Elbow Lake

Elbow Lake (2) covers about 528 acres in the Tofte district of Cook County, near Sawbill Landing. It carries a Superior National Forest ranger district like the wilderness lakes around it, but the lake itself sits outside the BWCA boundary: motors are allowed here, and there's no wilderness quota permit required to camp on it.

There's no road to Elbow Lake either, though. The only way in is by portage: a 74-rod carry off Whitefish Lake near the Whitefish campground is the route most people use, with shorter or longer options in from Finger Lake, Timber Lake, and Lost Lake depending on which direction you're coming from.

The lake runs shallow, dropping to just 23 feet at its deepest. Close to three-quarters of it is shallow enough to grow weeds, and pondweed covers much of the bottom out to about 10 feet. Boulder, rubble, and gravel make up most of the shoreline, with sand mixed in near shore.

Walleye are the main draw, holding on through natural reproduction rather than stocking, with recent surveys showing some of the best catches on record. Northern pike run to real size here too, some stretching past 30 inches, and yellow perch have grown thick enough in the lake to feed both of them.

Four campsites sit on the lake, first-come and first-served rather than part of the wilderness quota system, since Elbow Lake falls outside the BWCA's permit requirements.

Elbow Lake suits anglers willing to work a portage or two for motorized, permit-free water, rather than paddlers looking for the quota-permit wilderness experience the surrounding entry points offer.