There are several outfitters on the Gunflint Trail that you can rent canoes from for day trips into the Boundary Waters.
During your stay at Okontoe, you have direct access to three small lakes right from our property.
But maybe you’d like to get into the Boundary Waters for a day trip, or even an overnight.
If you don’t have your own canoes, that’s OK. There are several outfitters near us that can provide you with canoes, paddles, PFDs, a map and BWCAW permit.
(Okontoe’s canoes are only licensed to be kept on our property.)
Most of these lakes have designated campsites that make great lunch spots if they’re not already occupied with campers. You’ll see these on the map the outfitter will send with you.
NOTE: When looking at the distances we list below, remember that much of your driving will be on gravel roads. These aren’t “city” miles.
Bearskin Outfitters
2.4 miles from Okontoe (Bearskin Road)
Bearskin Outfitters is the outfitting branch of our close neighbors, Bearskin Lodge. They’re right next door to Entry Point 64 on East Bearkskin Lake.
If you leave early, have strong paddlers and keep moving, you could canoe over to Johnson Falls as a day trip. It’s ambitious, but can be done.
It’s about a 3-hour trip to the portage from #64, including paddling and portages. If you spend a couple of hours there then paddle back, you’re looking at 8-10 hours total.
The falls is on a spur trail off the 200+ rod switchback portage between Canoe Lake and Pine Lake.
Shorter options are canoeing and fishing East Bearskin Lake, and if desired, portaging into one of the several lakes near it, like Crocodile, Moon or Alder.
Get rental prices and options at Bearskin Outfitters.
Clearwater Lodge & Outfitters
4.8 miles from Okontoe (Clearwater Road)
Clearwater Historic Lodge has been serving their guests for over 100 years! It’s worth it just to see their beautiful lodge.
Then you have Clearwater Lake. As its name suggests, the water clarity of this lake is striking and one of its prominent features are a series of palisades along the far shore.
You can rent canoes or kayaks from Clearwater Outfitters by the day and paddle this gorgeous lake. You’ll want to choose a calm day, though, as it’s not nearly as much fun in the wind on this 7-mile long lake that stretches mainly west-to-east.
Or hit the water as early as you can in the morning before the wind picks up later in the day, as is typical.
Get rental prices and options at Clearwater Outfitters.
Hungry Jack Outfitters
5.3 miles from Okontoe (Hungry Jack Road)
If you want to take one of the Gunflint Trail’s most popular day trips—to Stairway Portage and Rose Falls—Hungry Jack Outfitters is a great option to rent canoes and gear.
From their dock, it’s about a 2-hour trip (paddling and portaging) to the Rose Falls portage, known locally as Stairway Portage.
On a nice day you could easily spend 2-3 hours there exploring, eating lunch and swimming before you head back. There are trails along the falls and trails up to scenic overlooks of Rose Lake and Ontario.
The swimming is great in Rose Lake at the bottom of the portage.
While this trip isn’t long (about 4 miles each way), we again suggest waiting for a calm day. One of the lakes you’ll canoe across is Duncan, for a solid mile. The prevailing westerly winds can kick up some solid whitecaps that can be a challenge for young or novice canoeists.
You can also rent from Hungry Jack Outfitters and spend a few hours exploring Hungry Jack Lake. It’s not a Boundary Waters lake, but is very beautiful none-the-less.
Get rental prices and options at Hungry Jack Outfitters.
Hungry Jack Lodge
4.5 miles from Okontoe (Hungry Jack Road)
Hungry Jack Lodge, just across the lake from Hungry Jack Outfitters, also rents canoes by the day.
All of what we just said above applies here, too, as far as destination possibilities.
Get rental prices and options at Hungry Jack Lodge.
Rockwood Lodge & Outfitters
4.7 miles from Okontoe (driveway off the Gunflint Trail)
Rockwood Lodge & Outfitters rents canoes of all types, kayaks and paddleboards.
If you want to paddle right from their dock on Poplar Lake, you can even rent by the hour or half-day.
Poplar is another large lake and its littered with islands. That makes it both interesting and a challenge to navigate! Keep a close eye on your map.
If you’d like to have a Boundary Waters experience from Poplar, you can take the portage on the south end to Lizz, Caribou and Horseshoe Lakes. Caribou and Horseshoe are scenic with lots of campsites for your lunch stop.
Allow about 2.5 hours for paddling and portaging to get to Horseshoe.
Get rental prices and options at Rockwood Lodge.
Tuscarora Lodge & Canoe Outfitters
21 miles from Okontoe (driveway off Gunflint Trail)
If you’d like to explore more down towards the end of the Gunflint Trail, consider renting canoes for a day from Tuscarora Lodge & Canoe Outfitters.
From their dock on Round Lake you could go a number of different directions to access the portages into Snipe or Brant Lakes.
If your group is experienced and ambitious, you could even make your way into Tuscarora Lake as a day trip—as long as you don’t mind the 362-rod portage from Missing Link Lake! (That’s almost 1.25 miles one way)
That’s about a 3.5-hour trip one way, depending on how much of Tuscarora you want to explore. There are many campsites and plenty of shoreline.
Get rental prices and options at Tuscarora Lodge.
Seagull Canoe Outfitters
27 miles from Okontoe (right on the Gunflint Trail)
It doesn’t look like Seagull Outfitters rents by the day EXCEPT for this really fun idea for families with young kids—their catamaran canoe!
These folks came up with their “double canoe raft” with is super stable, doesn’t require as many strong paddlers and handles wind and waves better.
Seagull Lake is big and dotted with over 100 islands, so it’s a very fun lake to explore (as long as keep a solid eye on your map so you don’t get lost!).
Head over to the palisades for some hiking, one of the dozens of campsites for lunch (as long as it’s unoccupied by canoe trippers) or just explore the beautiful shoreline. Seagull Outfiitters offers several day trip ideas on their website.
Get more details and price at Seagull Outfitters.
Voyageur Canoe Outfitters
29 miles from Okontoe (end of the Gunflint Trail)
Voyageur Canoe Outfitters is on one of the south arms of Saganaga Lake. It’s the largest lake directly accessed from the Gunflint Trail and a border lake with Canada.
From their dock, it’d be fun to explore the south side of Sag Lake as there are tons of island campsites. Again, though, navigation is very tricky so it requires keeping a close eye on the map and your position.
For this one we recommend an app like GAIA GPS. Their premium membership allows you to download the map and see your position without cell service (necessary up here).
It would be very easy to get lost on this lake. That said, it would be a fun day trip with the right tools. Sag is really beautiful.
Get rental prices and options at Voyageur Outfitters.
Lots of Possibilities to Explore by Canoe
As you can see, there are so many exploration possibilities by canoe in our area.
If you’re a family with young children, your best bet is to stick to our three small lakes. The waves don’t get big, they’re easy to navigate and you’re never far from camp.
Stay with us for our quiet atmosphere, hot showers and very competitive prices. But when you’re ready to see more of our beautiful area, we hope you’ll take advantage of what our neighbors have to offer, too.
Online Tools to Help You Plan
We already mentioned GAIA GPS for those big lakes with lots of islands, twists and turns.
Another tool that’s super helpful is Paddle Planner. It’s free to use to map out very simple routes. You’ll find entry points and all the outfitters we list here on their map.
You can find distances, portages, campsites, estimated times and more. Their premium membership for more complicated routes is just $9.99/month or $29.99/year.
Article and photos by Sharon Brodin