apostle islands

This was a once in a lifetime visit for my wife and I and we almost missed it. I saw the pictures from last year and wanted to come up then (we live a 12 hour drive from Southern Illinois) and couldn't get the time. When I saw that they opened again this year on the 27th of February, and saw the pictures from that weekend, I told my wife we have to go this year and let's plan for the 2nd week in March. She insisted that the 1st weekend would work better so we left the next morning about 12 hours after we even started talking about the trip. Thanks to Tripadvisor, we gathered info on the way for lodging and restaurants that was very valuable. We wanted to be out on the lake in the late afternoon for the best light conditions for pictures, so we didn't leave our Superior, Wi. hotel for the hour + drive until 9am. Hopes that a Friday wouldn't be that crowded and we could park at the very small lot at Meyer's Beach were dashed when we saw cars parked nearly a mile from the turn off to Meyer's and we ended up parking about 3/4 mile from the turn off on the opposite end. So, a mile from our car to the steps leading down to the lake and 1.1 miles from Meyer's Beach to the 1st caves at First Point. We decided to walk to the very end of the caves at The Bowl, which was 2.9 miles from Meyer's and then work our way back with the sun getting further out to the west and zipping in and out of the caves to break the wind. My wife wasn't so happy with this plan as we kept going by all these beautiful frozen falls and we were both getting weary with the long hike, but it proved to be a sound plan as we stopped for a lunch break at the furthest point out and started back against the stiff wind which was much less as we hugged the cliffs and slipped in the caves. This is a glorious place to visit and while I heard some say that they didn't appreciate the new this year charge of $5 per person to enter, I for one, think it should probably be raised to $10 or more, in order to pay for extra help to "patrol" children and delinquent younger AND older adults from taking little souvenirs and tearing off pieces of the ice. It is such a shame to see people act so carelessly. Pictures that I saw only the weekend before were not as beautiful as then because of some of this damage being done. BUT, it was still worth the 12 hour drive and the total of almost 8 miles that we walked (counting to our car and back) and we made great memories and took tons of pictures. I just saw where a very strong wind storm and warm up the last couple of days has forced the closing of the Ice Caves for the season. SOOO glad my wife insisted on this last weekend.If you go NEXT year and hopefully they will start opening each year again as temps fluctuate down again, you should 1. Be prepared to either leave early or walk long. 2. Have good insulated boots with some kind of gripper cleats to pull over the boots. There are spots where even if you trust your balance to walk on ice, you will be on VERY slick and sloped ice! 3. Take plenty of water and snacks if you plan on seeing the entire area. 4. Take a good camera and time for lots of pics. And FINALLY... 5. PLEASE, do not mess with or damage the ice formations!! LOOK, NO NEED TO TOUCH! Let the people behind you see the same beauty that you got to see!

Visited the ice caves from Meyers Beach 2014 and 2015. 2014 we felt the ice formations were more elaborate. Parking was very busy and could add a lot of mileage to the hike. Spent 4 hours snd hiked atound 6 miles. It's a mildly strenuous walk on slippery ice and uneven snow. It's a great way to enjoy nature sns get outside in our long Minnesota/Wisconsin winters. Wear chains snd bring poles. You'll be glad you did.

My visit to the ice caves on 2/27/15 was awesome. The sights were well worth the drive. Arrived early which was needed since so many other people were also visiting. The walk out on the ice was great. Very neat to see where the ice broke up and refroze. The ice caves were a beauty.

This is a beautiful spot looking over Lake Superior. Lots of small shops to visit always enjoy the trip here. I recommend this to anyone coming up here to Duluth. Stop at the Apostle Islands worth the trip.

I've visited Bayfield twice and done an Apostle Islands Cruise, along with driving around the mainland peninsula. Bayfield is a super cute little town--definitely one of the quaintest and prettiest I've seen in northern Wisconsin, Minnesota, or the UP. I found the islands themselves disappointing. They were pretty, but a lot flatter than I expected and with much fewer stone and sand cliffs, caves, arches etc. I guess since I had been to Pictured Rocks before I thought the islands would be more like, but a lot of them where just treed shorelines. Before visiting, I really wanted to plan a kayak trip at the islands, but the main draw seems to be the sea caves (ie. paddling between the islands seems rather boring based on what we saw from the boat cruise). Again, I think I'd rather just check out the sea caves along the Pictured Rocks area, since they seem just as impressive and are more accessible (only the farther, outer islands, have seacaves). If Bayfield is close to you, than it's worth visiting and seeing the islands at least once, but out of all the national lakeshores I've been to (Apostle Islands, PR, Sleeping Bear Dunes), I think it's the least impressive. I would like to return to check out Madeline Island though, since we didn't have time for that.

