BWCAW Quota Permit — Fall Lake (EP24)

Fall Lake (EP24): what makes it different

Fall Lake is the Ely entry point with a full boat ramp, a Forest Service campground beside the landing, and a motor route that carries on to Basswood Lake. Paddlers and motorboats share it, so Recreation.gov sells separate overnight paddle and overnight motor permits for the same landing.^1,2,3

Getting to the start

The Forest Service lists EP24 as an overnight entry for paddle or motor, in the Kawishiwi District, with a boat landing at Fall Lake and a 25 horsepower limit.^1,2

BWCA Wild gives the drive from Ely in three legs: 1.2 miles from West Sheridan Street, then 6.1 miles north on Highway 169 (the Fernberg Trail) to Fall Lake Road (Highway 6), then 1.2 more miles to the landing. The Kawishiwi Ranger Station is on MN Highway 1 in Ely.³

The lot is very large, the walk from it to the shore is short, and there is no portage from the lot. The landing has a full boat ramp for motorboats and a row of outhouses. A Forest Service campground sits next to it, and in 2021 BWCA Wild listed it at $21 a night for up to nine people, charged only while the water is on. The page says the campground store rents canoes.³

Day permits for paddlers are filled out from a box on the right side of the bulletin board at the landing.³

The first leg

Every route from this landing ends up on Basswood Lake. The northwest choice starts with a 40-rod portage around Newton Falls into Newton Lake, about two miles long, then a 90-rod portage around Pipestone Falls into Pipestone Bay.^3,6

Two 2004 portage reports on Quiet Journey rate the carries easy. The Fall to Newton trail is 80 rods, wide and heavily used, hilly and a little rocky, and it runs beside a dam and rapids. The Newton to Pipestone Bay trail is 40 rods by that report, with two put-ins that merge soon after the start. Canoeists tend to take one and the big fishing boats the other.^7,8

The Forest Service permit text says portage wheels are allowed on the Fall, Newton and Pipestone portages.²

Terrain and difficulty

Fall Lake covers 2,258 acres, reaches 32 feet deep, and sits at 1,319 feet. Its south end marks the wilderness boundary. Most of what people catch is northern pike and walleye.⁴

The alternate way out of Fall Lake is the Four Mile Portage, 1,280 rods to Hoist Bay on Basswood. BWCA Wild rates the south half easy, wide and flat, apart from the Muskeg Creek crossing, which is rugged. North of Muskeg Lake it is rugged or a bushwhack. The page reports a beaver flood about 4,400 feet from the Basswood end, with water near four feet deep on June 30, 2024, and heavy bugs.^5,3

Friends of the Boundary Waters rates the Fall Lake to Pipestone Bay route easy: two days, 14 miles, four portages of 380 rods in all, the longest 90 rods.⁶

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Fall Lake (EP24), overnight motor: 14 groups a day. This was the most common non-zero daily total on Rec.gov across May to September 2026. Some dates read other totals, and these are not added to the paddle figure.²
• 2026 daily quota at Fall Lake (EP24), overnight paddle: 14 groups a day. This was the most common non-zero daily total on Rec.gov across May to September 2026. The paddle division's text says Paddle only permit, and it is sold apart from the motor division.²

Rules specific to this entry point

Rec.gov says motor use or even possession of a motor needs an overnight motor permit, 25 horsepower at most. A second motor up to 10 horsepower may be carried if the motors running together stay at or under 25.²

Motors are allowed on Fall, Newton, Pipestone and the southern part of Basswood, but not on the part of Basswood north of the narrows at the head of Jackfish Bay.²

Two day-use motor permits start here. One is valid on Fall Lake only. The other is valid on Fall, Newton and the motor part of Basswood.²

Where it leads

Newton Lake has two designated campsites, and the eight Fall Lake campsites sit on the northern quarter of the lake and are often full in summer. Friends of the Boundary Waters suggests the Fall sites for a first or last night.^6,4

Quiet Journey lists eight or more known campsites on the Pipestone Bay side of Basswood, where the water is clear but stained dark with tannins.⁸

Muskeg Lake, Mud Lake and Ella Hall Lake lie along the Four Mile Portage. BWCA Wild says only Ella Hall has working campsites after windstorm damage.^3,5

What trip reports say

A solo paddler writing on Substack in July 2023 slept at the Forest Service campground the first night, then was on the water by 8 a.m. the next morning. He reached Basswood after about eight miles with two portages of roughly 80 rods each, and said he carried everything over three times because he packed too much.⁹

The same writer camped all week on a big open site among red and white pines on the west shore of Pipestone Bay, just below Lewis Narrows. He counted three or four motorboats a day and up to 30 canoes, and said traffic was heavy because of the narrows. Fishing was slow, about seven walleye for the week.⁹

Quiet Journey's 2004 reports describe a trail on the motor route where big boats come over on wheels, and an easy carry beside a dam and scenic rapids. Water in Newton Lake was clear but stained, with lots of wild rice.⁷

When to go from here

BWCA Wild calls Fall Lake a popular spot for camping, motorboating, canoeing and day trips. Summer is when the eight Fall Lake sites fill, so arrive early if you want one for the first night.^3,6

Water over the Four Mile Portage depends on beavers and spring flow. BWCA Wild says that in spring you may have to cross Muskeg Creek by canoe, and in late summer you may be able to wade it.⁵

Compare with nearby entry points

• Moose Lake (EP25): Moose Lake (EP25) is also listed for paddle or motor with a 25 horsepower limit, and the Forest Service says it has many trip options for paddlers. Fall Lake instead sends every route to Basswood through Newton or the Four Mile Portage.^1,3
• Wood Lake (EP26): Wood Lake (EP26) is overnight paddle only and starts with a 180-rod portage. Fall Lake has no portage from the lot and a full boat ramp.^1,3
• Snowbank Lake (EP27): Snowbank Lake (EP27) is also a boat landing or canoe launch with a 25 horsepower limit, but its day-use motors are allowed on Snowbank only. Fall Lake's day-use motors reach Newton and part of Basswood.^1,2

Sources

1. Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness Entry Points, Superior National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.
2. Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Permit, Fall Lake divisions, Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
3. BWCA Entry Point 24 - Fall Lake, BWCA Wild. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Fall Lake, BWCA Wild. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Portage between Fall Lake and Basswood Lake, BWCA Wild. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Exploration of Basswood Lake, Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Fall to Newton, Quiet Journey portage database. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Newton to Basswood (Pipestone Bay), Quiet Journey portage database. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Boundary Waters Birthday, William Hunter Duncan, Substack. Read 2026-10-15.
10. Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Permits, Superior National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Fall Lake (EP24) permit