The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness often is correlated with relaxation and connection to the land, but some crews add an additional goal of paddling as far and fast as their bodies allow. 

These four routes represent a range of competition in the wilderness. From the city-sponsored Ely-Atikokan race to the informal, self-timed Ely Challenge, the Boundary Waters and its neighbor to the north has hosted some unique and rarely mentioned events. 

For over 50 years, the Ely Challenge has been a popular canoe route for local outfitting staff to attempt. The 80-mile loop begins either on the Ely side of the BWCA at Moose Lake, or the Grand Marais side at Seagull or Saganaga Lake. A crew has to paddle across the BWCA, hitch-hike into town, send a post card, order from a local establishment and paddle back to the start. 

A crew from Seagull Outfitters recently completed the route in under 24 hours. They followed the border’s chain of lakes from Saganaga to Moose Lake in Ely and back in 23 hours and 26 minutes, narrowly squeezing under the 24 hour cutoff and bringing back a receipt from the Ely Dairy Queen. 

A pair of Voyageur Canoe Outfitter staff completed the route in 21 hours 28 minutes in 2024. This record still stands at the fastest known time. 

The Ely-Atikokan Canoe Race was a famed race that went from Atikokan, Ontario to Ely and Back. The 200-mile race only came together for 3 years between 1962 and 1964, including the last year starting the route from Ely. The race was sponsored by Ely and Atikokan’s Chamber of Commerce to bring more tourism and celebrate the paddling traditions of the area. A $1000 prize purse pulled in competitive canoe racers including recognizable names such as Gene Jensen, a pioneer of racing canoe hull design. 

The last iteration of the Ely-Atikokan race on July 9th, 1964 pushing off into the white caps on the Ely side of the route. Courtesy of Museum of Atikokan.

The 1963 race was won by Ely local Don Beland and his partner, Ralph Sawyer, who built kevlar canoes and paddles. Beland was said to have a friendly rivalry with Atikokan resident and Quetico Ranger, Joe Meany. Beland and Meany reminisced on their experiences from 40-years prior in an excellent article on Quetico Superior’s website from 2006. 

The Border Route Challenge, also called Kruger-Waddell Challenge, takes paddlers from International Falls to Lake Superior after going through the 9-mile Grand Portage. The earliest timed record of the route goes back to the mid-1800’s but in 1968, Clint Waddell and Verlen Kruger took just three and a half days to complete the 260-mile route. The record stood for 51 years until Matthew Peterson and Peter Wagner cut over 10 hours off of the record, finishing in 69 hours and 25 minutes in their 2019 attempt. Bending Branches canoe paddle company wrote a story that recounted their experiences from the push to beat the record. 

Hunter’s Island is another historic wilderness paddle with impressive efforts throughout its history. The route starts at Prairie Portage into Basswood Lake near Ely and loops . Prairie Portage has been a major point of entry from the BWCA to Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario. Prairie Portage previously was a Canadian Customs & Immigration Outpost until its closure in 2022. Canada is changing methods to enter the country from these remote locations, but the phone service being offered during the 2026 summer season is reported to be working smoothly. 

 The Hunter's Island loop. Map courtesy of Backcountry Balkwills.

A 2005 effort by Dan Litchfield and Steve Park of Ely still holds the fastest time of the Hunter’s Island route. They complete the 145 mile loop in under 28 hours and 30 minutes, averaging over 5 miles per hour including 8 miles of portaging.