Moose to Basswood Loop

Overview

The Moose to Basswood Loop begins and ends at Entry Point 25 on Moose Lake, a large Kawishiwi District lake that connects by open water through Sucker Lake before the route reaches Basswood Lake. It's a loop built around one of the larger connected chains this close to an entry point, with paddling doing most of the work and only a few carries closing the circuit.

Basswood Lake anchors the loop as its centerpiece, a border lake with a long history in the voyageur trade and enough open water, islands, and shoreline to fill a full day of exploring before moving on. The route crosses Basswood by way of the historic Prairie Portage, once a customs checkpoint on the US-Canada border, then continues to Wind Lake, a smaller and more sheltered body of water, before the route closes with a return to the Moose Lake chain and the landing.

This route suits paddlers who are comfortable on big open water and want a trip built around paddling distance more than portage count, since the connected chain from Moose through Sucker Lake covers real miles before the first carry of the trip. Basswood's size means groups should plan around wind and changing conditions on its open crossings rather than treating the whole lake as calm water.

Route Highlights

• Prairie Portage, a short carry that once served as a US-Canada customs checkpoint on this border-lake corridor
• Basswood Lake's voyageur-era history and island-studded bays and points
• A carry from Basswood into Wind Lake on the return leg