A visit to Bayfield, WI the gateway to the Apostle Islands.

When our forefathers were formulating state boundaries, a beautiful but small swath of land that abuts Lake Superior became part of Wisconsin. Most of the border that separates Minnesota from Wisconsin is the result of a river. In the southern part of both states, the Mississippi River facilitates the state boundaries. Where the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers meet, southeast of Minneapolis, the St. Croix River defines the state border.  Skip up to the north at Lake Superior, and the headwaters of the St. Louis River separates the states. For some fortunate reason, a rather large tract of land called the Bayfield Peninsula, which includes the towns of Red Cliff, Bayfield, Washburn, Ashland, as well as the gorgeous Apostle Islands, became part of the state of Wisconsin. How fortunate was Wisconsin? Very!! In 1970, when Congress named 20 of the islands and 2,500 acres of the peninsula as a national lakeshore managed by the National Park Service, the area became a vacation magnet. Bayfield, WI became the gateway to the Apostle Islands, with plenty of ways to explore the great outdoors and the beautiful Lake Superior shoreline.  And that is where we camped after leaving Wabasha, MN, the amazingly quaint Bayfield, Wisconsin.

If you’re personally familiar with me, then you will already know that I’m a bit of a “foodie”.  We found Bayfield harbor cram packed with fishing vessels, and indeed this area is known for both recreational and commercial fishing. Freshly caught fish, such as whitefish and trout, are brought in daily, and processed locally.  Day number 1 in Bayfield and I’m already shopping at the “just off the boat” fish market. I bought fresh trout, which I froze and will use with a seafood stuffing at some time in the future. But what I really want to talk about is the honey smoked whitefish. Ohh my g-d, just amazing! Before there was that over processed “white fish salad” that you can get at your local Costco or BJ’s, there was real smoked whitefish. What memories the taste evoked. Crazy right? I was immediately reminiscing about my childhood in Brookline, Massachusetts. My grandfather would attend temple services on Saturday morning and then after services, he would stop by the local deli and pick up fresh bagels, cream cheese, salted lox, and, if we were lucky (the deli had not run out), smoked white fish, bone in, but head removed (My mother insisted that the head be removed, she did not like the fish staring back at her). We would be seated at the kitchen table, clustered around Mom as she carefully removed the bones, and delivered smoked whitefish to my “bagel with a smear”.  I haven’t tasted smoked whitefish like that in quite some time. This will be my new morning breakfast ritual for as long as the whitefish supply remains.

The Bayfield Peninsula and the Apostle Islands are just so active and vibrant, that there was no shortage of museums to visit, sightseeing to do, and excursions to take. And of course, Judy performed her “due diligence”, and had a notebook full of information on walking trails, activities and attractions. Mother nature even cooperated and gave us a couple of really nice days to explore the area. Narrowing down the list and highlighting the most enjoyable expeditions is going to be a bit of a challenge. We’ll do our best, and detail them in chronological order. 

Day #2 

We loaded our backpacks with bug spray, lots of water, our lunch, and drove 15 miles north, across the peninsula to a remote section on the water called Meyers Beach. We were looking for the Lakeshore Trailhead which would lead us into the Apostle Islands Maritime Cliffs State Natural Area. The website All-Trails® considered this a moderate hike, almost 5-miles out and back.  The trail started along a boardwalk which kept our feet out of the worst of the mud conditions. Then, up and down and over, traveling a path of tree roots and rocks until we reached the outer rim of the shoreline and the amazing caves. 

Judy at the Maritime Cliffs 

Sorry the pictures do not fully explain how unique and beautiful these caves are. The entire shoreline is made up of a reddish-brown sandstone formed millions & millions of years ago and, over time, Lake Superior waves, along with wind and ice, have sculpted the exposed sandstone cliffs into sea caves, vaulted chambers, arches and pillars. While walking along the shoreline trail it is easy to hear the splashing of the waves against the sandstone 30 to 50 feet below. There was a wonderful spot to stop for lunch at the ½ way point, taking one last look at the unique features cut into the exposed sandstone cliffs. Magnificent!

Steven & Judy in front of cave on Lake Superior & Maritime Cliffs 

Day #4

Going to sound like a little bit of a” broken record” here when I say, “we again packed a couple of backpacks”, and got an early morning start driving to the Bayfield docks to catch a ferry to Madeline Island. A pleasant 30-minute ferry ride on a beautifully sunny morning. These ferries run very regularly in the summer and carry cars, trucks, bicycles, and people back and forth to the island. Our intention was to explore Madeline Island on foot. The town center is called La Pointe, which is a small vacation-oriented town center with a handful of shops and eating establishments.  The population of Madeline Island in the wintertime is 220 and, in the summer, it balloons to 2,500.  When Lake Superior freezes there is an ice road route to the island. There are certain times of the year when weather conditions make travel to the island rather difficult, if not impossible. We walked almost 6-miles of the entire 43-miles of roads, including the 1.3-mile-long Casper Trail through the center of the township. The trip would not have been complete without a look inside the Madeline Island Museum. For a seasonal community and small town, there was a lovely and informative historical museum which really outlined the Native American citizens and occupants of the Bayfield Peninsula and the Apostle islands.  As it was getting close to 3:00 we headed back to the ferry terminal to catch the ferry for our return to Bayfield.  

Judy & Steven on Casper Trail, Madeline Island, WI

Day #5

Lest you think that we’ve given up on visiting lighthouses, nay, nay!  I can assure you it’s only because our most recent travels have had us in land-locked states. The Apostle Islands are a mecca for lighthouses, with eight of them placed on six of the islands. Judy and I picked an excursion to the Raspberry Island Lighthouse located on…Raspberry Island. One of the smaller islands of the archipelago, the history of Raspberry Island centers on the lighthouse, which served to guide steamships through the west channel between the lighthouse and the mainland. The lighthouse, located on the southern part of the island, has been preserved and manned by the National Park Services and volunteers since 1975. The entire compound and all related artifacts have been remarkably preserved and/or restored as originally built.  As if this was 1902. The preservation went so far as to continue to display a rack of 1950’s era lead acid batteries used to power the foghorn and store power from the diesel generator (also still on display). The lighthouse is not very tall, only 77 feet from base to light, but the entire compound sits up on the island bluff, which is about 44 feet above the boat landing, or an 88-stair climb. The first thing you notice when exiting the boat on the boat landing pier are the tramway rails that were first installed in 1902 to haul construction materials and coal to the top of the bluff. And the tram is still in use today some 123 years later. The whole island provides breathtaking views of Lake Superior and was just a lot of fun to visit. The sun was strong, and the winds were warm, as we rode the 50-minute ferry ride back to the Bayfield dock.  A great excursion!  Lighthouses are back, at least temporarily. 

Raspberry Island Lighthouse

A top the Raspberry Island Lighthouse

We had a great meal at the "Good Thyme Restaurant", about 10 miles down the highway from our campsite towards the town of Washburn. We also did some hiking locally, where we walked from the campsite to a well-known trail along the Lake Superior shoreline called the Brownstone Trail, on which we saw some stunning “lakeside” houses and mansions that abutted the lake. Unfortunately, just too much activity to try to post about. All great stops must come to an end, as did this stop in Bayfield, WI. Some places we visit just leave us wanting to stay just a bit longer. But we move on, because around every corner there’s another journey and something new to see or do as we tell… the Rest of the Story.