With a good number of campsites and quality fishing, these five lakes are one of the more popular semi-hidden places in northern Wisconsin. The lakes are not super easy to access (it takes driving a few miles on mostly unpaved roads) so motor activity is reduced and primarily stays on Escanaba Lake. The fishing has a bunch of special/experimental regulations which keep the season open all year, though daily free permits and bag report check-ins at the research station are required.

Six nonreservable paddle-in sites are on Pallette Lake, and Nebish has two remote-reservable water access sites. Lost Canoe Lake, just a short portage to the north of both Pallette and Escanaba, also has three water sites. The campsites are palatial for the most part; each comes with the standard state forest picnic table and most have space for a bunch of tents. Nearly all can also be accessed via hiking trail, and a couple are right on portages.

Escanaba, Pallette, Nebish, Spruce, and Mystery all have no shoreline development aside from their launches. All appear technically to allow motors, but I'd be pretty entertained to see someone try to get one into Pallette, Mystery, or Spruce. They stay pretty quiet for the most part, though I'm not huge on all six of Pallette's sites staring at each other across the mostly round lake. Sometimes the area gets busy with paddlers seeking an open site, so be prepared to portage northward to Lost Canoe or even to White Sand Lake.

Fishing is varied. Escanaba has a reputation as an underrated muskie and walleye lake. Pallette is crystal clear and contains smallmouth and lake trout, though lakers currently have a closed season all year. The other three have been stocked with or contain largemouth (Spruce and Mystery), smallmouth (Nebish), trout (Nebish), and panfish. A few of the regs can be found here: http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/fishing/seasons/yearnd.html#experimental. Check the full annual regs for additional lake-specific info including restrictions on lead tackle.

Overall this is a nice (though a little busy for my tastes) semi-remote area to check out.