What kind of permits are needed to enter and camp in Quetico / Canada for US citizens if we start our trip in the US?

You'll need your Remote Area Border Crossing
and your Quetico permit. . Note that the RABC application can be done for yourself and for family members, but non-family members of your party must each apply for their own RABC. In addition to carrying the RABC, you must also be carrying your passport. The Quetico canoeing permit can be for as many as 9 paddlers.

TZ

kyhtak: "What kind of permits are needed to enter, and camp in, Quetico / Canada for US Citizens if we start our trip in the US?"

All anglers will need Ontario non-resident angling licences.

Argo: "

kyhtak: "What kind of permits are needed to enter, and camp in, Quetico / Canada for US Citizens if we start our trip in the US?"

All anglers will need Ontario non-resident angling licences."

,,, and no live bait.

TrailZen: "You'll need your Remote Area Border Crossing
and your Quetico permit. . Note that the RABC application can be done for yourself and for family members, but non-family members of your party must each apply for their own RABC. In addition to carrying the RABC, you must also be carrying your passport. The Quetico canoeing permit can be for as many as 9 paddlers.

TZ"

Thank you!

I don't know anything about that area -- I've never been there. Which of the four border crossings listed on the RABC permit website applies to the Boundary Waters area?

-- From Pigeon River through to and including Lake of the Woods
-- The Canadian shore of Lake Superior
-- Cockburn Island
-- Sault Ste. Marie (upper lock system)

And for the Ontario Parks Registration, which park / access point? I don't see "Quetico" on either list.

Where are these on the map?

Thanks!

Kathy

Argo: "

kyhtak: "What kind of permits are needed to enter, and camp in, Quetico / Canada for US Citizens if we start our trip in the US?"

All anglers will need Ontario non-resident angling licences."

Thanks!

Since we're plant based, we won't need a fishing license -- or bait, alive or otherwise. :-)

kyhtak: "Which of the four border crossings listed on the RABC permit website applies to the Boundary Waters area?


-- From Pigeon River through to and including Lake of the Woods
-- The Canadian shore of Lake Superior
-- Cockburn Island
-- Sault Ste. Marie (upper lock system)


And for the Ontario Parks Registration, which park / access point? I don't see "Quetico" on either list.


Where are these on the map?


Thanks!


Kathy"

On the first question, I believe you want "Lac La CroixBorders Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) / Quetico Provincial Park".

Second: The Ontario Parks reservation page is confusing - you select the "Backcountry" tab up top, then Quetico is a button option below that. While you'd think that would be enough...no! Also then select Quetico on the drop-down lower left.

bobbernumber3: "

Argo: "

kyhtak: "What kind of permits are needed to enter, and camp in, Quetico / Canada for US Citizens if we start our trip in the US?"

All anglers will need Ontario non-resident angling licences."

,,, and no live bait."

Thanks!

Since we're plant based, we won't need a fishing license -- or bait, alive or otherwise. :-)

Maybe you know this, but simpler and less expensive entering through the north - Canadian - access points. No RABC - just cross the border with passport or enhanced driver's license. Camping fees are also lower. And some of us would more solitude. Just noting it.

…..And no DWI going back a long time or you might be denied crossing.

You may want to familiarize yourself with the Quetico entry points. From the US you can enter at Lac La Croix, Prairie Portage or Cache Bay. For the RABC put “LacLaCroix…” as previously recommended.

For the Quetico permit, the permit you reserve has to be picked up at the specifically associated Ranger Station on the date of entry. For example, if you get a Bottle River Entry Point permit, you have to pick the permit up at the LLC (Lac La Croix) Ranger Station on the day of entry.

As for which EP/Ranger Station to use I’d suggest either Prairie Portage or LLC.

For the LLC entry points, most people get a tow from Crane Lake. If you do that there are two things to note. First, no need for an RABC permit. The outfitter that tows you in will take you to the Canada Customs (CBSA) at Sand Point. Secondly, they then continue to the LLC ranger station to pick up your permit and then drop you at the Quetico EP. They will also pick you up any the end of the trip. This is the quickest but most expensive way to get deep into Quetico. The tow is about $300 pp round trip. I like Anderson’s for this tow. Great service annd andvice… and you can stay at the Pine Ridge Motel across the street. They will set that up for you if you want.

The other option is to enter at one of the EPs from Prairie Portage (PP). If you do that consider a tow from Moose Lake to PP - that’s about $60 pp round trip. You need the RABC permit for this as there is no Canada Customs on the way. Once you pick up your permit at the PP Ranger Station you head out by paddle from there.

The RABC can be for multiple people, however, it is limited to spouses and under 18 children. And they have to be listed on the application - you need passport photocopies for each person listed on the application. If tripping with others that don’t fall into that category, they will need to apply for their own RABC.

And must enter through ranger station.

