The Route
Swimming the bwcaw/Canada water border
Our route follows the Minnesota/Canada border for the full length of the BWCAW. This is sometimes called "The Voyageurs' Highway". It was chosen to maximize open water swim yardage and minimize portaging.
The full route will be completed over the course of three years. The first middle leg of the route was completed in July of 2019.
Middle Leg
Completed July 12, 2019
We began on July 1 at Trail's End, the end of the Gunflint Trail on Saganaga Lake. We moved west over the course of 12 days to finish at Birch Lake (the same lake that the proposed Twin Metals mine would be located).
Begun: July 1, 2019
Completed: July 12, 2019
Total Mileage: ~89 mi
Total Swim Yardage: 100,000 yds (57 mi)
western Leg
Scheduled for 2020
Picking up at Basswood Lake where we left the border in 2019 we will continue to head west. We will exit the BWCAW at Little Vermillion Lake and finish at the southern end of Crane Lake, just outside the wilderness boundary. (Detailed route yet to be finalized)
Scheduled: Summer, 2020
Total Mileage: ~90 mi
Total Swim Yardage: TBD
Eastern Leg
Scheduled for 2021
Begining where we started the middle leg of the route in 2019 we'll enter the BWCAW at Trail's End and pick up the border on Saganaga Lake. We'll then head east along the border ending our waterbound journey on Pigeon River. We'll then hike the full length of The Grand Portage to finish at Lake Superior. (Detailed route yet to be finalized.)
Scheduled: Summer 2021
Total Mileage: ~85 mi
Total Swim Yardage: TBD