Your guide to the Apostle Islands
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Everyone knows about the hiking and beautiful topography of the western United States, but what about in the midwest? I live in Minnesota, where in the northern parts there are scenic drives and forests for camping and the incredible boundary waters for canoeing and exploring. My husband and I love taking weekend trips “up north” from our home in Minneapolis. We had been living in Minnesota for nearly five years (and the midwest for our whole lives) before we discovered the Apostle Islands.
The Apostle Islands are about three and a half hours from Minneapolis, accessed by Bayfield, Wisconsin. We decided to take a long weekend up to this area for camping, hiking, and kayaking. It was even better than we had imagined.
Where we stayed
There are plenty of places to camp and some incredibly cute inns to try (i.e. The Inn on Madeline Island, The Hayloft Inn, Old Rittenhouse Inn) We went over a holiday weekend, so many of the accommodations were already booked or felt too expensive. It’s clear that the Airbnbs all book up quickly and far in advance. There are even a few different house boats you can rent on Airbnb, which would be fun to try next time.
While in Bayfield we stayed in a city campground that was beautiful– and $25/night. Here is the link for Dalrymple Campground. It wasn’t very busy, and many of the campsites were right along the shore of Lake Superior. I loved laying in our tent with the rain cover off, staring at the stars, and listening to the lake lap against the beach right below us. It was dreamy. Just keep in mind that the Dalrymple campground is first come, first serve! Honestly though, if we had not reserved a place at this campground there were plenty of private campgrounds in the area.
Before Bayfield, we stayed in an Airbnb a little over an hour away in Bessemer, Michigan (see below). We LOVED this Airbnb. It was cheap and felt like [or maybe was] a ski lodge straight from the 1970s. The owners were friendly and talkative, and we had a fun time in this little town. It was fourth of July weekend, and I have never experienced a small town celebration like this before. The Airbnb was right next to a large ski resort, so we decided that we’ll have to return this winter.
The Airbnb was next to many hiking trails with twelve different scenic waterfalls. It was a nice drive over to the Apostle Islands from there through forests and along Lake Superior.
What we did
First off, the city of Bayfield is adorable to walk around. There are sweet little shops, book stores, ice cream parlors, coffee shops, and city parks. One afternoon we spent time just relaxing and walking around.
One thing that everyone will tell you that you have to do while in this area is kayaking. There are numerous outfitters that will allow you to rent kayaks and most will offer guided tours. We did a guided trip one morning (about 8AM until noon) through Trek & Trail, which seemed to have the best reviews and bang for your buck. We had an awesome experience with this outfitter!
Tips for kayaking around this area:
- There are some dangerous parts for kayaking around the Apostle Islands and we were recommended to start out with a guided tour for this reason, even though we have both been kayaking elsewhere many times. The rocks and cliffs around the islands are constantly changing and the waves can get fairly high.
- Wear tight-fitting, warm clothes. I was told to wear leggings and a dry-fit long, sleeve shirt and was very thankful for this. Even though we were there in July, the water is VERY cold. I wore tennis shoes but I had wished that I had Chacos (Affiliate link) or waterproof shoes for this.
- Trek & Trail tours provided wetsuits, while many others do not
- Bring a lunch to picnic on the beach afterwards (most kayaking tours start from Meyers Beach, which I also mention later on)
- Try to do a morning tour when possible, because the water tends to be calmer than in the afternoons and it is less windy (tip from our guide)
- Many tour agencies provide waterproof bags or waterproof phone cases— make sure to ask about this or bring your own.
Madeline Island
From Bayfield, you can take a ferry over to Madeline Island. The ferry runs about every half hour, and you can just walk on or bring your car or bike on. It cost about $50 for us plus our car to go (round trip), but it was worth it to bring the car because we had a beach in mind to get to. You can rent scooters on the island, which would be fun too if you wanted to save money and not bring your car over. However, you still have to pay to park your car in Bayfield. It’s a toss up and would probably all end up costing about the same anyways.
The ferry takes you from Bayfield to LaPoint, which also has a downtown area with shops and restaurants.
The best, secret beach on Madeline Island
As you drive around the island, there are two public beaches that you pass before this one, so most people stop at those ones. This ensures that this beach is quiet and empty. Here are the coordinates that will bring you straight to this beach: 46°50’21.3″N 90°36’03.6″W
Just type in those coordinates into Google Maps, and it’ll take you to a dead-end road with a public beach. You’ll pull over and park right there, and then walk onto the beach. While we were there (on a Saturday of a busy holiday weekend) we saw only a handful of people. It was perfect.
Sea Caves Hike
I hear you: “but Miranda, what if I am afraid of kayaking?” And to that I say: “it’s worth it.” But if you persist, then here is the hike you need to do.
You could park at Meyers beach and then hike along the coast, or you could start on the other side and do the shorter hike. Plus then you save the $15 parking fee at the beach.
- Search “Bayfield Peninsula Sea Caves Trail” OR for exact coordinates type this into Google Maps: WX39+H4 Cornucopia, Bell, WI
- The road leads to a dead end, and the you’ll hike for about a quarter mile down to the cliffs. If you walk left (south) towards Meyers Beach, the views are incredible.
- If you head to the right (north) you will not see anything interesting and may end up yelling at your husband.
If I were to do it all over, I would do this hike and then do a kayak tour of another island, because the cliffs are the same (but obviously from different vantage points) that you see from the main kayaking tours.
Other important notes:
- I was told that the Old Rittenhouse Inn and Maggie’s have great food. We didn’t eat at either place, but they had been highly recommended to us. Maggie’s is on the cheaper side; Old Rittenhouse is on the more expensive/fancy side.
- It’s chilly near Lake Superior and the weather is unpredictable, make sure to bring a fleece and rain jacket.
- When we are camping, we typically bring Starbuck’s instant coffee packets or our french press. On this trip we went to Kickapoo (local to Wisconsin) several days since it was so good!
- In the winter time the Apostle Islands are magical for a whole different reason. Lake Superior freezes over and you can actually walk around and through the sea caves.
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