Beymer's guides are my favorite. Buy them BOTH! All routes are indexed by length, difficulty, etc. to help you plan your last minute getaways.

The most complete and up-to-date guide available with detailed notes on nearly every lake and portage. Unfortunately, the book lacks an index for the more than 60 routes it describes. To find a 4 day, challenging trip you must search the headers to each of the 60+ routes. Still an exceptional reference for anyone heading to the BWCA. Visit www.boundarywatersguide.com for more info.

The original guide to north woods travel by canoe has been reprinted by the University of Minnesota Press. Rustrum began paddling the north in the 1920s and has sprinkled his stories throughout this book.

Good canoe trips come from experience. Experience comes from "challenging" canoe trips. (There is no such thing as a bad canoe trip!) This facinating book details two true survival stories in the Boundary Waters and Quetico. Read and learn from their experience.

This book will have you identifying animals like a pro even if, like me, you have trouble telling a duck from a bald eagle. This is especially important when you bring kids into the wilderness. “I think its a bird kids... but I'm not sure what kind,” just won’t cut it. Bring a good guide and look like an expert.

Read this at home, in front of the fireplace, when you find yourself longing for the north woods. When you read anything by Sig Olson, you will insist you can hear the call of the loon and smell the jack pine forest.