Top U.S. Flatwater: Midwest

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness covers over more than 1 million acres of lakes, rivers, wetlands, and forests in northeastern Minnesota. This reach of wilderness extends across the Canadian border to include Quetico Provincial Park. Throughout that maze of waterways, the canoeist is presented with a dizzying array of 1,200 miles of canoe routes in Boundary Waters alone. You know you're in wilderness when you share the woods with the timber wolf, the black bear, and the lynx. If you don't know how to fish, learn before you go. The canoe-only access means that these waters teem with smallmouth bass, northern pike, and lake trout.