ROUTES/PORTAGES FROM HORSESHOE LAKE:
To Allen Lake: Walk the 50 rod portage
To Caribou Lake: Walk the 20 rod portage
To Gaskin Lake: Walk the 102 rod portage
To Vista Lake: Walk the 21 rod portage
To Brule River: Paddle In (not a maintained route through BWCA)
Horseshoe Lake
Gunflint Ranger District
HORSESHOE LAKE CAMPSITES: Campsite 1 (#672): On the point just south of the Caribou Lake portage
Campsite 2 (#677): Just southeast of the Caribou Lake portage on eastern shoreline
Campsite 3 (#673): On mid-lake point at entrance to arm leading to the Gaskin Lake portage
Campsite 4 (#639): On north shoreline midway down the western arm leading to Gaskin Lake portage
Campsite 5 (#674): At entrance on the south side of the western arm leading to the Gaskin Lake portage
Campsite 6 (#675): First campsite on west shoreline north of the Vista Lake portage
Campsite 7 (#646): Just west of the outlet of the Brule River
Lake gets its name from it's shape. There is another Horseshoe Lake in the BWCA, just to the east of Lake Three.
Horseshoe Lake is one of the more scenic lakes in this part of the BWCA. That combined with the fact it is connected to four different portage routes means it will be a busy lake in the mid-summer months. Plan to get a campsite early if you are hoping to stay overnight on this lake.
Flowage into Horseshoe Lake is from Allen Lake. The Brule River flows out the southeast corner of the lake. Vista Lake is the source of the Brule River.
Logging operations were conducted in the surrounding forest between 1954 and 1972. This was part of the Finn Lake Sale to Consolidated Paper Company. That company was based in Wisconsin.
Some older maps show a route down the Brule River out of Horseshoe Lake. The portages depicted on these maps no longer exist. The route down the Brule River will be difficult and potentially dangerous and is not a maintained route through the BWCA.
References:
Beymer, Robert, Boundary Waters Canoe Area – Volume 2 – Eastern Region (Berkeley: Wilderness Press, 2006), 92, 96, 102, 107, 109, 114, 116, 122.
Heinselman, Miron, The Boundary Waters Wilderness Ecosystem (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1999), 118.
Pauly, Daniel, Exploring the Boundary Waters (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005), 286, 290, 305, 306.
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PADDLING FROM THE ALLEN LAKE PORTAGE TO BWCA CAMPSITE 672
Traveling east down the relatively narrow north arm of Horseshoe Lake. The campsite is on the right as you start to turn south around the point.
This is the view of Horseshoe Lake to the southeast of BWCA Campsite 672. Explore BWCA Campsite 672 -or- Explore Another Route **********************************************END OF ROUTE***********************************************
PADDLING FROM BWCA CAMPSITE 672 TO THE CARIBOU LAKE PORTAGE
On a generally northwest heading, cross Canoe Lake. You will pass just south of BWCA Campsite 700 on the west end of Canoe Lake, along the north shore. You'll then leave Canoe Lake and paddle a 0.1 mile stretch of the Crocodile River before arriving at Paddle Lake. Portage to Caribou Lake -or- Explore Another Route **********************************************END OF ROUTE***********************************************
Route Connections for Horseshoe Lake
From Horseshoe Lake, you can portage to Allen Lake, Caribou Lake, Gaskin Lake and Vista Lake. You can also paddle down the Brule River, but this is not a maintained route and may be difficult to impossible (and potentially dangerous) to navigate.
