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Bois Brule River Wilderness Trip

This spring fed river is an opportunity for North Star Camp for Boys’ campers to experience a meandering paddle through old growth cedar bog and a heart pumping tumble down bedrock rapids all in the same trip. Over four days and three nights, campers really put their skills to the test and are rewarded for their teamwork and sore muscles. Different in feel from most rivers in the region, the Bois Brule is narrow, quiet, and boasts incredible trout fishing.

The river winds past a cabin where Calvin Coolidge ran the country for three months in the summer of 1928, tumbles over the famous “Ledges” where campers learn more about scouting rapids, and in the end flows into Lake Superior itself. After paddling right into the waves of the lake, campers will pull their canoes up on the beach, take a deep breath, and return to camp after four days on the river.

North Star Camp’s 7th grade groups have often been together for a few years and may also be welcoming one or two new members. The Brule provides a shared experience that a cabin can take back to camp and look upon as a source of unity. This may be the result of old relationships flourishing as well as new friends being made while on the equally serene and exciting river.

A canoe in the river during a wilderness trip for the campers at North Star Camp for Boys.
North Star Camp for Boys campers row through a river during daytime in canoes.
Canoes are stacked up against the shore of a lake during a wilderness trip for the campers and staff of North Star Camp for Boys.
Two boys at North Star Camp are in a canoe holding up their ores in a cheering motion.