The Apostle Islands are a chain of 22 islands located off the Lake Superior shore of Northern Wisconsin.  They were so named by French missionary voyageurs who first noticed them in the late seventeenth century.  In 1970, the federal government completed the purchase of 21 of the islands, as well as adjacent areas of the mainland shore, to create the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.  As one of the least known and least visited national park properties in the Lower 48 states, the Apostle Islands provide a unique opportunity to experience a Northwoods wilderness adventure, combined with the majestic beauty of the largest fresh water lake in the world.

The islands were first the abode of Native American Ojibwe, although little remains that would hint at their presence.  Little, in fact, remains of any human presence on these islands.  There are lighthouses, of course, which once provided a vital guide to the ore and lumber laden ships that made their way past the rocky shoals and hidden sandbars of Lake Superior.  Sometimes the lights failed in their purpose, and the ships succumbed to the unpredictable gales that transform a beautiful autumn day into a cold, terrifying and frequently deadly maelstrom.  The shipwrecks that resulted from such century old storms are still preserved in the frigid waters 20 or 50 or 100 feet below the surface.  Some of the islands bear the scars of sandstone quarries, whose brownstone bricks can be seen on buildings throughout the upper Midwest.  Here and there are the foundations of sawmills and the dwellings of the lumberjacks who worked there.  But one must look very hard to see any of these things.

What is most evident to modern day visitors to the Apostle Islands is the impossibly blue water of Lake Superior, which frames the 22 islands like a great sapphire encasing small emerald-forest gems. 

The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore  is one of the 10 least visited national parks in the lower 48 states.  This is a good thing for visitors who want nothing more than to experience the kind of peaceful solitude that far too few places in our nation of 300,000,000 inhabitants can offer anymore.  Even though they are just a single day’s drive from Chicago, and even less from Minneapolis-St.Paul, once you step foot on one of the islands, chances are you will not see another human being until you return to the mainland. 

With this post, I invite you to take a virtual tour of this little known national treasure.

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 Once you arrive on one of the islands, the dock where you disembark may be the last man-made structure you see.

 No restaurants, no fancy lodging.  Food and shelter is whatever you carry on your back.

You may want to camp in the woods, or hike a little further until you reach your own private beach.  Whatever your decision, you are guaranteed a room with a view.

The 300 foot bluffs of Oak Island provide a perfect place to enjoy a Lake Superior sunset.

There are many shipwrecks in the Apostle Islands, some of which are easily reached by a simple shore dive.  Charters are also available to take divers and snorkelers to wrecks that are more difficult to reach.  Warning:  wet suits are a must, and many divers prefer dry suits in the frigid lake water.  An August thermoclime at 11 feet sent the water temperature plummeting from about 60 degrees to 40 degrees.

One of the dominant features of the northern shores of the outer islands are sea caves, created by the incessant pounding of Lake Superior's waves.  Sea caves are also prevalant along parts of the mainland shore.

Sea cave closeup.  One popular activity in the islands is sea kayaking into the many caves along the shore.

There are 9 lighthouses located in the Apostle Islands.  Pictured here is the Raspberry Island Lighthouse, built in 1862.  The lighthouses are among the very few obvious traces of human activity on the islands.  All of the lights are fully automated now, with no lightkeepers anymore. 

This is the Old Rittenhouse Inn, in Bayfield Wisconsin.  Bayfield is the gateway to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.  A few years ago, The Chicago Tribune named Bayfield the "Best Small Town in the Midwest".  That is an assessment with which I wholeheartedly agree.  The Rittenhouse Inn is a combination Bed and Breakfast/restaurant.  The two meals I have eaten there rank among the 3 or 4 best dining experiences I have ever had.  After spending several days in the wilderness, eating trail mix and freeze-dried dinners, a little extravagance at the Rittenhouse is a well deserved treat.