BWCA Campsite 1272 on Ensign

This is an interesting campsite, and I could see some people liking it more than others. The landing, at least where I landed, was a slick, steep rock, and I could not find an easy place to pull up the canoe. I ended up tying it off to some brush, and if I were staying here, I am not totally sure where I would store canoes without pulling them a long way up. From the landing, it is a long, steep walk up to the site, and the rocks could be slippery when wet, so I would be careful here. Once you get to the top, though, the site itself is pretty nice. It is a level, open area with a young forest around it, mostly young aspen, likely from a past blowdown. Some of the aspen are mature enough now to provide shade. The elevated setting gives good views down the lake, especially before the leaves are fully in, and it should still have nice views in summer. I found two good, flat tent pads and five maximum tent pads. A few of the extra spots are more squeeze-in options, and some people might count them as better than I did. This is not a typical Boundary Waters campsite, and that is part of what makes it interesting, but the landing and climb are significant drawbacks.

Ensign is busy! Not our preferred site, but manageable. We had 4 x 2 man tents and were able to find space for all. 2 of the pads were more comfortable. Long walk up a rock face to the site, not many spots to safely store the canoes and not many great options for hanging food, and firewood foraging was sparse.

up the hill a ways from a large sloping rocky landing, but pretty easy. not many trees around tent pads, most trees nearby are small and not too good for hanging food. toilet was back towards the swamp to the south but had no trees and got a good breeze. Didn't have much choice, lots of people or very muddy ground at other sites, but not that bad.

Quite the uphill climb to camp, but worth it. Open site at the top of the hill offers a great view and a steady breeze. Stayed at this site with 8-9 guys twice. Nice landing onto a large rock. Caught Smallmouth Bass and Walleye right from shore.