BWCA Campsite 1143 on Kawishiwi River

I debated between 4 and 5 stars, but I absolutely loved this site, so I went with my rare 5-star rating. Landing is some smooth rocks at the bottom of the sloping rock. The landing works really well for one or two canoes. The landing is next to and connects to the portage trail to Conchu, so you could use the portage landing instead of the campsite landing if you desire (the portage landing is really easy). The kitchen area is elevated above the water with a commanding view to the south. There are a few large white pines that offer shade and ambience. There are a couple of decent tent pads, though they are not the best - I think we had trouble getting stakes in. The "best" (flattest and biggest) tent pad is next to the latrine, so we decided not to use that one. We didn't catch any fish from the site, but there is great walleye fishing near the island to the east and smallmouth in the river/rapids to the west. Plenty of small largemouth bass in Conchu (which is a designated trout lake without any trout in it). The campsite is right on a travel route, but we hardly saw anyone here over a Labor Day weekend. I think the portage to the west is intimidating, so relatively few people come over here. Comparatively, we took a day trip to the portage to the east and must have seen a dozen parties within 2 hours. This campsite has everything that I love - a view, open spaces, shade, and white pines. This merits a 5-star rating from me, though others may only rate it a 4.

Nice elevated site. It has a great view to the south. Small mouth in the river system to the west were chunky and big. 4 plus pounds.

The landing spot is good. It has a vast and open fire, sitting, drying out area, but it faces south. A pretty island just to east. I only cast a few times and did catch a hammer handle, but the fishing doesn't look great from shore.

Nice site, elevated with a southerly view. Shady, good tarp options, 2 level tent pads. Not quite a 4-star site