Wilderness Canoe Base borders the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness , is a wilderness area within the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota under the administration of the U.S. Forest Service...

 on Seagull Lake near the end of the Gunflint Trail

Gunflint Trail

Cook County Road 12, also known as the Gunflint Trail, is a paved roadway that begins in Grand Marais, Minnesota and ends at Saganaga Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness , near the US border with Ontario, Canada.-Route description:...

, about 50 miles from Grand Marais, Minnesota

Grand Marais, Minnesota

Grand Marais is a city in Cook County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,351 at the 2010 census. It is also the county seat of Cook County...

, USA. Part of the camp is on the northern half of Fishhook Island and another tract resides on nearby Dominion Island. It has been under the management of Lake Wapogasset Lutheran Bible Camp, Inc. since 2002.

Ham Lake fire

Almost one third of the 138 structures destroyed by the Ham Lake fire in May 2007 were part of Wilderness Canoe Base. Of the camp's 60 structures, 40 were consumed by flames, including outhouses and staff cabins. A year later Wilderness raised nearly $200,000 to rebuild the camp. Another $100,000 came in the form of matching funds from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is a Fortune 500 financial services organization with dual corporate headquarters based in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Appleton, Wisconsin...

. Reconstruction and fund-raising are ongoing as many of the structures have yet to be rebuilt.

History

The first piece of land purchased in 1956 for $12,000 by Plymouth Christian Youth Center, included the upper half of Fishhook Island. Camp directors, Ham Muus and Bob Evans, led 120 boys in a camping experience which included little or none of the facilities that the camp enjoys today.

By 1958 the amount of facilities available at the camp increased several fold. Among many other structures, three log cabins, a boathouse, fourteen sleeping units, and a trail shack were all built by campers and volunteers. Most of these structures were erected in the course of a single year, beginning early in 1958.

Fully accredited by the American Camping Association in 1963, Wilderness Canoe Base operated under the Plymouth Christian Youth Center until 2002, when Lake Wapogasset Lutheran Bible Camp, Inc of Amery, Wisconsin

Amery, Wisconsin

Amery is a city in Polk County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Apple River. The population was 2,845 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Amery is located at ....

agreed to manage the camp's ministry and programming.