Wilderness Canoe Base

Find Your Story. Experience Your Journey.
Live in Community.

Wilderness Canoe Base provides a unique way of living in community. We offer on-site experiences and boundary waters exploration that will help you slow down, reflect, and reveal how strong you truly are.

This spirit is reflected in our central mantra: You are welcome. You are loved. You are strong.

With over 60 years of camp tradition and history, you can go higher, wider, longer, and deeper to create memories that will last a lifetime.

Wilderness Canoe Base Programs

Wilderness Canoe Base offers a unique experience compared to our other Lake Wapogasset Lutheran Bible Camp camps. With access to gear and highly qualified counselors and trip guides, we have year-round opportunities for a safe and fun Boundary Waters experiences for every age.

Programs for Groups

Group Canoe Trips (Grades 6-12)

Organized groups of up to 9 people total will spend a week experiencing a transformative canoe journey through the Boundary Waters with an experienced guide and a complete set of all necessary supplies.

Group Island Camp (Grades 6-12)

Island Camp provides groups with an opportunity to explore the BWCAW during the day while using Wilderness Canoe Base as your home base each night.

Group Work-Service Camp (Grades 6-12)

Groups will join in work projects around camp, helping Wilderness Canoe Base continue to invest and protect the unique Boundary Waters experience for future generations. Of course, there will be lots of time for fun as well!

Group Hybrid Trip (Grades 6-12)

For budding adventurers, we’ve combined a shorter canoe trip with either an Island Camp or a Work-Service Camp experience, so campers can experience everything Wilderness Canoe Base has to offer!

Wilderness Summer Family Camp (All Ages)

Whether it’s your immediate family, extended family, church family, or a “family” of friends and loved ones, we offer customized summer experiences for families of all types.

Group Facility Rental at Wilderness

Bring your group to Wilderness Canoe Base for a special retreat setting. Whether it’s a family reunion, anniversary, wedding, or just a gathering of friends and family, you run the program and we’ll provide the space and meals.

Programs for Individuals

Open Canoe Trips (Grades 6-12)

An identical experience as our Group Canoe Trips, but individual campers can register without an organized group. This is an ideal option if youth campers want to experience the Boundary Waters but do not have an organizing trip leader.

Creators’ Retreat (Ages 18+, children are welcome if accompanied by a parent)

Whether you are a writer, visual artist, photographer, musician, crafter, or creator of any kind, we invite you to spend a weekend with us to learn, share, and collaborate while enjoying winter activities in the Boundary Waters!

Women’s Wilderness Adventure (Ages 18+)

Join us for the annual Women's Wilderness Adventure at Wilderness Canoe Base! We will have opportunities for paddling, hiking, campfires, time for fellowship, home-cooked meals, and more.

Swamper Program (Ages 15-19)

If you’re a high schooler looking to experience several weeks or a full summer at Wilderness Canoe Base helping across our camps and programs, our Swamper Program may be a great fit!

Winter Men’s Retreat Weekend (Ages 18+)

Enjoy the pristine Boundary Waters in peak winter season. We will ski, snowshoe, and hike around Seagull Lake, and enjoy cozy fires in Pinecliff Lodge.

Activities for All Interests and Levels

From intense, challenging activities (like rock climbing) to slower, refreshing activities (like nature hikes and vespers), Wilderness Canoe Base offers a chance for every type of person to find focus and joy. Our camps and retreats will stretch you to experience meaningful life together. See your favorite activity on the list? Want to experience something new? Register now for a week or weekend camp experience.

Warm Weather Activities

  • First Word and Last Word
  • Guided Backcountry Canoe Camping
  • Public Sunday Worship Services
  • Rock Climbing
  • Swimming
  • Vespers
  • Voyageur Canoe Paddles

Cold Weather Activities

  • Broomball
  • Cross-Country Skiing
  • Ice Fishing
  • Snowshoeing
  • Winter Camping

Year-Round Activities

  • Camp Store
  • Community Meals
  • Fishing
  • Guided and Self-Guided Nature Hikes
  • Traditional Wood-Fired Sauna

Latest News

Now Hiring – Accounting Associate

This is a full-time, year round position with competitive wage…

2023 Impact Report

The 2023 Impact Report has just been released!  It was a year…

Upcoming Events

How To Register

Ready to plan the best week or weekend of your year? Depending on the program you choose from the list above, here is how to start your camp experience:

Group Programs

To register your group for any of our group programs, please contact the Wilderness Canoe Base director for more information.

Individual Programs

To register a camper for one of our individual programs, create or log into your account and select your program and dates.

