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Autumn Colors & Wilderness Wildlife Boundary Waters Canoe Trip

Trip Dates: September 21 - 27

Call Drew Brockett or Adam Macht

Trip Cost:$1195 (+ tax)

6 days paddling, 5 nights camping
First and Last Night hotel room in Ely:

Please Note: Final payment for our guided group trips is due 30 days before the trip begins.


Autumn in the Boundary Waters means no bugs, fewer people, warm days, cool nights, and great vistas of saturated yellows, reds, and green. Travel the BWCAW during the quiet season and see the boreal forest in all its vibrant splendor. The colors start early in September with the maples and peak with the great forests of aspen and birch in late September and early October.

These reds and yellows are all offset by the beautiful dark green of the balsam, spruce, and pine with a backdrop of incredibly blue sky. With wildlife on the move in fall, chances of seeing moose, bear, otter and beaver are optimal. With some luck the howl of the wolf will sing you to sleep.

Dances with Loons from Chuck on Vimeo. This video is from our Fall Colors Trip in 2012

Hi. I'm Steve Piragis. Nancy and I have lived in the north since 1976. Having come from New England we were elated to see that the foliage season in the Boundary Waters plays second fiddle to none across North America. The colors start early in September with the maples and peak with the great forests of aspen and birch in late September and early October. It's a short explosion of color that heralds the migration of geese and ducks and the onset of the long white winter. Our favorite canoe trips have always been during this colorful transition time.

If you come to visit us and join our group adventure you may see the big bull moose with antlers fully expanded as he roams the woods during his annual rut. For sure, you'll see the places where he scrapes the ground and rubs his horns high up on young trees to signal to the female his intent to mate at that place. We'll be sure to give him plenty of space if we pass on the portage.

Other wildlife on the prowl in fall include the busy beavers out enlarging their dens and building a winter cache of tender branches out their front door. If a tree is heard falling in the autumn woods it's probably the beavers working overtime. Late September brings waves of hawks and eagles from far northern Canada soaring and gliding overhead on northwest breezes. Gaggles of geese marching south will crackle the cool air with their chatter. Chances are good to meet all sorts of wildlife in fall and few of our own species, most of whom have long migrated back to civilization.

Expect the weather to be cool with temps even below freezing at night. The water bucket may have a skim of ice in the morning but you'll be snug and warm in your tent with a cozy sleeping bag. Indian summer could bring sunny blue days or a cold front may even hold a brief snow squall. Expect the unexpected in fall and have the camera ready when the light turns magic and a bull moose wanders into the open of a sedge meadow.

You'll meet your guide and spend a night in Ely before the trip where we suggest you tempt your palate with the fare at our favorite restaurant, The Chocolate Moose. On Sunday morning we set off for the wilds and return on Friday afternoon for a farewell banquet with lots of hugs and promises to return to once again renew the spirit with another dose of wilderness..

Items you should bring: