Saganaga can be a challenging lake to navigate especially for a newbie. After three trips in the area, I'd like to outline a few things I learned that make paddling the lake much more maneageable. Get out your map and see if you can't follow along.

American Point: I would not recommend trying to wander through the maze of islands in the center of the lake and then attempt the long open water crossing to the point. I use a much more straightforward and safer route: Say you start at 81 Landing, at the bottom of the channel near the end of the Gunflint Trail. Paddle to the end of the channel, but instead of striking across the lake follow the far shoreline, southwest and then south, until you reach the entrance to Devil's Walk Bay, which is marked by a distinctive outcropping that looks like this:



Then paddle west. There will be a big water crossing but nothing compared to the alternative farther north. You will touch on the south ends of Gold, Long, and Englishman Islands in that order. If you're tired, grab the beautiful site on the south side of Englishman Island. It also is a good navigational landmark. You will see a large grove of red pines and a sand beach, which is a rarity in the Boundary Waters. From Englishman Island follow the west shoreline north to American Point and beyond. In perfect paddling conditions, the landing to Englishman Island took three hours. Englishman Island to American Point is about a half hour paddle. What you gain is the safety of remaining close to shore on a lake that is beautiful when calm but downright treacherous in a stiff wind. Take the same route in reverse when returning to the landing.

Say you are emerging from the end of the Granite River at Saganaga Falls and want to paddle back in. Here again there is a rock outcropping that serves as an excellent navigational landmark. Say you have just dropped your canoes in Saganaga Lake at the Saganaga Falls portage. Closely follow the shoreline in a northeasterly direction without getting sucked into the small bay outside the falls. You will round a point next to a small island. As you look southwest, you will see a high, rocky cliff wall. It is high and rocky enough to be noteworthy compared to its surroundings. I'm kicking myself for not having the foresight to take a picture of it. (If anyone has a picture of it, please post it here. It's the small island located just north of the point at the end of the Saganaga motor corridor, and there is a campsite on the east side of the island.) Paddle towards the cliff, heading in a southwesterly direction while avoiding the small bay on your left. Once you have reached this rock wall, paddle to the small point that is clearly visible beyond it. You should see the open section of the lake as you look east. Head straight south, with the islands on your left side and the shore line on your right. Some maps point out this area as the Saganaga Corridor, where there is a special motor regulation. From the south end of Clark Island (there is a campsite there) you can see the entrance to the channel. Again you can take this route in reverse to paddle to Saganaga Falls.

Or you could take a tow boat. :) Just for the record, the amount of motorboats on Sag is not as bad as I had expected. You will maybe see three or four a day, more in the channel.

Saganaga is my favorite lake, but it can be tricky in terms of navigation, wind, and weather. Don't be overconfident, but yet don't be afraid to paddle it either. Staying close to shore, although it might not be the most direct route, will definitely be the safest and you can always head shore if the wind really gets bad and wait it out.

Good to know should I ever venture this way.

Thank you. Someday I would like to paddle it! Marc

Thanks very much for the information. Well written!

Edited above to show that after touching at Devil's Walk Bay and heading west you will touch on the bottoms of Gold, Long, and Englishman Island in that order. I did not have the order right on my previous post.

That was my first ever lake...as a newbie! I still like it and have gone back...even after my first ( and hopefully only ) capsize on that lake on my first day out! What a trip!

quote 520eek: "That was my first ever lake...as a newbie! I still like it and have gone back...even after my first ( and hopefully only ) capsize on that lake on my first day out! What a trip!"

It was my first lake ever too, also as a newbie...What were the circumstances of your capsize? Wind? Waves? Newbie error? :)

the best advice I have for Sag is to set off early so you hit the big open water before the wind starts blowing, or hit it late

on any big lake 9:30 am is when the wind begins to be a problem, you should be across the big water by 10

Good advice Joe. I have paddled this lake many times and it's easy to get turned around. This was the lake I first went to and we were all rookies. I had to learn lake navigation with map and compass. Always know where you are on this lake. If I wanted to paddle to another island across the lake I would orient the map, take a compass bearing and follow it to the island. The GPS made this lake so much easier to navigate.

