I'm planning a trip for late May (23-27). 5 days 4 nights Monday through Friday. It's 5 adults. We're all in decent shape but haven't done much canoeing(a decent amount of camping though). I was in the BWCA in High school but that was a long time ago. Ideal trip would include travel most days with a 1 day layover. Wildlife, fishing, and scenery would be our main priorities. Any suggestions would be great. We haven't decided on an entry point so we're open to all suggestions. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
thanks

Planning a rout might be my favorite part of a trip. I'd have each of the 5 turn in a rout suggestion then vote on one after a bit of discussion. There aren't any bad routs. You could all meet at a Gander Mountain or Cabelas some day and pour over the maps together and hammer out a rout in no time.

At this point you may want to check permit availability first and go from there.

Permit website

thanks inspector. It looks like most entry points are open as of now. any suggestions?

I keep hearing great things about the Sawbill area (EPs 34-40), although I haven’t entered at those points. If you want to avoid most of the burned areas EPs 50-58 would probably not be to your liking. I haven’t been there since the fire years so I really don’t have the feel of how much actually burned. Another reason I like the Sawbill area and now have my sights on those entry points is that Sawbill Outfitters have some great route suggestions on their website.
Sawbill Route Page

Another suggestion would be the various routes in the Kawishiwi triangle. Entry Points for that are #29, #30, #32, and #33. Most outfitter websites will have some suggested routes for various group abilities and expectations.

I was on a group trip from Sawbill several years back, and it was the perfect kind of first time experience. There is a good balance of relative ease to moderate challenge on the portages depending on the specific route you choose. The Beymer books go into greater detail. The portage from the northernmost point on Sawbill is quite manageable, and the relaxed traversing of Ada Creek is most enjoyable when the water levels are high. Sawbill is a good introduction to the BWCA.

I'm not familiar with the Sawbill or Gunflint entries (yet), but you could do a nice little trip through Moose River North or Mudro entry.

quote boonie: "I'm not familiar with the Sawbill or Gunflint entries (yet), but you could do a nice little trip through Moose River North or Mudro entry."

Did Mudro last year and really liked it. We're headed back again this year. Fishing was decent and scenery was great. I haven't been to the east side of the BWCA yet but I've done a dozen trips on the west side now and the fishing is very good on the west side of the BWCA. Insula and Alice are good fishing lakes. TGO swears by Crooked for fishing.