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This venture is a good balance of portaging and paddling. While most of the trip is water travel, the portages include the longest one offered on any BWX trip (340 rods – 1.1 miles) This trip arguably has the best scenery of any of our routes, including Upper and Lower Basswood Falls, and the distinctive Native American Pictographs on Crooked Lake.
The first ten miles of this route travel through lakes where motorboat travel is permitted. This 45-mile border journey begins at Fall Lake. As we portage into Newton Lake and then into Pipestone Bay of Basswood Lake, you will find some beautiful rapids to walk beside. From Pipestone Bay we travel north to the larger part of Basswood Lake and head west to the Upper Basswood Falls. Groups will be challenged on a one-mile long portage around these beautiful falls. After a few shorter portages along the Basswood River the group will arrive at the marvelous Lower Basswood Falls. After taking in the falls, we will paddle into Crooked Lake were we will be able to view some brilliant Native American Pictographs on a cliff on the west shore of the lake. You will then venture back to the falls and then south on the Horse River, which opens into Horse Lake. The trip ends by traveling a chain of unique lakes (Tin Can Mike Lake, Sandpit Lake, Mudro Lake) to the exit at Picket Lake.