Things to do in Apostle Islands
I wrote a post about the things I did Summer of 2020. I mentioned Apostle Islands there. You can read it here.
If you are thinking about visiting the Apostle Islands in Wisconsin, here are some things I recommend. I will also be sharing things I would do if I was to go back.
Things to know, there is no hospital facility in the Bayfield, WI area. If you are considering going, make sure you are not sick or not showing symptoms. You can read about it more on their website.
Things I recommend doing:
HIKING:
If you’re going up north, you have to hike at least 1 trail. There are a few trails available in the Bayfield area and the surrounding areas. There are difficult trails, moderate trails, and easy trails which is great if you want variety.
The trails I hiked: Iron Bridge and Meyers Beach
I recommend the Meyers Beach for a moderate trail. There is a lot of up and downs. If it’s wet, definitely watch out and be careful. It’s also a longer trail so plan for that. When we went, it was only open half way due to weather the previous week. However, we did make it to the infamous cave bridge.
KAYAK THE SEA CAVES:
If you’re in the Apostle Islands, you HAVE to kayak the sea caves. It is a must do. I recommend going with a tour guide because Lake Superior is unpredictable. Having a tour guide will also make your trip more enjoyable.
We booked a tour guide with Rustic Makwa Den. We had a great experience with our guide. He was very knowledgeable and made he made sure we got to go through as many caves as possible. We were his last tour of the day so he gave us more flexibility and time to explore, which was really nice.
Definitely, if you can, kayak the sea caves. They are amazing.
SUNRISE AND SUNSET:
The sunrise was absolutely beautiful. It was so worth it waking up that early to see it rise. It was beautiful. That’s all I can say—it was beautiful. It was worth. The nice thing about being up in that peninsula or islands is that you can experience the sunrising on the lake and setting on the lake. When evening hits, drive to the other side and watch the sun set.
Both are beautiful and worth it.
Things I would do if I was to go again:
I would definitely kayak to one of the islands and camp overnight. They have tour guides available for this kind of trip, which I think is great. If you can, definitely book one of these overnight trips. Madeline island is the only inhabited island and you get there by taking a ferry. All the other islands are uninhabited, which would make for a wonderful camping experience.
Enjoy the coffee shops in Bayfield. When we went it was summer of 2020 and knowing that Bayfield was a hot spot for tourist, we didn’t want to risk hanging out there. We ordered food for delivery. There were cute restaurants and coffee shops that I knew I would’ve enjoyed, but it was just too crowded for me to feel safe walking around so we didn’t go into town. With that said, I would definitely explore more of the local foods there next time.
Other things you can do:
Sea Cave Cruise
Ferry to Madeline Island
Places to Stay:
You can camp. There are a lot of camp grounds available.
You can also stay in local inns or hotels.
I recommend booking a duplex or house.
We stayed at the Fedora Suite. I got so lucky with this one. I knew I didn’t want to stay in Bayfield because of the crowd but I didn’t want to stay so far that we can’t order food or stop by if we decided to. This rental is only 1 mile away from Bayfield which is great. It’s about 15 mintues from Meyers Beach, which is super nice. The best part is you get your own private beach front, which is amazing! This location is great for a small group of friends, family, or couples. Highly higly recommend!
I’ve always wanted to kayak the sea caves in Apostle Islands. And getting to do that was an absolute dream come true. It was so worth it. The water was blue, it was sunny, it was great.
If you’re thinking about going, highly recommend it!