Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is located in Northern Minnesota. BWCAW has roughly one million acres of wilderness, over 1000 lakes and over 4000 miles of canoe trip routes. Boundary Waters Canoe Area is one of the few remaining true expanses of pure wilderness, in a world where development and sprawl are constantly encroaching on natural eco-systems, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness remains one of the most pristine examples of wilderness preservation. In order to stay inside the boundary waters canoe area wilderness, you must have a permit. Your permit will grant you access to a particular entry point, but will not reserve a campsite. During the off season (October 1st through April 30th) over night permits are not necessary and you may pick up a day permit. Similarly during the summer, you may get a day permit if you do not plan on spending the night.

The BWCAW is a great place for backpacking and camping with over 2,200 back country campsites available for use (most of them only accessible by water, canoeing being the best mode of transportation). The BWCAW is one on Minnesota’s top tourist attractions drawing visitors from all over the United States, Canada and Abroad. The BWCAW is managed by the USDA-Forest Service, under principles of ecosystem management and multiple use, the forest provides for a diverse community of plants and animals. The most popular recreation activities in the area include fishing, hunting, camping, canoeing, swimming, hiking, snowmobiling and skiing. Over 445,000 acres of the forest is surface water. In addition, more than 1,300 miles of cold water streams and 950 miles of warm water streams flow within the boundaries of the Superior. The most abundant fish that can be found in the BWCAW are walleye, northern pike, small-mouth bass, lake trout, brook trout, rainbow trout, and brown trout.

At nearly one and a half million acres Glacier National Park in Montana is impressive and boasts over 200 lakes and streams, 50 glaciers and more than 700 miles of wonderful hiking trails. These numbers are impressive, but they do not even start to convey the breathtaking beauty of this national park.

They do not begin to describe how the mountains around Lake MacDonald glow pink in the setting sun and almost force you to stand transfixed to this view until darkness falls. Neither do they describe the huge field of tall bear grass stalks with their white flowers which simply shout at you to roll back the years and run through the meadow like a child.