Ten day canoe trip

[Sma11s]

Hey y’all,

Myself and 4-5 friends are planning a ten day canoe trip in June 2025. We are looking for advice on a great route to see as much of the island as possible. We are all experienced canoeists, last spring we paddled source to sea on the Susquehanna River, averaging 20-35 miles a day with 15 portages and class 2+ rapids, a total of 444 miles.

Originally, we had hoped to paddle tip to tip but after reading some posts here it seems not advisable?

Any advice on route selection, campsites, ferries and canoe rentals would be great! Thanks in advance for your help.

[Ingo]

I've dreamed of doing a source to sea river trip all my life, but it's pretty unlikely to happen now, so I'm jealous!
But I have canoed IR a lot. Some years ago I had a 9 day trip planned that was to do all the canoe routes/portages in a single trip. It was planned to go like this, but a sprained ankle on the first portage waylaid those plans. But if I thought a middle aged dad and teenage daughter could do it, I figure it sounds like you're up to it!

Rock Harbor
Moskey Basin
Lake Richie (canoe CG)
Intermediate Lake
Lake Siskiwit
Malone Bay
Lake Siskiwit
Wood Lake
Lake Whittlesey
Chippewa Harbor
Lake Richie
Lake LeSage
Lake Livermore
Chickenbone Lake
McCargoe Cove
Pickerel Cove
Belle Isle
Lane Cove
Stockly Bay
Duncan Bay
Tobin Harbor
Rock Harbor

The bold spots are suggested campgrounds (off the top of my head), but you have plenty of choices. And it also allows for a couple layover days, which you need in case you get wind bound. The couple of miles out of McCargoe to Herring Bay is the most exposed and a spot you may need to shelter at Birch Island for a day, or even two (from personal experience). Other places with potential to hold you up are Rock Harbor (the harbor), Lake Siskiwit, and Belle Harbor. And Belle Isle is a great place to layover if you have unused days towards the end. Wood Lake is another favorite if you didn't want to go down to Malone Bay. Most folks probably think McCargoe is nicer than W Chickenbone, but that's a lot of portaging for a day IMO. Nice thing is you can make the call as you go (although they're considering changing those rules, but I'm skeptical they'll implement reservations).

Get the Trails Illustrated map if you don't have it. Really the only good one for the island, although some portages/distances lack some detail.

June is prime skeeter season, so be prepared with headnets and plenty of bug dope (Picaridin and/or DEET). The inland lakes tend to be worse, but it all depends on hatches and weather. In general I expect to get driven into the tent around sundown.

For ferries, I prefer the Voyageur II from Minnesota, or the Ranger III if coming from Michigan. I was not pleased with how they handled my kevlar canoe the one time I took the Queen IV, even though it's the shortest ride. The VII is very convenient for shorter or more relaxed trips, allowing you to start and stop at different points. But for a round trip like this, the RIII would work well (or QIV with above caveat).

If you need to rent, I've used Beartrack Outfitters in Grand Marais, MN and Sylvania Outfitters in Watersmeet, MI. The folks that run the Voyageur II have rented canoes in the past, but they're heavy aluminum and I wouldn't even want to think about that much portaging with them. I'm not aware of any closer places on either side. So you will need at least 2 vehicles to be able to carry 3 on top. I don't know if they would have wide bars to carry 2 together or not.

Well that's enough for now. Let me know if you have more questions and have fun planning!