Thanks everyone. The picture I noted above - I'm 90% sure it is of the correct rock wall that tells you when to head for the southern ends of Long, Gold, and Englishman Islands. My original post was intended as a helpful guide with some tips that helped me and not as a definitive map-replacing alternative to navigating Sag. As Savage said always know where you are on this lake. Paddle with your map right in front of you.

And yes, definitely hit the water as early as possible.

I just thought of another thing. There are over 100 islands on this lake. You need to look on a map of a known island and identify the size. This is so when you see another island on the map is it a block long or a 1/2 mile long. Sounds like a no brainier but I have seen three times where people are a little turned around. They still are on the same lake but way off where they thought they were.

If you are headed from the channel to Am. Point, and get a little bit lost, just wait for the next tow boat to go by, and pay attention where they went or came from. Especially in the morning, there are almost always a few that go by.

When the wind is coming strong from the NW, the north end of Munkers narrows can be treacherous.


It usually takes us about 45 minutes to get from Am. Point to the start of 1st bay. But a couple of times the wind has been so strong out of the west or NW, that it has taken us 4 hours, and every bit of muscle we can spare. That little bit of respite behind spam Island has been a blessing.

I highly recommend crossing sag as early as possible. Pick up your permit the night before at the duluth pack in Duluth, or wherever, and get a very early start. If you wait until the ranger station opens in Grand Marais (I think it's 8am now). You aren't out of there until 820, at best you're to the end of the trail around 920, but probably later if you dink around in GM at all. You're not likely in the water until 10 am, which means you are hitting the main lake at 11 or later, and the most treacherous parts in the middle of the afternoon. That's a recipe for disaster.

Get the permit the night before, and be on the water at 6 am. It's helpful to stay at the middle or end of the trail the night before, somewhere like Seagul outfitters, or Rockwood lodge Bunkhouse works.

Note, if Sag gets real windy, the campsites in 1st, 2nd and 3rd bay will start filling up early, as folks coming out, won't want to cross sag. They will have already endured a tough paddle on otter track, etc, and will stop in the bays to avoid a nasty sag crossing. Get out early!

If you are headed from the channel to Am. Point, and get a little bit lost, just wait for the next tow boat to go by, and pay attention where they went or came from. Especially in the morning, there are almost always a few that go by.

When the wind is coming strong from the NW, the north end of Munkers narrows can be treacherous.


It usually takes us about 45 minutes to get from Am. Point to the start of 1st bay. But a couple of times the wind has been so strong out of the west or NW, that it has taken us 4 hours, and every bit of muscle we can spare. That little bit of respite behind spam Island has been a blessing.

I highly recommend crossing sag as early as possible. Pick up your permit the night before at the duluth pack in Duluth, or wherever, and get a very early start. If you wait until the ranger station opens in Grand Marais (I think it's 8am now). You aren't out of there until 820, at best you're to the end of the trail around 920, but probably later if you dink around in GM at all. You're not likely in the water until 10 am, which means you are hitting the main lake at 11 or later, and the most treacherous parts in the middle of the afternoon. That's a recipe for disaster.

Get the permit the night before, and be on the water at 6 am. It's helpful to stay at the middle or end of the trail the night before, somewhere like Seagul outfitters, or Rockwood lodge Bunkhouse works.

Note, if Sag gets real windy, the campsites in 1st, 2nd and 3rd bay will start filling up early, as folks coming out, won't want to cross sag. They will have already endured a tough paddle on otter track, etc, and will stop in the bays to avoid a nasty sag crossing. Get out early!

Note, if Sag gets real windy, the campsites in 1st, 2nd and 3rd bay will start filling up early, as folks coming out, won't want to cross sag. They will have already endured a tough paddle on otter track, etc, and will stop in the bays to avoid a nasty sag crossing. Get out early!"

That's good advice....

Munker Island is the most confusing, it has messed me up more than once. I try to swing south to stay well around it using the route I outlined above.