Voyageurs National Park: Paddling Crane Lake to Casareto Cabin

Extremely calm winds were predicted for today, so we decided to take advantage and go for a paddle down on Crane Lake. We made the long drive to the public boat ramp, ate lunch on a blanket there and then put the canoe in the water. Smoke has drifted south from Canada. it made for a hazy day. We made our way on the east side of Bear Island, past Nun 32

and then towards a distant Indian Island. We paddled along the west side of Indian Island

and found the Forest Service campsite there. It looks like a decent spot for paddlers. From there we headed toward the two small islands that mark the location of Casareto Cabin and the beautiful beach there.

There was a large erratic boulder on the shoreline as we approached the cabin.

It looked almost as if it could collapse into the water at any moment. We beached the canoe and headed over to the cabin to inspect it.

Sierra was not too impressed.

She wanted to get into the water and swim! Besides swimming, Sierra spent some time catching minnows with her net.

We put a few into a bucket for a closer inspection.

Then it was time for a Daddy/Sierra swim.

Mommy observed from the canoe.

When we had our fill of swimming, we got back into the canoe

and headed over to the Voyageurs National Park entrance near the King Williams Narrows.

We passed the entrance sign and then turned around for the paddle back to the boat ramp. We passed several motor boats, a few houseboats, and even another pair of paddlers in a canoe.

There is an interesting "lighthouse" on Bear Island that we inspected.

As we approached the boat ramp, and about 1/4 mile from any point of land, I noticed a garter snake swimming in the water.

It was a much more graceful swimmer than I had imagined it would be and it must have had a pretty long swim as well. Soon after passing the snake we were back to the boat ramp.