Lake Agnes

Lake Agnes covers 1,045 acres in the La Croix district of the BWCA, roughly 24 miles northwest of Ely in St. Louis County and well south of the Canadian border lake Lac la Croix, which it feeds into. Every entry point that reaches it sits seven to ten miles out in a straight line, and the route in typically runs through the Little Indian Sioux or Moose River corridors, so this is a lake for a longer trip rather than a quick weekend loop. Two portages climb north out of Agnes to Lac la Croix itself, a short 25-rod carry and a harder 114-rod one.

The Moose River feeds Agnes from the southwest and the Boulder River drains it northeast toward Lac la Croix, and the lake stays shallow throughout, topping out at 30 feet with close to half its area in the littoral zone. The water runs brown-green rather than clear, more stained than many lakes deeper in the wilderness.

Agnes is known for walleye and, less commonly for this part of the BWCA, sauger, a species that shows up in only a handful of lakes around Tower and appears to have moved in from Lac la Croix. Northern pike run to good size on the lake's strong cisco population, and anglers report decent smallmouth bass and black crappie as well, even though both sample poorly in survey nets. One quirk worth knowing before you land a fish here: Agnes carries the largest population of native silver lamprey found in any lake in the area, a harmless parasitic species that occasionally rides a walleye or sucker right into the boat.

Eight of the lake's 25 campsites are closed as of this writing, tied to the 2026 wildfires that burned through the La Croix Ranger District south of Lac la Croix and forced season-long closures at the Moose/Portage River North, Stuart River, and Little Indian Sioux River North entry points that lead to Agnes. Anyone routing through here should check current Forest Service closure orders before counting on a site.

Given the distance in and the current closures, Agnes suits an experienced party already planning a longer trip toward Lac la Croix rather than a lake to build a short trip around.