BWCA Campsite 324 on Hanson

This site is pretty sunny and does not have much shade for most of the day. The landing is next to a rock shelf, and it looks difficult at first, but it is not too bad if you pull the canoe alongside the shelf and unload from there. The kitchen is in full sun at the top of the rock, maybe five or six feet above the water, with a pretty good view down the lake. There is one tent pad right next to the kitchen on gravel, and that one is also in full sun. Another possible tent pad is in a small shaded circle of trees near the water. It is flat and covered in pine duff, but staking may be difficult because it looks like people have used rocks to hold down a tent there. Another possible tent pad is up the hill behind the campsite after scrambling up the rocks, and one more is near the latrine trail, though that one is less desirable because of its proximity to the latrine. There are a few cedars along the shoreline, a big red pine near the landing and shaded tent pad, and a mix of spruce, aspen, cedar, and other trees back in the forest. This is a sunny, open site with a good view, but shade is limited.

Exposed campsite. Decent canoe landing and storage. Open sunny sight, with a couple tent pads. Nice swimming area.

We were surprised how much we enjoyed this site! Our plan was to stay in Ester- but all sites were full. This site is elevated and it looked hard to enter. However, we found it to be easier than it looked by "parking" along side of the ledge and lifting packs onto the rocks. Then it was easy to lift the canoe up the ramp. This site has a fabulous view from different spots. The biggest bonus: because there are no sites near, it feels like your own private lake!

Tricky rock shelf landing; fortunately there is a cedar tree there to grab on to. Most of the site is on a sloped rock face. The fire grate is elevated and does provide a view of the lake however, it is very exposed and the trees that are in camp are not ideally situated to help with tarp etc. There are several tent pads, including a couple back in the woods, unfortunately all are sloped. Blueberry plants promised to produce a plentiful bounty.

Nice spot above the water, with no other sites nearby. Problem is not a lot of flat ground and only decent site accommodates just a small tent. Nice kitchen. Landing just OK. Little shade, and this would be an issue in mid-summer.

Two stars may be a bit harsh for this site, which does have some nice features, but there are some definite drawbacks. There is only one really good canoe landing spot. There is a fairly large tent pad that could be good, but it is way too close to the fire grate for my taste. The other tent pad is small and would be too tight for anything very large. We actually used this spot, which is perched right along shore and the breeze was wonderful. The site has a lot of smooth rock, which I love, but you are always on a slope, so you'll have to constantly watch your footing, especially after a rain. There is a steep dropoff from the hilside just north of camp that drops to 50 feet within an easy cast and the lakers like to cruise this shoreline.