BWCAW Quota Permit — Missing Link Lake (EP51)

Missing Link Lake (EP51): what makes it different

Missing Link Lake is a paddle-only entry that starts on Round Lake, outside the wilderness, and climbs a 142-rod portage to a tiny 37-acre brook trout lake with three campsites. The carry is the whole story here: uphill, rocky and muddy on the way in, and a good deal easier coming out.^1,2,3,4

Getting to the start

The Forest Service lists EP51 in the Gunflint District as an overnight paddle-only entry, with access from the canoe landing at Round Lake and a 142-rod portage to Missing Link.^1,2

From Grand Marais, a guide has you follow the Gunflint Trail about 45 miles to Round Lake Road (County Road 47), past the Gunflint Lake Overlook. The road runs alongside the Cross River. The Cross Bay Lake (EP50) sign comes about a mile in, and Round Lake is roughly another mile past the Tuscarora and Round Lake sign.³

The lot is shared with the Brant Lake entry (EP52). You carry gear down steps to a gravel dock on Round Lake. There is a restroom at the entry, and Tuscarora Lodge and Outfitters is on Round Lake if you need extra gear or lodging.^3,6

Day-use permits for Missing Link and Brant lakes are in the box on the left side of the bulletin board.³

The first leg

Round Lake lies completely outside the wilderness, 154 acres and 45 feet deep, with no campsites. From the dock you paddle straight across to the portage, following the east shore.^6,3

The lake can get choppy when the wind is up, because it is bowl-shaped and its west side has little forest cover. The northwest shore burned in the 2007 Ham Lake Fire.⁶

The portage to Missing Link is 142 rods and ends in the lake's northwest bay. Going in, it climbs about 100 feet in less than half a mile, almost without a break. BWCA Wild rates it average, but calls the uphill direction borderline rugged, with mud, rocks, mudholes and some downed timber.^5,3

Landings: the Round Lake end has a sandy, solid-bottom launch. The Missing Link end is rocky, and the easiest put-in is on the right. Coming back out, the same carry drops steadily the whole way and passes a wetland, which makes it much easier.⁵

Terrain and difficulty

Missing Link is small and clear: 37 acres, 25 feet deep, at about 1,675 feet above sea level. A pond just north of it appears on most maps.^4,5

Brook trout are the fish here. Minnesota DNR has stocked about 2,000 fingerlings a year since 2005, and the fish do not breed in the lake, so stocking has to continue.⁴

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Missing Link Lake (EP51), overnight paddle: 5 groups a day. Five was the most common daily total on Rec.gov across May to September 2026. BWCA Wild also lists a daily quota of 5.^2,3

Rules specific to this entry point

One canoe landing and parking lot on Round Lake's north shore serves both Missing Link (EP51) and Brant Lake (EP52), so parties for both entries launch from the same dock.⁶

Where it leads

Missing Link has three campsites. Site 547 is on the north shore just east of the Round Lake portage and fills quickly. Site 549 is at the south end near the Tuscarora carry. Site 548, on a mid-lake point, is BWCA Wild's pick as probably the best, with wide views and breezes that cut the bugs.⁴

Onward carries lead to Snipe Lake (160 rods) and to Tuscarora Lake (426 rods, tough in either direction, easier toward Tuscarora because it runs downhill). An unmarked trail of about 40 rods leads to Mavis Lake and is closer to a bushwhack.⁴

A spring 2001 post on a paddlers' portage database gives the Tuscarora carry as 366 rods and rates it difficult. It says the best stretch is past the second bog, where boards lie across the wet ground and wind can push a canoe carrier off them. BWCA Wild gives 426 rods, so the two sources disagree.^7,4

What trip reports say

BWCA Wild's June 2020 visit saw loons and waterfowl on Missing Link and found freshly hatched painted turtles, minnows and tadpoles in the shallows near the Tuscarora carry. It also logged visits in July 2016 and October 2015.^4,3

The same page says the three campsites can fill fast because the lake is close to the entry and draws brook trout anglers. The lake page suggests the Round Lake carry works as a warm-up if you are heading on to Tuscarora.^4,5

The Round Lake page notes plenty of boats on Round Lake at prime fishing times, early morning and evening, mostly anglers from Tuscarora Lodge. A spring 2001 paddler on the portage database met a squall in the middle of Tuscarora Lake, which also caught lake trout anglers there.^6,7

When to go from here

Round Lake has a shallow, sandy bottom that reaches well out from the shore, and BWCA Wild says boat traffic builds at the prime fishing times, early morning and evening.^5,6

Compare with nearby entry points

• Brant Lake (EP52): Brant Lake (EP52) shares this lot and this landing on Round Lake. The Forest Service lists two 85-rod portages for Brant, while Missing Link has a single 142-rod carry.^1,3
• Cross Bay Lake (EP50): Cross Bay Lake (EP50) is the sign you pass about a mile before Round Lake. The Forest Service lists a route via the Cross River with two portages to Ham Lake, then a 24-rod portage.^1,3

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, Missing Link Lake division, Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
3. Entry Point 51 - Missing Link Lake, BWCA Wild. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Missing Link Lake, BWCA Wild. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Portage between Missing Link Lake and Round Lake, BWCA Wild. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Round Lake, BWCA Wild. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Missing Link to Tuscarora, Quiet Journey portage database. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Permits, Superior National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Missing Link Lake (EP51) permit