Anderson Bay

The landing is about 19 miles by boat from Rainy Lake Visitor Center, and the backcountry trailheads here are reached by water. Treat Anderson Bay as a full outing rather than a quick stop, and bring food and drinking water along.

The Anderson Bay Loop is 2.5 miles including the approach from the dock and takes roughly 90 to 150 minutes. The route is rated strenuous, with a steep, narrow dirt path over roots and rocks; uneven rock can be slick after rain. Pets aren't allowed on Voyageurs trails.

The loop winds through forest past rocky clearings and beaver ponds, then reaches Rainy Lake shoreline views and a view down over Anderson Bay from the top of the cliffs. The landing is also the northern trailhead for the 9.5-mile, one-way Cruiser Lake Trail across the Kabetogama Peninsula to Lost Bay on Kabetogama Lake; that is a separate backcountry crossing, not an extension of the short loop.

The day-use site has picnic tables, a fire ring and a privy. It is a useful place to pause for a packed meal before or after the walk; plan your supplies before the long boat ride.

Anderson Bay lies near the southern edge of the Canadian Shield. The region's bedrock story began with volcanic eruptions about 2.8 billion years ago. Later collisions, uplift, folding and heat formed granite and schist; erosion wore down the ancient mountains and exposed the cliffs along the peninsula.

From the water, frame the pale rock with a strip of lake below and the tree line above. That composition shows the cliff rising from Rainy Lake and gives the granite face a sense of scale.