: I know that the deadline for
: permits in next week. How often does it get booked up?

The lottery is a way to give yourself a chance a getting a specific entry point on a specific day. If you're going to use one of the more popular entry points, you'll want to make sure to get yourself into the lottery. If you're flexible, they'll be an entry point available for the day you want somewhere near where you want one.

If you take Paul's suggestion about the Sag, you should be able to get one easily after they open up for over the phone reservations.

One thing to keep in mind is that last year, we had a 75,000 acre fire on the upper Gunflint in exactly the locations that are written about on the Sag, Seagull, ect... The fire was so bad that we had smoke from it in town. Picture below.