BWCAW Quota Permit — South Hegman Lake (EP77)

South Hegman Lake (EP77): what makes it different

South Hegman Lake is the Echo Trail entry point most people pick to paddle to the Hegman Lake pictographs. It is paddle only, and the lakes behind it are a short, quiet dead end.^1,5

Getting to the start

The landing sits on the Echo Trail about 15 miles northeast of Ely. It is the first Boundary Waters entry point you reach from Ely, and its sign stands a little past the spot where the pavement turns to dirt, on your right.^4,5

The parking lot is small, with an outdoor toilet. Day-permit holders often fill much of it, since the overnight quota is only a couple of groups a day.⁵

The first leg

You start with an 80-rod portage to South Hegman Lake. The portage begins beside the bulletin board at the lot.^1,5

One paddler who walked it from the parking lot counted 86 rods, mostly downhill to the water. That means the carry is mostly uphill on the way out, so save some energy for it.⁵

A father and son who made the trip in 2025 called this first portage average in length and difficulty. From South Hegman, a 5-rod carry takes you over to North Hegman Lake.^7,6

Terrain and difficulty

Recreation.gov lists this division as a paddle trip with extra portages for longer routes. The paddling is easy: two small lakes joined by a short carry, with a channel leading on to Trease Lake.^2,6

North Hegman sits about two feet higher than South Hegman, and a small creek runs between them near the portage.⁶

The way out the far side is not easy. Bwcawild describes the Trease Lake to Angleworm Lake trail portage as 428 rods, rugged, swampy and covered in deadfall.⁵

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at South Hegman Lake (EP77), overnight paddle: 2 groups a day. Recreation.gov's May to September 2026 calendar showed 2 on many dates and 1 on many others, so you may see only one group a day on the date you want.²

Rules specific to this entry point

This is an overnight paddle-only entry point, so no motors.¹

North Hegman has no campsites. You camp on South Hegman, where two sources disagree on the count (three sites in one, two in the other), or you carry 180 rods to Little Bass Lake.^4,6

Where it leads

The Hegman Lake pictographs are the draw. They sit on a granite cliff on the west side near the north end of North Hegman, close to the channel into Trease Lake, and are painted in red ochre.^4,3,6

The cliff line runs about 275 feet and rises 20 to 40 feet. The art is thought to be 500 to 1,000 years old, and the figures include a moose, a human-like shape and several animals.^6,4,7

Beyond them you can paddle into Trease Lake, or carry 180 rods from North Hegman to Little Bass Lake. In midsummer the channel to Trease has pitcher plants along its boggy edge.⁶

What trip reports say

A 2025 post on Never A Goose Chase did the whole trip as a day outing and finished in about 2 hours 10 minutes, with plenty of time at the cliff. The writer's tip was to look along the west shore for reddish-orange marks near the narrow north end, because the printed map marker was off.⁷

A January 2011 snowshoe report on Jack's Outdoor Adventure Blog put the walk from the lot to the pictographs at about 1.8 miles. It took roughly an hour each way with stops, and the writer met 7 or 8 people on a sunny Saturday.⁸

Bwcawild's 2023 visit notes that North Hegman gets a lot of traffic on nice weekends, mostly from day-permit holders. Its advice is to grab a South Hegman campsite early.⁶

When to go from here

Winter is a real season here. The pictographs are a popular snowshoe or ski day trip, and the lot was plowed when one 2011 snowshoe report visited in January.^4,8

In summer, pick a weekday if you can, since day paddlers pile up on nice weekends.⁶

Compare with nearby entry points

• Angleworm Lake (EP20): Angleworm Lake (EP20) is also paddle only and also out of the Kawishiwi district, but its single portage is 640 rods against 80 here. Choose South Hegman for the pictographs; choose Angleworm only if you want a much longer carry.¹
• Mudro Lake (EP23): Mudro Lake (EP23) spreads over portages from 20 to 185 rods depending on which access you take, so it has more route options. South Hegman is one 80-rod carry and a short dead-end chain.¹
• Stuart River (EP19): Stuart River (EP19) opens with a 480-rod portage, six times the length of the carry here. South Hegman is the gentle option on the same ranger district.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, South Hegman Lake division, Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
3. Hegman Lake Pictograph, Wikipedia. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Lake of the Week: Hegman Lake, Save the Boundary Waters. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Entry Point 77 - South Hegman Lake in the BWCA, BWCAwild.com. Read 2026-10-15.
6. North Hegman Lake in the BWCA, BWCAwild.com. Read 2026-10-15.
7. BWCA Entry Point 77: Hegman Lake Pictographs, Never A Goose Chase. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Hegman Lake Pictographs in BWCA - January 2011, Jack's Outdoor Adventure Blog. 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 South Hegman Lake (EP77) permit