I spent about two weeks canoeing in the BWCA in 2002, and it was incredible! We had a couple encounters with bears in our campsite. They are very brave so it is essential to hang your food at night! We were mostly into some of the smaller, interior lakes that weren’t very busy. We still saw other people on a regular basis, but it didn’t feel as crowded as the lakes on the periphery, which were quite hectic especially on the portages.

One of the nicest things about camping in the BWCA is that there are toilets at the campsites! Well, not flushing toilets, it’s more of an open air throne (an outhouse without walls.) It may not sound wonderful, but considering on other backcountry camping trips I’ve actually had to dig myself a toilet, this is such a luxury!