BWCAW Quota Permit — Little Gabbro Lake (EP33)

Little Gabbro Lake (EP33): what makes it different

Little Gabbro Lake is a paddle-only Ely entry point at the end of Spruce Road where a roughly 200-rod portage leads from the lot to a small, shallow lake. It leads on to Gabbro and Bald Eagle lakes, and it is a different trailhead from EP32 on the same road.^1,2,3

Getting to the start

The Forest Service lists EP33 as overnight paddle only, in the Kawishiwi District out of Ely, with a 200-rod portage from the parking lot to Little Gabbro Lake. Rec.gov repeats that text.^1,2

BWCA Wild gives the drive as MN Highway 1 east from Ely for about 10 miles. After the second crossing of the Kawishiwi River bridge, turn left onto Spruce Road (Road 230), pass the Outward Bound school, and follow it six miles from the turnoff to the road end. You pass the EP32 lot on the left at about 4 miles.³

You can drive up to the start of the portage to unload. Car parking is a couple of hundred feet back down the road on the right. There is a pit toilet down a short trail to the right of the unloading area.³

The first leg

The portage starts behind the bulletin board, between two boulders. BWCA Wild measured 208 rods, long but easy, with a few modest ups and downs and an average number of rocks. It suggests that if you would need three trips over it, you have packed too much.³

Pax's spring 2004 report on Quiet Journey rated the 200-rod carry average at average water: many rolling hills but nothing steep, solid footing, and one small muddy patch near the shore.⁵

A fall 2004 report from the other direction rated it difficult, with a long climb up from the lake, repeated ups and downs, and muddy spots. It also warned that McKenzie maps put the portage on the wrong side of the bay: it starts on the right side, just past the campsite.⁶

Terrain and difficulty

Little Gabbro is 148 acres, 26 feet deep, at 1,451 feet, with three campsites. A fourth site sits in the channel to Gabbro Lake and likely belongs to Gabbro. Fishing lists northern pike, rock bass and walleye.⁴

A lightning fire started June 6, 1995 on the northeast shore and burned about 12,000 acres. The lake also holds the ruins of two old logging dams. Dam No. 1, on the east channel, is breached but much of it remains, and you reach it by the 122-rod portage to the South Kawishiwi River.⁴

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Little Gabbro Lake (EP33), overnight paddle: 2 groups a day. Rec.gov read 2 on 67 of the dates checked from May to September 2026 and 1 on 69 others, so I print the larger. BWCA Wild and Paddle Planner describe it as 2, and 1 on alternate days.^2,3

Rules specific to this entry point

Paddle only, with no motors. The access is entirely on foot for the first 200 rods, so everything you bring has to be carried over that portage.^2,1

Where it leads

From Little Gabbro you can paddle east into Gabbro and Bald Eagle lakes, with a short optional 4-rod carry between Little Gabbro and Gabbro. BWCA Wild also lists Clearwater Lake and a few others.^3,4

The Bruin Lake route is a 281-rod portage up the west shore of Little Gabbro, then a 15-rod carry into the South Kawishiwi River. Friends of the Boundary Waters describes the Gabbro to Bruin carry as 278 rods, on a four-day, 29-mile one-way route that ends at EP32.^3,4,9

A 1999 Quiet Journey report counted four known campsites on Gabbro, called it a nice small lake, and noted the portage from Gabbro into Bald Eagle.⁷

What trip reports say

A July 2022 weekender on Paddle Planner left from Duluth on a Friday and entered at Little Gabbro. The group found the long portage hard in the heat, but water levels were high. Every island site on Gabbro was taken, and the first site on Bald Eagle was too.⁸

The same group camped Friday on the north side of Bald Eagle, which they found shallow and poor for swimming or fishing, and Saturday on a point on the west side of Gabbro with a good swimming beach. They caught a 16-inch walleye on the first cast Friday, and rock bass, a small northern and a keeper walleye on Saturday.⁸

Quiet Journey readers from 2004 say Little Gabbro and Gabbro are both busy lakes with many campsites and decent fishing.⁵

When to go from here

The island and point sites on Gabbro and Bald Eagle fill on busy summer weekends. In July 2022 the weekender found every island site on Gabbro taken, so a late arrival on a Friday means a poorer site.⁸

Rec.gov reads 2 on some dates and 1 on others across May to September 2026, and BWCA Wild and Paddle Planner both describe the quota as 2, with 1 on alternate days.²

Compare with nearby entry points

• South Kawishiwi River (EP32): South Kawishiwi River (EP32) is on the same Spruce Road, 4 miles in from the highway. Its portage is 140 rods to the river instead of 200 rods to a lake, and it leads to Lake One and the river, not Gabbro.^1,3
• Angleworm Lake (EP20): Angleworm Lake (EP20) is also a long portage entry out of Ely, but its portage is 640 rods, over three times the length of the Little Gabbro carry.¹
• Stuart River (EP19): Stuart River (EP19) is another paddle-only Kawishiwi District entry with a long carry, 480 rods to the Stuart River.¹

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, Little Gabbro Lake division, Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
3. BWCA Entry Point 33 - Little Gabbro Lake, BWCA Wild. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Little Gabbro Lake, BWCA Wild. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Entry #33 to Little Gabbro, Quiet Journey portage database. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Little Gabbro to Entry #33, Quiet Journey portage database. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Entry #33 to Gabbro, Quiet Journey portage database. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Little Gabbro Weekender (Wongo2, July 2022), Paddle Planner. Read 2026-10-15.
9. One Way on the South Kawishiwi River, Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness. 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 Little Gabbro Lake (EP33) permit