I have never been to Quetico overnight. I am planning to go this year. Do I need to get a permit soon or are they usually available. I will be going out of Atikokan around the 10th of July. Also would like suggestions for a 4-5 day trip.
Thanks

You will need a permit, they begin to be available exactly 5 months before your date. If you are using an outfitter they can get them for you. If you enter through Nym you have a few choices on routes....get a map and check it out.

I am open to going in anywhere that is close to Atikokan. I won't be using an outfitter so I will need to get my own permit.
Do they go fast or are there always permits available?

Some go fast but I don't know about Atikokan #21 Nym. The Prairie Portage permits go fast, also Lac Lacroix for some days.

As already mentioned, if you want to enter Q on July 10th, you'll need to call the Quetico reservation line on (or after) February 10th. Permits can go fast at times, mainly because there are limited numbers of permits available for non-Ontario residents. If you're really tied to a specific date, it's best to call early on the first day of availability.

As for a four or five day trip, the northern part of Quetico is a blank canvas. You can go lots of places in that amount of time. I'm not necessarily trying to be evasive, but if you spend a little time reading trip reports, looking at maps and deciding on a route or place to basecamp, I think you'll be surprised at how much fun you'll have simply by saying, "Let's camp....HERE!"

I really was hoping that was the case Jackfish. I really want to just wonder around until the wife decides she want civilization again. Sometimes thats four or five days it has been as many as 9. We just wanted to try somewhere different and avoid some of the "crowds".

The north of Quetico should be very good to you then. I know in two trips there we have only seen 2 other groups of people. One group paddling through and a group of Native Americans that flew in and fished the lake with moter boats. Apprently they have some treaty that allows them to ignore the park rules and do what they want. I believe that the Candian goverment trys to preserve some peace and quite for people following the park rules, and the Natives can only go to certain lakes. I would research this if I was going to the North side and see which lakes they currently can ignore the rules on, and stay away from them. It puts a bit of a damper on a trip to have them zooming around in there fishing boats while you are trying to fish out of a canoe. So besides that we had no crowds at all, and we were mainly in Beaverhouse and Cirrus. We never had a problem getting a permit, but we did call as soon as it opened 5 months in advance.

Does anyone know if the reservation hotline is open on Saturdays? I have a trip starting the 23rd of June, and that would put my 5 month call this Saturday.

BearDown how was the fishing in that part of Quetico?

quote Obergut: "Does anyone know if the reservation hotline is open on Saturdays?"

I believe it is. It opens at 7:00am Central time. To be sure, call the reservation number tomorrow anytime during the day and ask the question.

Very good. We didn't seam to catch quite as many fish, but we caught larger fish. In the two years we were there we had our groups largest pike, lake trout and bass, and almost largest walleye.