I’m curious as to how Algonquin Provincial Park compares to The Boundry Waters. Is the fishing as good?
do you like solitude?
if so, Algonquin is the place to go. i just came back for several weeks canoeing on the west side and saw 5 other canoes in total. the boundary waters is nice but has far more people.
Quetico
Due to the limited permits, Quetico only has a fraction of the BWCA paddlers. Plus the fishing is fantastic! For me, the extra 4 hours driving it takes to get around to the Canadian side has always been well worth the effort.
Depends on the fish species
If you like to paddle in the summer, you will find the fishing in the BWCA for bass, pike and walleye outstanding. Algonquin has very few waters with these pike and bass, Algonquin is mostly lake and brook trout which can be very good in the spring, but very difficult in the summer months. As for crowds, it depends on what access point you choose for either area. Both areas have busy entry points and those that see little use. I’ve found that starting a trip midweek also makes a difference as many folks start/finish trips on weekends.
Generally the portages are shorter in the BWCA. It’s been a few years since I’ve done Algonquin,but at that time you had to tell them not only your entry point and route, but what lakes you were camping on each night! I hope they’ve loosened up in that area.
Both are great area’s and worth experiencing, but from my experience and I much prefer BWCA/Quetico.