BWCAW Quota Permit — Kawishiwi Lake (EP37)

Kawishiwi Lake (EP37): what makes it different

Kawishiwi Lake (EP37) is a paddle-only overnight entry point at the end of a long gravel road out of Tofte, with a canoe landing you can drive almost to. It has one way out, the Kawishiwi River, and that one route runs to Lake Polly, where the choices open up. Recreation.gov showed 7 groups a day in 2026.^1,2,3

Getting to the start

The Forest Service lists EP37 as overnight, paddle only, in the Tofte District, run from Tofte, with access by a boat landing on Kawishiwi Lake. Recreation.gov's text calls it a canoe landing.^1,2

One guide has you follow the Sawbill Trail (Cook County Road 2) inland from Tofte, pass Temperance Lake Campground about 12 miles out, and turn left onto Cook County Road 33, narrower and rougher but fine for passenger cars. After about nine miles west you stay left onto Road 7 (Perent Lake Road) for about three miles, then turn right onto Forest Road 354, rougher still, for about four miles to the entry point.³

There is no portage from the lot: you can drive to the water's edge to unload. The lot itself is about 300 feet from the lake, across the road you drove in on. At the four-way intersection the canoe landing is straight ahead and the Forest Service's Kawishiwi Lake Rustic Campground is to the left past the restroom.³

A fine gravel beach lies to the right of the landing, where the lake is fairly shallow. A bulletin board with an official BWCA boundary sign stands at the site.³

The first leg

Kawishiwi Lake's only regular exit is the Kawishiwi River, which leaves from the lake's northeast corner. That gives the entry point one route until Lake Polly, and BWCA Wild says most groups take most of a day to reach it.^5,3

The river is not a straight paddle. Its upper stretch has a 5-rod portage around a small waterfall just past Square Lake, a roughly 20-rod carry out of Square Lake, a short stretch of fast water before Kawasachong Lake, and beaver dams to lift over. Between Kawasachong and Polly the river is not navigable, so you take two lake-to-lake carries by way of Townline Lake.^7,6

A July 2016 report on Miles Paddled covered 13.5 miles and 8 portages totaling 527 rods on its first day out of Kawishiwi Lake, with a 9:20 a.m. put-in and a 5:30 p.m. take-out. The river had no current, and the water dropped over rock at the portages.⁹

Terrain and difficulty

Kawishiwi Lake covers about 419 acres and runs roughly 12 feet deep, with seven campsites and northern pike, walleye and rock bass in the DNR survey. Fires are recorded for 1875 and 1863 to 1864.^5,3

Polly is about 541 acres and 21 feet deep, and only its far south end burned in the 2011 Pagami Creek Fire. The river between the entry point and Polly runs through both lush forest and scorched ground.^6,9

A 2015 report on Canoetripping.net called the country between Polly and Kawishiwi Lake a stark, scenic burn. The author climbed over beaver dams, slogged through mud and stepped over rocks and roots, in low water.¹⁰

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Kawishiwi Lake (EP37), overnight paddle: 7 groups a day. The most common daily total on Rec.gov across May to September 2026. About 17 dates in the window read 0. BWCA Wild's entry point page also lists 7 and does not give a unit.^2,3

Rules specific to this entry point

No motors. The Forest Service table and Recreation.gov both give the method of travel as paddle only.^1,2

BWCA Wild reports that a sign at the Forest Service campground suggests camping there is free, and that day-permit holders can camp there and paddle during the day. It is outside the wilderness, so it is a place to spend the night before an early start.³

Where it leads

At Lake Polly two routes branch: east along the Phoebe River, which starts with a 97-rod portage from the south end of the east bay, or north along the Kawishiwi River. The lake page notes a bigger loop that follows the Phoebe River east and then the Louse River back west to Malberg Lake and south to Polly.^3,6

Polly is the goal of many groups from this entry point, and many return the same way afterward. The lake pages disagree on its campsite count (nine on the Polly page, 17 on the Kawishiwi River page), so treat either as a rough guide.^3,6,7

A rough carry of just over two miles once ran from the south end of Kawishiwi Lake to Perent Lake. One page says it was re-blazed in fall 2020, while the Perent Lake page calls it unmaintained, overgrown and hard to follow.^5,8

What trip reports say

The July 2016 Miles Paddled party camped at its first site after the long first day and stayed there two nights. Their notes mention a balanced rock on a portage trail, a beaver dam pull-over and a soft marsh.⁹

In August 2015 the forum member Mama split a trip to Amber Lake at Lake Polly, about 9 miles in, on both the way in and the way out, and thought a fit group could cover the 18 to 19 miles in one day with an early start. A reply added that many rocks sit just under the surface between River Lake and Amber Lake. They saw no one at Amber Lake and eagles every day.¹⁰

BWCA Wild's author found painted turtles nesting in the gravel road at the campground in May 2021, about half a dozen of them.³

When to go from here

Seven groups a day and seven campsites on the lake itself means the lake sites go early on busy weekends, and the northwest island site is the popular one. Plan to push on to Polly the same day, which is a full day of paddling for most groups, or sleep at the Forest Service campground the night before.^2,5,3

Compare with nearby entry points

• Hog Creek (EP36): Hog Creek (EP36) is about two miles before this entry point on the same road. It starts with a 15-rod carry down to a creek and leads to Perent Lake, and it showed 4 groups a day against 7 here.^4,1,2
• Sawbill Lake (EP38): Sawbill Lake (EP38) is also a paddle-only landing with no motors, but it showed 11 groups a day in 2026 against 7 here. Kawishiwi Lake's only exit is the river toward Lake Polly.^1,2,3

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, Kawishiwi Lake, Hog Creek and Sawbill Lake divisions, Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
3. BWCA Entry Point 37 - Kawishiwi Lake, BWCA Wild. Read 2026-10-15.
4. BWCA Entry Point 36 - Hog Creek, BWCA Wild. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Kawishiwi Lake, BWCA Wild. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Lake Polly, BWCA Wild. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Kawishiwi River, BWCA Wild. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Perent Lake, BWCA Wild. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Boundary Waters Kawishiwi River, Miles Paddled. Read 2026-10-15.
10. BWCA Kawishiwi Lake (EP37) to Amber Lake trip report, August 2015, Canoetripping.net. Read 2026-10-15.
11. Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Permits, Superior National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Kawishiwi Lake (EP37) permit