Charles L. Sommers Wilderness Canoe Base
Charles L. Sommers
Wilderness Canoe Base
Ely, Minnesota
The flagship base of Northern Tier, this historic base has offered wilderness canoe adventures since 1923. Treks take crews into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW)* and north into Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario. Together, these two areas give crews a chance to experience some of the most spectacular lakes and forests in the world, with over 3 million acres of fishing, canoeing, and wilderness camping. This base is also the location for the Okpik Cold Weather Camping Program and serves as the year-round operational center for Northern Tier.
The Sommers base features 28 sleeping cabins, a trading post, new state-of-the-art dining hall, voyageur encampment area, Bay Post outfitters, and an authentic post-and-beam style commissary. Enjoy a voyageur rendezvous in the lodge and a well-deserved sauna your last evening at the base.
About Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) *
The Northern Tier National High Adventure Program operates within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness* and is a cooperator with the U.S. Forest Service under the Superior National Forest. We issue permits into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness*, part of the National Wilderness Reservation System. To preserve the wilderness, visitors to the BWCAW * must follow certain regulations.
* Click on this link to learn more about BWCAW: http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/superior/bwcaw
Plan Your Canoe Trip
The Charles L. Sommers programs are ideally suited for novice canoeists but offer challenging routes for experienced travelers as well.
Click here to explore the Expedition Guide.
Other Sommers-Based Adventures
Want to attend Northern Tier but your troop or Venturing crew can't make it this year? No problem. The Lone Voyageur program allows Boy Scouts (at least 13 years of age) and Venturers to attend Northern Tier as part of a provisional crew.
Offered out of the Charles L. Sommers Wilderness Canoe Base, this adventure costs just $400 per person. Three Lone Voyageur Trips will be offered during Summer 2013: June 12 - June 18, June 18 - June 24, and July 9 - July 15.
Call 218-365-4811 for more details or to make a reservation.
Starting at Northern Tier’s Charles L. Sommers Wilderness Canoe Base (near Ely, Minnesota), this 12-day program is offered under the direction of the U.S. Forest Service. You’ll start by working—hard—on hiking trail maintenance, then head out on a canoeing adventure planned by the participants in the program.
Two sessions of Forest Corps will be offered Summer 2013: June 24 - July 8 and July 15 - July 29.