Churches, Schools, and Organizations

If your church, school, or organization has already scheduled a camp experience, please contact your group leader for your personalized registration link.

“Being the Director of Health and Safety helped guide me as to what type of nurse I strive to be: listening, advocating, and guiding all with the loving hands that Christ has blessed me with. Serving at WCB was one of the most influential experiences in my life.”

Sierra Reiland, Wilderness DHS Director

“By the end of the summer, something about the way I carried myself had changed. I no longer smiled just with my mouth; I smiled from the width of my stance to the looseness of my hips to the openness of my chest. It was like I had settled into my own skeleton. I knew I could turn in any direction and confidently jump into any task I saw. I was simultaneously alert and relaxed. I was absorbed in the flow of life around me.”

Wilderness Canoe Guide

“I have enjoyed this summer more than I could have guessed. Confidence, intentionality, timelessness, fire-building, navigation, endurance—I learned much in times of challenge. I relied on God for everything, and even when I didn’t, He still provided. The ways He provided allowed me to grow and see how it was only because of God that I am now so capable.”

Anna Erickson, Wilderness Canoe Guide

“This is the blessing of camp. Memories are made. Faith is deepened. Relationships are formed. At camp, kids are given resources which will serve them for the rest of their lives.”

Pastor Keith Ruehlow

“I see God in the relationships built, in the care for one another, and appreciation of God’s creation.”

Wilderness Canoe Base Camper

“I learned how little I need to be truly happy. This week was so refreshing and carefree (mostly) for me!”

Wilderness Canoe Base Camper

“I learned that I can be a leader and focus on things that are integral to success.”

Wilderness Canoe Base Camper

“The connection one finds with people, with nature, and with the Divine at Wilderness is unparalleled in most other places. I leave each summer with a renewed sense of belonging and an ignited spirit.”

Solvieg Orngard, Wilderness Program & Worship Coordinator

“When looking at Seagull Lake from a rock, I thought, ‘God is here.’”

Wilderness Canoe Base Camper

“I always marked the endless contrasts. The warmth of the fire after a rainy day. The calm of the lake after a thunderstorm. The supreme silence after a loud litany of stresses. WCB is a place where God whispers into the community and creates something bigger than the sum of it’s parts.”

Wilderness Canoe Base Camper

“I can do more in the wilderness than I thought I was going to be able to.”

Wilderness Canoe Base Camper

“I see God in the bonds we formed together.”

Wilderness Canoe Base Camper

“I have learned many life lessons that go far beyond a five-day canoe trip: hard work, perseverance, teamwork, and the ability to laugh in difficult situations. But the most important thing I’ve taken is friendships that will last a lifetime.”

David Walbolt, Wilderness Canoe Guide

“There are a lot of tangible learning experiences that happen here and therefore people are able to learn a lot about themselves and learn a lot about God. I’ve experienced God’s fingerprints in picking blueberries, wearing rain gear to church, and laughter while washing pot and pans. I’ve been encouraged to ask tough questions, challenge structures, and grow deeper.”

Anna Erickson, Wilderness Summer Staff

“The trip exceeded my expectations in every way. Facilitated by our outstanding guide, our group came together to have a fun, challenging, and memorable experience that will stay with us for a long time! Thanks for an amazing trip.”

Wilderness Adult Advisor

“It was the most humbling, empowering, and transformative summer I’ve had in 22 years, and I hope you’ll be portaging alongside me in the upcoming season as we continue to encounter God in the new adventures every day at Wilderness.”

Hannah Sackett, Wilderness Canoe Guide

“I see God everywhere, in each and every moment.”

Wilderness Canoe Base Camper

“I kept repeating mantras to myself that reminded me that God is with me. I saw God in my falls when I miraculously didn’t get hurt and just laughed, in the wilderness, and in the group’s positivity in the hard moments.”

Wilderness Canoe Base Camper

“The community and people at WCB do a great job of showing their love: love of God, love for children, and love for each other. WCB is a place which serves many functions. A place for fellowship and hard work. A place where you will be so tired and so full of love. A place to recharge when you are ground down, and then prepares you for new growth.”

Wilderness Canoe Base Camper

“I learned that I am stronger than I thought—that I should not be ashamed for who I am, that I am the light and love of God. I learned about trusting in God and each other”

Wilderness Canoe Base Camper

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How to Find Us

Located at the end of the Gunflint Trail in northern Minnesota, Wilderness Canoe Base is your entry point to the Boundary Waters.

Wilderness Witness

Wilderness Witness is a history of Wilderness Canoe Base in its founding years.