Boundary Waters Quiz: Minnesota Canoe Routes and Portages

This Boundary Waters quiz loads a canoe for Minnesota's famous lake country wilderness. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on its place in the Superior National Forest, more than a million acres, about 1,100 lakes, Quetico across the border, motor limits, portages, voyageur fur traders, entry permits, common loons and the Root Beer Lady.

Start Boundary Waters Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

State
Which state is the Boundary Waters in?
Forest
Which national forest contains it?
Size
About how large is the wilderness?
Lakes
About how many lakes does it hold?
Neighbor
Which Canadian park lies across the border?
Motors
How are motorboats treated in most of the area?
Portage
What is a portage?
Traders
Which fur traders once paddled these routes?
Bird
Which bird's haunting call echoes over the lakes?
Lady
Who was known as the Root Beer Lady?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which state is the Boundary Waters in?
Answer: Minnesota
It lies in the northeast of the state.
Q2: Which national forest contains it?
Answer: Superior National Forest
It hugs the Canadian border.
Q3: About how large is the wilderness?
Answer: More than a million acres
It is one of the largest in the east.
Q4: About how many lakes does it hold?
Answer: About 1,100
Many are linked by short trails.
Q5: Which Canadian park lies across the border?
Answer: Quetico Provincial Park
Together they form a vast wild area.
Q6: How are motorboats treated in most of the area?
Answer: They are banned
Paddling keeps it quiet.
Q7: What is a portage?
Answer: Carrying a canoe between lakes
Some portages are long and muddy.
Q8: Which fur traders once paddled these routes?
Answer: Voyageurs
They carried furs in birchbark canoes.
Q9: Which bird's haunting call echoes over the lakes?
Answer: Common loon
It is Minnesota's state bird.
Q10: Who was known as the Root Beer Lady?
Answer: Dorothy Molter
She was the area's last resident.

Paddling and Portaging Through Lake Country

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness lies in northeastern Minnesota within the Superior National Forest. It covers more than a million acres with about 1,100 lakes, and across the border Ontario's Quetico Provincial Park continues the wild landscape.

Motorboats are banned in most of the area, so travel is by canoe and on foot. Paddlers cross lakes and then portage, carrying canoes and packs along trails to the next lake. Centuries ago, French-Canadian voyageurs used these same routes to move furs in birchbark canoes.

Visitors need permits, and group sizes are limited to protect the wilderness. Common loons call across the water at dusk, and moose, wolves and black bears roam the forests. Dorothy Molter, known as the Root Beer Lady, sold homemade root beer to paddlers and was the area's last resident until 1986.

What This Quiz Teaches

Outdoor fans will enjoy these questions.

Where the wilderness is
How big it is
How people travel
Who paddled there before
Which wildlife lives there

Did You Know?

Campers must use designated campsites with fire grates.
The town of Ely is a popular gateway.
Northern lights are sometimes visible on clear nights.
Many lakes have walleye and northern pike.
Leave No Trace rules keep campsites clean.