Entry point77
South Hegman Lake
Kawishiwi Ranger District
We haven't written this entry point up yet. The facts below are everything recorded so far.
At a glance
- Ranger district
- Kawishiwi Ranger District
- First water you paddle
- South Hegman Lake
- Permits a day
- 2 permits/day
- Permits for the whole season
- 306 permits
- Gateway townThe last town with fuel and groceries before the gravel. Not always the nearest town: Lutsen is closer to Brule Lake than Tofte is, but sells no groceries and issues no permits.
- Ely
- Where to pick up your permitPermits are picked up in person, on the entry date or the day before.
- Kawishiwi Ranger District
- Issue station hours
- May 1 to Sep 30: 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM Mon-Fri. Oct 1 to Apr 30: 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Tue-Thu. Closed holidays.
- Directions to the issue station
- https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=1393%20Highway%20169%2C%20Ely%2C%20MN%2055731
- Will I see motors at entry?Most of the Boundary Waters is motor-free. This only covers the water your trip starts on.
- No
- Where the landing isLatitude and longitude of the put-in or trailhead.
- 48.0333° N, 91.9252° W
- Drive from Duluth
- Not recorded yet
- Drive from Minneapolis
- Not recorded yet
- Drive from Chicago
- Not recorded yet
- Wind exposure
- Sheltered
- Good for a first trip
- 5 1-5
- Nearest campground min
- 8 min
- Campground details
- https://www.fs.usda.gov/r09/superior/recreation/fenske-lake-campground
- Camp at the landing
- No
- Nearest outfitter
- http://www.echotrailoutfitters.com/
- Road surface
- Gravel
- Cell signal
- Not recorded yet
- Portages to first campsite
- 1 count
- Longest portage on day oneProbably the longest portage you would have to do that first day.
- 85 count
- Permits per campsite nearby
- Not recorded yet
- Campsites within day1
- Not recorded yet
- Lake Trout reasonably close by?
- Not recorded yet
- Fish walleye
- Not recorded yet
- Pictographs
- Yes
- Waterfalls
- No
- Moose oddsRelative, not a forecast. The DNR counts roughly 4,470 moose across 5,945 square miles, so a sighting is unlikely anywhere; this ranks entry points against each other.
- Long shot
- Solitude rating
- Not recorded yet
- Lottery competitiveness
- Not recorded yet
- Shuttle service availableAn outfitter will drive you and your canoe to this landing. Most require renting a canoe.
- Yes
- Tow boat availableA motorboat ride up the entry lake. Only possible where motors are allowed.
- No
- Boat ramp at the landing
- No
- In or near last year’s fire
- Yes
- Shortest loopPaddling miles for the shortest circuit that brings you back to the landing you parked at, portages included. Measured straight-line across each lake, so it is a floor rather than a promise. Blank means the portage network we have found no circuit under 60 miles, which is not quite the same as there being none.
- Not recorded yet
Where this comes from
- Issue station hours, Directions to the issue station
- Formula from the issue_stations tab
- Latitude, Longitude
- USFS entry point feature layer; being replaced with Google Maps coordinates
- Portages to first campsite, Longest portage on day one
- Portage graph from the BWCA portage layer and DNR hydrography
- Ranger district
- USFS BWCAW entry point list
- First water you paddle
- MN DNR Hydrography Dataset, matched to the landing
- Permits a day
- BWCA.com quota table, Sep 2026. Confirm against Recreation.gov each January
- Permits for the whole season
- Formula: permits a day x 153-day quota season
- Gateway town
- Google Maps drive times, compared from the sheet menu
- Where to pick up your permit
- Recreation.gov permit issue station list, Sep 2026
- Will I see motors at entry?
- USFS horsepower limits for BWCAW lakes, plus approach lakes outside the wilderness
- Moose odds
- MN DNR 2026 Aerial Moose Survey (4,470 moose over 5,945 sq mi), ranked by distance from the north-east corner and proximity to Ely
- Shuttle service available
- Outfitter websites, Oct 2026. Detail in reference/shuttle-services.csv
- Tow boat available
- Outfitter websites, Oct 2026. Tows exist only where motors are allowed
- In or near last year’s fire
- Superior National Forest fire alerts
Quotas and rules change from season to season. Check the current permit details on Recreation.gov before you reserve.