If your Boundary Waters entry point is on the Gunflint or Tofte district and reaches the water, it reopens Tuesday, August 4. Superior National Forest announced Phase 4 on July 31, 2026: all water access entry points on both districts reopen, plus overnight motor on Saganaga and Seagull Lakes.
That is the fourth step in a rolling reopening that started July 27, after the Forest Service closed the whole wilderness on July 14 following more than 25 wildfires that began July 7.
What is still closed
Everything not on the Forest Service’s Exhibit A list. Permit reservations at those entries were cancelled through August 4, 2026, with the Bear Trap, Sioux and Thumb fires named as the reason.
Three entry points are gone for the season: 14 Little Indian Sioux River North, 15 Sioux-Hustler Trail, and 19 Stuart River are cancelled through the end of the quota season on September 30. The Forest Service says those areas were directly impacted and need portage clearing, campsite work, and latrine replacement, some of which it expects to do over snow this winter.
Cancelled permits get refunded. The Forest Service says refunds appear after your original entry date, so you do not need to chase it on day one.
Fires are still banned in the wilderness
This is the part people miss when a closure lifts. On July 29 the forest moved from Class IV to Class III restrictions, which sounds like relief and mostly is not, if you are paddling.
Class III allows a campfire only in a Forest Service metal fire ring at a developed or rustic campground. The release is explicit that BWCAW designated campsites and dispersed backcountry campsites stay under full restriction, and fires are not allowed. Charcoal and wood-fueled stoves are out too. Propane and pressurized gas stoves with an on-off valve are fine. Bring the stove and plan every meal around it.
The reopening order and the fire order are separate. Your entry point being open tells you nothing about whether you can light anything.
What to do before you drive north
Open the Exhibit A list and the Exhibit B map on the Superior National Forest alerts page and find your entry point by number. Then check the alert on your Recreation.gov permit in the last day or two before you leave. The Forest Service says outright that Phase 4 could be delayed if fire activity increases.
If your entry is still closed, the forest outside the wilderness is open and mostly unaffected: 23 developed campgrounds, 18 rustic campgrounds, and 254 backcountry campsites, many with no fee, permit, or reservation. Some are closed by the fires, so check the alerts page for those too. Our Minnesota free camping overview covers what else is around, and our earlier post on the closure has the phase history.
The posted order at the ranger station and the Forest Service’s live alerts beat any secondary account, this one included.