Gabimichigami Lake

Gabimichigami Lake covers about 1,186 acres in the Gunflint district of the Boundary Waters, up the Gunflint Trail corridor in Cook County. It sits several lakes and portages back from the entry points that reach it, whether that's Brant, Missing Link, Cross Bay, or Seagull Lake, so it isn't a lake anyone paddles straight into.

The lake runs unusually deep for its size, dropping to 209 feet, among the deepest basins in the Boundary Waters. Only about 12 percent of it is shallow enough to count as littoral water, so most of the lake stays cold and clear well into summer, with visibility running around 13 feet on average. The DNR classifies it as a Canadian Shield lake, set in the same ancient bedrock that underlies much of the Gunflint district. More than 15 miles of shoreline wrap around the basin, folding into enough bays and points that campsites rarely sit in sight of one another and there's usually a sheltered spot to duck into when the wind picks up.

Lake trout are the main draw, holding in the cold depths and reproducing naturally without any stocking. Northern pike share the lake and can run to real size, with fish past 40 inches on record. Yellow perch and burbot round out the rest of the fishery.

Eight campsites are spread around the lake, with enough separation between them that finding an empty one rarely means settling for whatever's closest. Motors aren't allowed.

Gabimichigami is a lake trout lake first, set far enough into the Gunflint district's interior that it sees far fewer visitors than the water closer to entry points.