We spent four days camping on Madeline Island. We love the charm of the island, and also love loading everything on to the ferry for the trip over! We ate at Maggie's in Bayfield, visited the casino which is new and beautiful, and walked the beach near Big Bay Park.

My wife and I love visiting the islands and surrounding area. Great spot to unwind, relax and fall in love again.

The apostle Islands are probably best seen by a narrated boat tour. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and knew so much about the area and the islands. It's about a 3 1/2 hour round trip and is pretty reasonably priced. Parking however can be a bit of a fiasco. Most of the street parking has a two hour time limit which will not work for a three hour cruise.

The only thing that might be a negative about this entire area if that it might get ruined by fame. But if that doesn't happen - ENJOY!!!I lived in one of these lighthouses for a summer but I am not letting that fact sway my opinion of the region at all. HA

We have visited the Apostle Islands many times. The islands are located around the Bayfield Wisconsin Peninsula, with most of the islands primarily located on the northeast side of the peninsula. The largest island is Madeline and the town of La Pointe is located on the southwest side and easily seen from the nice city of Bayfield, located just a few miles across the bay. The access to Bayfield from La Pointe is by ferry, boat or when the lake is frozen over in the winter - vehicles and snowmobiles. The Madeline airport (4R5 - Public Use - Major Gilbert Field Airport) has been our primary access portal to this area and is a short couple mile walk to downtown La Pointe. Rides are also available from some local restaurants. La Pointe offers lodging, dining, shopping, rentals (bikes, scooters), golfing, a marina and other amenities. Madeline Island is home to Big Bay State Park. We took a tour bus from La Pointe to visit the park, which was time well spent. Roads ring the island perimeter, so rentals are a great option for viewing the entire island. In summer, this is a very popular area for sail and power boats, and this is the best way to explore all the diversity of the islands, especially Stockton Island. I strongly recommend signing up for the island tours, which are best seen from the water and not an airplane. Visiting Bayfield will offer you the most options for pursuing island tours, as well as many additional hospitality and shopping options. Bayfield is a very cool and fun town, and certainly a favorite destination of mine in this area. Allow yourself 2-3 days or perhaps a little longer to enjoy this area.

3 different tours available; 4 hour tour involving Strawberry Island, but you better be in good shape cause you are going to be hiking island for 2 hours. Glass bottomed boat tour of 3 hours going out to Sand Island; you'll see 4 wrecks. And at dusk the Grand tour to Devil's island. A lot of fun.

The scenery is not so spectacular via car along the coast, but there are hidden gems to be found if you research ahead of time or stop at the visitor centers. Had great food in Washburn and splashed in the water at Sand Beach. Detraction was construction between Bayfield and Cornucopia. Took back roads to some waterfalls.

Stockton Island is reached via boat. There are camp sites and nature walks. The boat trip is around 45 minutes long and is glorious trip to the island. The island is being permitted to revert to its natural state and so, the hike led by a Ranger who points out all the flora and fauna is quite wonder-full! However, I suggest that you purchase a net "hat" which fits on your head, is tied at the base of the neck to keep the mosquitos at bay. The Ranger who led the hike, was wearing a "jacket" of mosquito netting. They're not expensive and are rather fun if you're sensitive to those little thing-ies. I had a great time, bites and all but next time I'll come equipped.

We camped in Bayfield and then took the fairy to the islands. Very nice trip. There isn't much to the town on the island, but it was a nice place to visit. We found a great very large beach with a shallow entry so the water was very warm in that area. Had a very nice and relaxing time. Probably want to either take your car over on the ferry or plan on renting some bikes.

I go to the Apostle Islands with my dad in their boat. We fish on the way there and on the way back. It's a great trip. The islands are very beautiful and welcoming. The only negative thing I can say is that one year (growing up) the islands flooded a bit with a freak thunder storm, but we still had a ton of fun!