Fourmile Lake

Fourmile Lake covers about 593 acres in Cook County, roughly 10 miles northwest of Tofte. It falls within the Tofte district, but the lake itself sits outside the wilderness boundary rather than in it: no portage connects it to the interior entry points, and the way in is a drive down a Forest Service road to a concrete boat ramp on the lake's north end.

It's a shallow lake for its size. The deepest spot is only 19.5 feet, and nearly the whole basin stays shallow enough to hold weeds rather than open out into deep water. Dense bulrush and spikerush crowd the shore, and a bay in the southwest corner fills with wild rice. The water itself runs bog-stained and tea-colored rather than clear, a different look than the granite-bottomed lakes deeper in the wilderness.

Walleye are the main draw and the most consistently strong fish in the lake, with a healthy yellow perch population backing them up. Northern pike are present too, though in smaller numbers, and black crappie turn up occasionally.

A small Forest Service campground sits at the boat ramp with room for trailered vehicles, and two campsites sit out on the lake itself, reached by paddling from the landing rather than by any portage. Motors are allowed, and camping here doesn't require the wilderness permit that governs the portage lakes beyond it.

Fourmile suits a drive-to walleye trip more than a wilderness paddle. It sits close enough to Tofte for a day on the water or a night at the campground, without the portages or permits that define the BWCA lakes just beyond it.