BWCAW Quota Permit — Sawbill Lake (EP38)

Sawbill Lake (EP38): what makes it different

Sawbill Lake is the Tofte district entry point with no portage at the start: a dock, a 51-site Forest Service campground and an outfitter sit at the landing, and four routes lead out toward Alton, the Kelso River, Smoke Lake and Cherokee.^1,4,7

Getting to the start

Take the Sawbill Trail, County Road 2, from Tofte. The outfitter counts 24 miles to the road's end; another guide counts 23.5 and says only the first 11 miles are paved. The outfitter warns that GPS cannot be trusted here.^3,7

The public lot is across the gravel road from the outfitter's lodge, a couple hundred yards from the lake. A drop-off area, a dock and restrooms sit at the shore.⁷

Sawbill Lake Campground, run by the outfitter for the Forest Service, has 51 sites at $20 a night for up to nine people. About half book on Recreation.gov and the rest are first come, first served. The outfitter's store has showers, laundry and gear rental, and Recreation.gov lists the Tofte Ranger Station, 218-663-7280, as the contact for this division.^4,2

The first leg

The Forest Service lists a boat landing, and one guide gives the portage from the parking lot as 0 rods. Four routes leave the lake: Alton Lake to the west, the Kelso River also west, a 100-rod portage into Smoke Lake on the east shore a bit under two miles north, and Ada Creek at the north end for Cherokee.^1,7

The outfitter says the Alton portage is about 45 minutes from the landing. It is 29 rods, and central Alton is about 1.5 miles out.^5,8

The Cherokee route goes north through Ada Creek, Ada Lake and Scoop Lake, then a 180-rod portage over the Laurentian Divide into Cherokee Creek.⁶

Terrain and difficulty

Alton is large, deep and spring fed, with no streams flowing in, so the water stays clear and cold. Kelso is shallow and muddy, with bays filling in as floating bog. The outfitter says the Kelso loop takes about 4 hours and most groups take 6.⁵

The Cherokee loop has a 140-rod portage on day three that the outfitter calls uphill the whole way and the hardest of the trip.⁶

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Sawbill Lake (EP38), overnight paddle: 11 groups a day. Recreation.gov's calendar read 11 on nearly every date from May through September.²

Rules specific to this entry point

A day trip without camping uses a self-service permit from the box at the lake's bulletin board. Camping at the campground first means quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and no motorboats.^7,4

Where it leads

Alton has 1,000-plus acres and 16 designated campsites. Its route guide also suggests a loop north into Kelso and back through Sawbill, and the Lujenida to Zenith portage, well over a mile, as a hike.⁸

Kelso is where the outfitter reports moose, otter and eagles, plus moccasin flower orchids in June. Cherokee Lake has islands and steep hills, and the four-day loop returns through the Temperance chain, Kelly, Burnt and Smoke Lakes.^5,6

What trip reports say

A late August 2020 Paddle Planner report describes three nights at a site on Sawbill's east shore, near the north end, with walleye and bass caught from shore. The writer calls the landing one of the nicest in the Boundary Waters, counts 13 campsites on a lake a little over 4 miles long, and saw almost no bugs.⁹

A September 2014 Paddle Planner report from a first-time group going over the Smoke Lake portage to Burnt Lake says they double portaged, found canoe after canoe on Burnt and lost the sites they wanted, then settled on Smoke Lake's northeast site.¹⁰

A six-day Cherokee loop posted on bwca.com in 2018 by the handle altaylor4 began with a leaking canoe swapped at the outfitter. The first day ran 80, 80 and 180 rods to Cherokee Creek, with knee-deep mud at one landing and a small beaver dam.¹¹

When to go from here

The Alton route guide tells July and August paddlers to start early, since Sawbill is busy and Alton has only 16 sites.⁸

Compare with nearby entry points

• Baker Lake (EP39): Baker Lake is also a Tofte boat landing, but it needs a 10-rod portage into Peterson Lake before the first campsite, and its 2026 quota was 2 groups a day against 11 here.^1,2
• Hog Creek (EP36): Hog Creek starts with a 15-rod portage toward Perent Lake and had a 2026 quota of 4 groups a day. Sawbill starts on open water with 11.^1,2
• Brule Lake (EP41): Brule Lake is a landing on one large lake with several campsites, with a 2026 quota of 7 groups a day. Sawbill leaves its lake quickly for Alton, Kelso or Cherokee.^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, division pages and 2026 availability calendar, Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
3. Driving Directions, Sawbill Canoe Outfitters. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Sawbill Lake Campground, Sawbill Canoe Outfitters. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Kelso Loop Day Trip, Sawbill Canoe Outfitters. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Cherokee Loop, Sawbill Canoe Outfitters. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Entry Point 38 - Sawbill Lake in the BWCA, BWCAwild.com. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Exploration of Alton Lake, Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Back on Sawbill (August 2020), Paddle Planner trip reports. Read 2026-10-15.
10. Fall Sawbill, Smoke, Burnt trip (September 2014), Paddle Planner trip reports. Read 2026-10-15.
11. Sawbill Loop to Cherokee (September 2018), BWCA.com trip reports. Read 2026-10-15.
12. Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Permits, Superior National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Sawbill Lake (EP38) permit