Isabella Lake

Isabella Lake sits entirely inside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, about 13 miles north of the town of Isabella in the Tofte district. At 1,257 acres it's one of the bigger lakes reached from this stretch of the Superior National Forest, and it's reached from the southwest by a 78-rod portage off Entry Point 35.

It's a shallow lake by regional standards, topping out at 19 feet and running closer to 8 feet across most of its area, with roughly three-quarters of it shallow enough to fish from the surface down. Nearly 17 miles of shoreline wrap around bays connecting to Boga Lake on the east and the Isabella River on the west, both reached by additional portages, so paddlers passing through have more than one way on or off the lake. The water itself runs brown and bog-stained, with visibility dropping to just a few feet, typical of the soft-water lakes in this part of the wilderness.

Much of the shoreline is still recovering from the 2011 Pagami Creek Fire, which burned through the watershed and left young, regenerating growth across most of the lake. The southeastern shore escaped the burn and still stands in older, unburned timber, so the contrast between open young forest and mature trees is visible from the water. Boulder, ledge rock, and sand make up most of the shoreline substrate.

Walleye are abundant here, if usually on the small side, and northern pike can grow to trophy size, likely helped by a sizable lake whitefish population that gives them something substantial to eat. Isabella is also one of just two lakes in the area open to a fall whitefish netting season, though only a handful of people fish it that way each year.

The lake has seven campsites, spread around a shoreline broken up enough that finding an empty one usually isn't hard. Isabella sees moderate to high use through the summer, more traffic than many lakes this far from a paved road, and every visitor here is on wilderness rules: no motors, no exceptions.

That combination, a big shallow lake with several ways in and enough campsites to spread people out, makes Isabella a common stop on multi-day trips through the Kawishiwi and Isabella River country rather than a quiet backwater.