Northern Tier National High Adventure Base

Northern Tier is the Boy Scouts of America’s gateway to adventure in the Great Northwoods! In the summer, Scouts from Northern Tier’s three wilderness canoe bases explore millions of acres of pristine lakes, meandering rivers, dense forests, and wetlands in Northern Minnesota, Northwest Ontario, and Northeast Manitoba. Northern Tier crews paddle in almost 6 million acres of exclusively canoe-access wilderness from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) of Minnesota to the Atikaki Provincial Park of Manitoba. Trips range in length from 6-14 days and usually include between 50-150 miles of wilderness travel. In the winter, Northern Tier is home to the Okpik Cold Weather Camping program, the BSA’s premier winter high adventure program. Fall trips are also available. All trips are fully outfitted and provisioned. A highly trained staff member, called an Interpreter, accompanies all crews on their trek. All participants must be age 14 by the time they arrive at Northern Tier OR have graduated from the 8th grade and be age 13 by the time they arrive. We are a Cooperator with the USDA Forest Service under the Superior National Forest. We issue permits into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. As a Cooperator with the Forest Service, we are an equal opportunity service-provider.