Burntside Lake

Burntside Lake sits a few miles northwest of Ely in the Kawishiwi district, and most of it lies outside the wilderness boundary rather than inside it. Resorts and cabins line much of the shore, including two log lodges still running from the early 1900s, Burntside Lodge and Camp Van Vac. Only the lake's western arm actually touches the BWCA, where portages climb out toward Crab Lake, Twin Lakes, and Chant Lake.

At more than 7,300 acres, Burntside is broken up by over 100 islands rather than open to a single long fetch, so a paddler is rarely far from a lee shore even when the wind is up. The basin sits on granite, and boulder and ledgerock make up most of the shoreline, with sand tucked into some of the back bays. The water runs unusually clear for a lake this size, clear enough to see well down into it over the rock.

Burntside runs deep for its size, dropping to 126 feet, while only about a fifth of it is shallow enough to fish comfortably from the surface down. That combination of depth and clarity makes it a genuine lake trout lake, and unlike many stocked trout waters nearby, Burntside's population reproduces on its own. Walleye are the lake's other mainstay, running the rock points and drop-offs around the islands, with northern pike filling in the shallower bays.

Motorboats are common here, since most of the lake falls outside the wilderness and its resorts rent and launch them. Six Forest Service campsites sit on the lake for paddlers passing through rather than staying at a resort, spread out enough among the islands that finding an open one isn't usually a problem. From the lake's west end, a 406-rod portage carries into Crab Lake, long enough that it filters out anyone not committed to the trip beyond it, while shorter carries reach Chant Lake and the Twin Lakes.

Burntside works well for a boat-in fishing trip out of Ely or as the jumping-off point for a wilderness trip that starts with a long carry rather than a short one. Its size and the resort traffic on the water set it apart from the quieter, motor-free lakes the portages lead into.