Visits to the Boundary Waters dropped last year — and that's a good thing, forest officials say

DULUTH — The number of people paddling, hiking and camping in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness last year dropped to pre-pandemic levels — and that's a good thing, Superior National Forest officials say.

The Forest Service released its annual report this week that charts visitor numbers from 2018 through 2022. The number of people visiting in 2022 — about 151,000 — was a 9% drop from 2021.

When portages and campsites get more use than they can handle, damage takes longer to heal, said Ann Schwaller, forest program manager for the BWCA.

Crowding causes noise, portage congestion and lack of campsite availability, creating a loss of solitude, she said, and managing for wilderness character preservation "addresses all of these issues and more."

The drop in visitors coincides with the 13% reduction in available permits last year, said Jason Zabokrtsky, owner of Ely Outfitting Co.

"I think there is a shift away from pandemic travel patterns of people preferring outdoor destinations," he said, "but there's definitely a strong correlation related to the Forest [Service] actually reducing available permits."

Deb Mark, who has operated Seagull Canoe Outfitters on the Gunflint Trail for nearly four decades, agreed.

The number of daily entry permits for Seagull Lake dropped from 13 to eight in 2022, and her business felt the loss, said Mark, who is still upset that permit reductions more heavily affected the eastern side of the wilderness.

She said reverting to permits that specify camping zones would help alleviate entry-point crowding.

"It would also help the Forest Service to really track things better than they do now," she said.

The quota reduction for entry permits meant about 23,000 fewer people heading into the Boundary Waters. The pandemic peak was in 2021, when more than 166,000 secured permits to visit the 1 million-acre wilderness.

The Forest Service said visitor numbers also vary for reasons including wildfires, insect hatches, weather and the economy.

Cancellations increased slightly. In 2020 and 2021 cancellation rates were high because of COVID-19, 15 wildfires and the "unwarranted perception of scarcity," the report says. The number of no-shows grew last year by 28% from the prior year.

The permit reduction "created fear in people" that led to reserving multiple permits when reservations become available in January because people assume permits will be gone by summer when they have a better grasp of plans, Zabokrtsky said. That leads to cancellations and no-shows, something he's seeing even more of this year, he said.

"There's a general consensus in the outfitting community that the Forest [Service] might want to consider higher cancellation fees," he said. But "it's a delicate balance. We want people to experience the Boundary Waters because that's the best way to protect it."

The report also says that 93% of visitors in 2022 went between May 1 and Sept. 30, the time frame when an entry permit is required.