Do you really need to carry your passport with you while you're in Quetico if you have RABC permit?

WapsiBanks00: "Do you really need to carry your passport with you while you're in Quetico if you have RABC permit?"

You don't need passport for Canada - unless you're injured and get flown to a Canadian facility and having passport will make return to US much easier - but you do likely need passport or enhanced DL when you return and check in in US. I carry the plastic card I got with last passport.

Banksiana: "And must enter through ranger station."

Is that true for Mack Lake entry now? It wasn't a few years ago when I chatted with Trevor. He was clear he wanted all visitors to have face time with a ranger upon entering but struggled with Mack. (is that right name - North East fly in lake?)

billconner: "

Banksiana: "And must enter through ranger station."

Is that true for Mack Lake entry now? It wasn't a few years ago when I chatted with Trevor. He was clear he wanted all visitors to have face time with a ranger upon entering but struggled with Mack. (is that right name - North East fly in lake?)"

Don't know about Mack. Outlier.

Banksiana: "

billconner: "

Banksiana: "And must enter through ranger station."

Is that true for Mack Lake entry now? It wasn't a few years ago when I chatted with Trevor. He was clear he wanted all visitors to have face time with a ranger upon entering but struggled with Mack. (is that right name - North East fly in lake?)"

Don't know about Mack. Outlier."

Any group coming from the north and using an outfitter can likely avoid visiting the Ranger station - assuming they also shuttle in or fly-in... At least, that was our experience in '22 and this year, using Camp Quetico.

WapsiBanks00: "Do you really need to carry your passport with you while you're in Quetico if you have RABC permit?"

I don’t, but I do carry a photocopy of it or a pic of it in my phone. I can’t imagine you would ever encounter a CSBA agent in the Park. They are the only agency that would ask to see your RABC permit and passport - Park Ranger will not.

plander: "

WapsiBanks00: "Do you really need to carry your passport with you while you're in Quetico if you have RABC permit?"

I don’t, but I do carry a photocopy of it or a pic of it in my phone. I can’t imagine you would ever encounter a CSBA agent in the Park. They are the only agency that would ask to see your RABC permit and passport - Park Ranger will not. "

I'm just guessing here but your RABC should be all you need. If you're an American hanging out in Thunder Bay, no-one is asking for your passport. In other words, once you're in the country, you’re presumed to have been processed at the border. And the RABC is evidence of that as it pertains to it's mandated region.

I think what gets overlooked in all of this the protocol for returning to the USA. What percentage of campers simply believe you can just paddle back across the border, hop in your car and drive home?

Argo: "....just paddle back across the border, hop in your car and drive home?"

Yeah... standard operating procedure for our group. We used to think about stopping.

WapsiBanks00: "Do you really need to carry your passport with you while you're in Quetico if you have RABC permit?"

Last time I crossed back into Canada (a month ago) I asked the border officer this same question. They let me know that you do need to be carrying your passport with you if that is the ID you used for the RABC.

As for entering through a ranger station, you will need to enter through a station unless you are with one of the few qualified Outfitters through the northern entries. Often this is done for fly-in entries but for most other entries you need to visit a ranger station. All campers entering from the south will need to stop at Cache Bay or Prairie Portage ranger stations.

Hope that helps!

I really appreciate all these comments!

Right now, we're headed for our first BWCA adventure (with our son, who will be making his 5th BWCA trip) the first weekend in September. It will be a canoe in (from BWCA EP 24), a couple of short portages, camp, and canoe back out.

However . . . someday I want to go find Sam Campbell's "Sanctuary Lake." (Sufficient instructions for finding it are in his book, "A Tippy Canoe and Canada Too," that I've loved since childhood . . . and read to our children.)

I've talked to people who have friends who have located it, and who have been there, but how to get there is a tightly guarded secret -- you have to read the book and dig out the clues for yourself. I guess that's part of the fun!

"Up along the north horizon . . . it is somewhere east of sunset, and it's somewhere west of dawn."

Sam's trip was probably made in the late 1930's or early 1940's, since the book was first published January 1, 1946. That was long before all this border crossing "red tape" stuff was even a "thing," meaning we might not be able to follow his exact route.

So -- I guess I have to figure out, not only how to get there from Ely, MN (which I think was his put-in spot) . . . but which border crossing I need to use . . . or how to get there from a Quetico EP (and which one to use)

Even though he died in 1962, I was reading yesterday that Sam Campbell was instrumental in setting in motion the process of the BWCA becoming a protected wilderness area. (I can't remember now which page of the book on his life I saw it on.)

One thing I've learned (the hard way!) is that trying to prepare for this kind of adventure is something that will take a lot of time and research . . . so I'm starting now to figure out the details I need to make the Sanctuary Lake trip a reality.

A Tippy Canoe and Canada Too

Sanctuary Lake Song, written by Sam Campbell