ROUTES/PORTAGES FROM KELLY LAKE:
To Burnt Lake: Walk the 230 rod portage
To Jack Lake: Walk the 65 rod portage
To Peterson Lake: Walk the 3 rod portage (can be skipped sometimes)
To Pipe Creek: Paddle In
Kelly Lake
Tofte Ranger District
KELLY LAKE CAMPSITES:
None visited yet.
Kelly Lake is probably named for Frank Kelly who worked for the General Logging Company in the 1920's and 1930's. Mr. Kelly previously worked for the U.S. Forest Service (Sawbill: History and Tales - Mary Alice Hansen - see page 212).
Kelly Lake runs southwest/northeast and is basically just a wider section of the Temperance River. To the west of Kelly Lake are two large hills. The southern hill has an elevation of 1,986 feet and the northern hill rises to 2,022 feet. Neither hill is named. These hills separate the Kelly Lake basin from that of Burnt Lake. The portage to Burnt Lake meanders along the southern side of the south most of these two hills. Because of this, the portage between these two lakes is a tiring one. The elevation of Kelly Lake is 1,747 feet. Another hill, not quite as high, reaches a height of 1,933 feet to the east of the lake, near its northern end.
Kelly Lake can be shallow in spots, especially the north end. Later in the season, especially if the water is low, some pushing through weeds may be required.
As mentioned, Kelly Lake is just a wide section of the Temperance River. The Temperance River flows in from Jack Lake (at the north end of Kelly Lake) and out into Peterson Lake at the south tip. Jack Lake lies four feet above Kelly Lake in elevation and Peterson Lake is one foot below Kelly Lake. Pipe Creek also drains into Kelly Lake, just east of where the Temperance River enters the lake. This creek loses 75 feet of elevation between Tobacco Lake and Kelly Lake (a distance of slightly more than two miles). This is a fairly steep grade, indicating it has some strong rapids or some waterfalls along its length.
Bill Plouff used to have a cabin on Kelly Lake. The cabin was still standing and in good condition at least until 1956 as detailed in the book by Mary Alice Hansen. He was a silver prospector and had a mine shaft nearby which is still visible today from the Jack Lake to Kelly Lake portage. Nearby Plouff Creek gets its name from the Plouff family. Bill Plouff also did some guide work back in the 1920's and 1930's (Hanson, 2007).
The area just to the east of Kelly Lake was harvested for timber as late as the mid-1960's (Heinselman, 1999).
References:
Beymer, Robert, Boundary Waters Canoe Area – Volume 2 – Eastern Region (Berkeley: Wilderness Press, 2006), 59, 65, 68, 72, 79, 86.
Hansen, Mary Alice, Sawbill: History and Tales (Tofte: Sawbill Press, 2007).
Heinselman, Miron, The Boundary Waters Wilderness Ecosystem (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1999), 120.
Pauly, Daniel, Exploring the Boundary Waters (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005), 252, 258, 260.
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PADDLING FROM THE JACK LAKE PORTAGE TO THE BURNT LAKE PORTAGE
Looking south down Kelly Lake from near the Jack Lake portage on a gloomy, rainy afternoon.
The upper part of Kelly Lake is pretty shallow and can get very weedy in the summertime. Here in late May, the lily pads are only just starting to reach the lakes surface.
Starting from the Jack Lake portage, paddle south down the long length of Kelly Lake. The atmosphere is misty and the rain has become fairly steady. Through the rain, the route generally follows the western shoreline until reaching the portage to Burnt Lake.
After canoeing down the narrow northern section of the lake, Kelly Lake starts to finally look less like a river.
The far shoreline is the very south end of Kelly Lake. Just over your right shoulder is the portage path leading to Burnt Lake. This portage is long, but not particularly difficult. The portage does climb a bit at the start, as it ascends the south side of a large hill. The portage descends as it approaches Burnt Lake.
Route Connections for Kelly Lake
From Kelly Lake, you can portage to Burnt Lake, Jack Lake or Peterson Lake. You can also paddle/bushwhack into Pipe Creek.
