The Old Logging Camp Tour is a fun trip if you want to see history frozen in time. The Logging boom in the 1920’s was huge to this country and also reshaped the wilderness for generations. You’ll get the chance to see this history which has been hidden once again by the wilderness that used to be here before the railroad.
Logging Camp
This trip starts from Golden Eagle Lodge where you will canoe east to the end of the north finger of Flour Lake. This is your first stop, an open meadow that was created by the logging camp. Walk up around towards the north of it where the group of trees are, you will see that they are in the shape of buildings long decayed to small mounds of walls.
Moon Lake
From here, portage to Moon Lake. You will portage for a short distance on the ski trail called the “Old Logging Camp Trail”. This trail is an old railroad grade going to the east between many lakes. You will then follow a narrow path located just before the ski trail bridge. Remember, you do not cross the bridge! Continue on this path into Moon Lake. Once on the lake, you will stay to the south side and portage to East Bearskin Lake. While on this portage, watch for the old railroad grade. Part of the portage uses this historic path that came from Flour Lake. At the East Bearskin Lake side you will notice again the open grass areas and remnants of the old buildings that used to be standing many decades ago.
East Bearskin
Now you will canoe to the west down East Bearskin Lake. Go to the south finger, then canoe east to the end of the south finger past the portage to Little Alder Lake. In this area you will need to search harder for the old camp as the wilderness has reclaimed the grass lands. As you walk through the woods in here, watch for the old saw gears, wheels, and belting. The mounds of soil are the old saw dust piles.
For the return trip, go to the north shore of the lake. At the western end of the fingers, take the Flour Lake portage. Head west to the setting sun and back to Golden Eagle Lodge.
Wrap Up
Please leave this history in place for others to explore. All the old logging camps had dumps that are full of beer cans and are rusted to a point where they are hard to read.
Plan for a full day as time goes by fast when you are exploring! An average time to canoe the Old Logging Camp Tour and return back to the Lodge would be about 7 hours.
These times are based on being experienced in a canoe with good weather conditions.
Route Map
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