Apostle Island National Lakeshore
It was a sad moment for us when we realized we have lived in Northern Wisconsin our whole lives and have never been kayaking on Lake Superior. Of course you can think of 100 reasons why you haven’t but I could only think of 1 reason why we should. We are leaving this area at the end of the year and we do not want to regret the things we never did. So we made plans for the Labor Day weekend to do some exploring near the Apostle Islands.
Our day started by meeting some friends in Bayfield and picking up our kayaks. We were able to secure our rentals through a local company, Superior Adventures, LLC. They provided us with our kayaks, paddles, life jackets, wet suits and radio. Since Lake Superior is pretty cold year round, the day we went out the water temperature was 68, safety is an issue. The lake is so large that it can act much like the quickly changing conditions of the ocean, so wet suits to prevent hypothermia and radios are required in case you get into trouble.
Meyers Beach is about a 20 minute drive from Bayfield and is considered part of the National Park Services Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. You are able to park there for a $3 fee and can put your kayaks in at the beach. Once in the water, you want to head to the right following the shore until you come to the sea caves. It is about a 1.5 mile row to the caves from Meyers Beach.
We spent a total of 4 hours exploring this amazing display of nature on the edge of the largest freshwater lake in the World. Knowing how Lake Superior truly operates, we lucked out and had beautiful weather for our day. The sun was shining at 83 degrees and the lake was almost placid, which made quick dips into it refreshing instead of cold. A moment that is not often experienced on a visit to this lake.
Although you can opt to visit the caves by hiking the 4 mile nature trail from Meyers Beach, the best option is to be on the water, where you can explore them in depth. Having kayaked before, we led the way for our friends into deep caverns and under arches while we explored. It was a busy day- I am sure due to the weather- so there were times that we waited our turns to enter the caves. Bobbing along on the water and observing from the outside was a fine consolation for a short wait.
Besides the awesome workout we captured some amazing images and made some great memories of the place we have called home for the past 30 years.
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