the correct permit
• Google Chrome is the supported browser for accessing permits; if you have trouble printing a permit, try this browser.
• When you begin your trip, keep your printed permit with you at all times.

Modifying and Cancelling Permits

• You can easily modify or cancel your reservation using your recreation.gov account:
  • Log into your recreation.gov account and click on your name in the upper right
  • Select My Reservations and then click on the “Modify or Cancel” button next to the reservation you need changed
  • Deselect dates and select new dates or campsite to modify, or click on Cancel Reservation to cancel.
• The following fees apply:

Action	Fee
Any change to your reservation	$10 reservation service fee
Cancel reservation more than 1 day prior to scheduled arrival date	$10 reservation service fee; receive full refund of nightly amenity fees
Cancel reservation less than 1 day prior to arrival	$10 reservation service fee; forfeit current night's fee; receive refund for remaining nights
Early departure from site	$10 reservation service fee; forfeit current night's fee; receive refund for remaining nights
Once permit is printed	Refunds not available

Can I use a campsite for part of the day?

Both within frontcountry and backcountry sites at Voyageurs, if a campsite is unoccupied, visitors may use the site until 2pm.

• There are 33 designated Day Use Sites in the frontcountry of the park that are designed for picnicking; please try to use them first.
• No day use is allowed at houseboat sites.

Maps: Where can I find a map of the campsites?

Campsite maps published by National Geographic may be purchased at any of the park's three visitor centers or by going to the online shop of Jefferson National Parks Association, our bookstore partner.

Other maps for trails, day use sites, etc. are available for free on our maps page, but National Geographic and Mackenzie charts are both strongly recommended for safe navigation to campsites.

Where do I pitch my tent in the Backcountry?

Camping is only permissible in designated camping sites. Non-designated camping sites are not permissible for overnight use.

Permit-free camping: where can I camp without a permit?

There are several private campgrounds and state campgrounds near the park that do not require a reservation.

Walk-up Permits & Last Minute Camping Reservations

There are several options available if you arrive at Voyageurs without a permit:

• Call the reservation hotline at [phone] and print permit at any open visitor center.
• Make a reservation online using a mobile smart device at www.recreation.gov and print permit at any open visitor center.
• If you need to print your permit, visit any open visitor center for assistance. Remember permits are not available to be printed more than 5 days from the start of your camping reservation.
• Consider using camping and lodging opportunities on the mainland, near the boundary of the park for last minute and dispersed camping options.

Printing your Backpacking Permit

Permits can be printed up to 5 days in advance of a trip. Recreation.gov does not email permits to those who have reserved them; you will need to:

1. Log into your recreation.gov account
2. Click the "down" arrow next to your name in the upper right corner
3. Go to "My Reservations"
4. Select the "Print Permit' button next to the correct permit

If it is five days or less before your trip and you still cannot print your permit, try the following:

• Ensure you're using Google Chrome as your browser

• If your email address has changed since you made your permit, be sure to change it in your Recreation.gov profile

• Call [phone] and request assistance.

Backcountry Check-In and Check-Out

• Check-in for your first day at a Backcountry campsite begins at noon on the first day printed on your reservation. Visitors have 24 hours from their check-in time to set up at a site. Checkout is at 11am on the departure day. Be mindful that another visitor may be waiting for your canoe to be returned to the launch area.

Example: Donna has the Backcountry campsite on Locator Lake reserved, and her start day is July 3. She will camp overnight that evening, as well as July 4, and she will leave on July 5.

• She will log into her recreation.gov account and print her official permit within 5 days of her trip start date. This will contain the combination code and instructions necessary to access her canoe.
• Check-in for her campsite is at noon of July 3. If she cannot get to her campsite that day, she has 24 hours to do so.
• Checkout is at 11am on July 5th.

Backcountry check-in and checkout times are different than Frontcountry rules. Check our Frontcountry camping page for check-in times at Frontcountry sites.

Late Arrivals

• Permit holders have 24 hours from the time of check-in (on the date of entry) to get to their site.
• If a permit holder fails to arrive within 24 hours of check-in, the permit is void. The site will become available for others to reserve.

Permit Transfers: Can I transfer my permit to somebody else?

Permits are non-transferrable.

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Voyageurs National Park Backcountry Permits and Prices

Permit Type	Reservation Service Fee (per transaction)	Low Use Season Fees (per night)	High Use Season Fees (per night)	Earliest Dates to Purchase Permit
Small campsite without dock	$10	$10	$22	For High-Use Season (May 15 – Oct 15): Available the previous November 15th For Low-Use Season (Oct 16 – May 14): Available the previous April 15th
Small campsite with dock	$10	$10	$26
Large campsite without dock	$10	$10	$28
Large campsite with dock	$10	$10	$32
Campground small site	$10	$10	$26
Campground large site	$10	$10	$32
Group Campsite	$10	$10	$60
Backcountry campsite (includes one canoe)	$10	n/a	$30
Day use rental canoe or rowboat (Chain of Lakes only)	$10	n/a	$14 per night or per day	For High-Use Season (Friday before MN Fishing Opener – Oct 15): Available the previous November 15th
Houseboat	$10	n/a	$15/night	Available the previous November 15th

Income generated from overnight camping and permits is used to improve and maintain amenities, clean sites, clear and repair backcountry trails, and support the operation of the reservation system