BWCAW Quota Permit — Snake River (EP84)

Snake River (EP84): what makes it different

Snake River is a paddle-only overnight entry point in the Tofte District with a quota of 1 group a day. A long carry down an old logging road reaches the Snake River, and about a mile of paddling later you meet the Isabella River just above Bald Eagle Lake. The sources disagree on how long the carry is.^1,2,3,5

Getting to the start

The Forest Service lists EP84 as overnight, paddle only, in the Tofte District, with the access a portage to the river followed by several short portages before Bald Eagle Lake.^1,2

One guide gives the drive from Ely as Highway 1 east about 18 miles to Tomahawk Road (Forest Road 173), left for about 6 miles, then left onto narrower, rougher Forest Road 381 north. At a T-intersection a sign shows 1 mile to the Little Isabella River to the right and 1 mile to the Snake River to the left.³

Tomahawk Road is usually well graded. The last roads are bumpy, and by summer grass can stand two feet tall down the middle and hide boulders and wood. The guide says a passenger car can make it with care. The small lot is close to the start of the portage and has no restroom, and day permits sit in a box on the right side of the bulletin board.³

The first leg

The carry from the lot to the Snake River follows an old logging road. The trail starts just right of the bulletin board and is in very good shape. The sources give different lengths for it: 198 rods on the BWCA Wild entry point and river pages, 160 on Rec.gov, 170 at Friends of the Boundary Waters, 180 in a 2000 report, 282 on Paddle Planner. A 2005 report says it feels closer to 270, citing a guidebook.^{3,4,2,7,5,8,6}

The 2000 report says the last 20 to 30 rods drop steeply to the river over narrow, rocky ground, so watch your footing. The put-in has room for several canoes.⁵

Walking out the other way in high water in spring 2005, the writer found a muddy landing on the west bank. The trail climbs about 25 rods to a clearing, turns east and drops to a bridge over rapids. It then crosses a roughly 15-rod bog, a small creek on a second bridge, and ends with a short climb to the lot.⁶

Downstream of the long carry, Rec.gov names several short portages before Bald Eagle Lake and another option, a 141-rod portage to the Isabella River. The 2005 report counted four portages on the river with the long one included, and says the maps misplace some of them: 15, 30 and 20 rods, all easy, on the east bank.^2,6

Terrain and difficulty

The Snake River is just over 11 miles long and drops 171 feet, from 1,625 feet in a bog southeast of Shamrock Lake to 1,454 feet at its mouth. It is dark with stains, over 5 feet deep in places, with rapids just above the put-in. About a mile of paddling takes you from the end of the portage to the Isabella River.⁴

The mouth lies near wild rice fields, just upstream of Bald Eagle Lake. The same page reports walleye and northern pike, especially near the mouth.⁴

Bald Eagle Lake has shallow, weedy water in the east that deepens to the west. It holds walleye, northern pike and smallmouth bass, and the 2000 report counted at least eight campsites, fairly worn.⁵

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Snake River (EP84), overnight paddle: 1 group a day. This was the most common daily total on Rec.gov across May to September 2026, shown on 136 of 153 dates. The other 17 dates showed 0.²

Rules specific to this entry point

No motors. The Forest Service lists EP84 as paddle only, with no motor limit.^1,2

BWCA Wild says the only route out is down the Snake River to the Isabella River near Bald Eagle Lake. From Bald Eagle you can head north or west, and east leads toward Quadga Lake and Lake Isabella.³

Where it leads

Bald Eagle Lake is the first big water, and Friends of the Boundary Waters suggests a night or two there, with a side trip west to Gabbro Lake, both known for walleye. Its Clearwater Lake Loop starts at this entry as a 3 day, 21 mile intermediate route with 13 portages totalling 1,300 rods, the longest 211 rods from Clearwater to Turtle Lake.⁷

The BWCA Wild entry point page suggests a loop of the Snake, Isabella and Little Isabella rivers that ends with a walk of about two miles along a nearly empty road back from the Little Isabella entry. The Snake River page adds that the loop goes easier starting from the Little Isabella.^3,4

What trip reports say

A summer 2000 portage report on Quiet Journey (handle Cinemensch, who also did it in 1997) says few people use this entry because easier routes reach Bald Eagle, but the river is scenic and worth the extra effort. Most of the trail is a wide, smooth, firm logging road.⁵

A spring 2005 report (handle Beavers, high water) warns that the McKenzie and Fisher maps are misleading about the number and side of the river portages, and that the mud on the long carry is not deep enough to trap boots.⁶

BWCA Wild visited on August 5, 2016 and again on July 28, 2023 and saw no wildlife and no campsites listed on the river itself.^4,3

When to go from here

High water changes the river portages. The 2005 report was written at high water and found rocks rather than rapids at two of the short carries. A May 2023 Paddle Planner post says its writer picked the fishing opener weekend because it was the only open window after a long snowy winter, and booked a Snake River permit for that Saturday.^6,8

Compare with nearby entry points

• Little Isabella River (EP75): Little Isabella River (EP75) is the sign on the right at the same T-intersection, 1 mile away. The Forest Service lists a 20-rod portage to the river, then short portages to the Isabella River, against the Snake's long carry.^1,3
• Isabella Lake (EP35): Isabella Lake (EP35) is paddle only in the Tofte District too, with a 70-rod portage to the lake rather than a river.¹
• Kawishiwi Lake (EP37): Kawishiwi Lake (EP37) is a boat landing, paddle only, with no portage listed before the water, while Snake River starts with the long carry.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, Snake River division, Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
3. Entry Point 84, BWCA Wild. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Snake River, BWCA Wild. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Entry #84 to Bald Eagle, Quiet Journey. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Bald Eagle to Entry #84, Quiet Journey. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Clearwater Lake Loop, Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Entry Point 84 Snake River, Paddle Planner. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Permits, Superior National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Snake River (EP84) permit