BWCA Campsite 1138 on Kawishiwi River

We stayed here for two nights, moved further down the river, and then ended up back here for our final night when other sites in the area were taken. We didn't hate returning, we were just curious to stay at another site while we were in this part of the wilderness. The site is elevated. The landing itself isn't hard, but you do have to haul gear up a decent hill to get to the actual campsite. Most of the tent pads are best for a small tent, but we managed to fit a large 6-man tent in one of them. Despite seeing a lot of groups when we went further down the river, we only saw two groups paddle by in our three days at this site. It seems that Ben is right and most people stay on the west side. There isn't a lot of shade near the campfire ring during the day, but you have access to so much shoreline, that it isn't hard to find a spot to get out of the sun if its warm. Still, I did rig a tarp for shade one day for a few hours while we cooked some fish and ate lunch. We caught fish right off the shoreline, watched otters playing in the light of a full moon, and enjoyed the resident Northern Flicker who kept flying back for berries on a nearby tree. There's some better sites with bigger trees, but otherwise this site has a lot to love and I would absolutely stay here again.

Kitchen is high above the water with a great view. Landing was a little tricky - had to step up onto the bank rather than pull the canoe out of the water. Tent pads are scattered down trails from the kitchen. I think most traffic goes to the west side of the island, so this side will offer a little more privacy.

Steep rock cliff at the landing. We decided to stay somewhere else so we could see the sunset and the toilet was almost full.

Nice campsite on island. Good early season small mouth fishing from camp. Excellent walleye fishing across the camp on adjacent shoreline near steep rock cliff.

On every published map that I've seen, including this interactive map, the campsite is located on the wrong side of the island. It is on the East side of the island. It's a nice secluded site up on a little bluff; good swimming/jumping from a nearby ledge. Campsite is not the best I've ever seen, but it's certainly acceptable and the perch alone, and having the entire island to explore, is worth it.