The Apostle Islands are 21 islands off the coast of Wisconsin on Lake Superior. Rock formations, sea caves and hiking are our plan for this stop as well as enjoying the charming little town of Bayfield, Wisconsin which is the launch point for the Apostle Island boat tours.
This is the first time we are staying at a first come, first serve campsite and we are a little apprehensive. We are not really first come, first serve types. We are reserve in advance types.
We have an almost 5-hour drive from Munising, Michigan to Washburn, Wisconsin. We arrive Memorial Park Campground, a pretty campground, right on the lake. It turns out there was no need to worry about reservations. The campground is not even a third full. The campground is quiet with lots of trees and sites with lake views. There is strong wi-fi and a playground for Elle. We selected a spot that has a view of Lake Superior. We have an electric hook up, but no water or sewer, but since we are only there for two nights, we have plenty of capacity in our tanks and don’t have to try too hard to conserve water.
After we make sure the Airstream is level and get settled in, we drive 15 minutes to the neighboring town of Bayfield to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Visitor Center. Bayfield is a lovely little town on the shores of Lake Superior filled with shops, restaurants and outfitters. We find the visitor center, obtain Elle’s junior ranger book and stamp our passport.
Our next order of business is to figure out our boat tickets to the Apostle Islands for the next morning. This is not done at the visitor center but at the marina downtown. We opt for the Grand Tour. We have a 10am departure the next morning. We return to Washburn to take a look around and stock up on groceries and snacks. Washburn is a small town but cute. There are a couple coffee shops and restaurants. And most importantly, there is a grocery store where we can replenish!
The next morning, we zip over to Bayfield, park the truck and then pop into the funky Fat Radish bakery/restaurant for some scones to eat while we wait to board the boat. The boat takes off at 10am and we have a 3.5 hour roundtrip cruise through the Apostle Islands, out as far as Devil’s Island. It is a sunny day with calm “seas”. We choose seats on top out in the fresh air, but bundle up because it’s a bit chilly. It is a LONG trip to Devil’s Island.
We start passing by some of the islands. Islands covered with trees and not much else. Basswood Island, Hermit Island, Oak Island. We all shift around on the metal benches, trying to get comfortable. More green tree’d islands and blue water. Raspberry Island. Otter Island. Elle announces she is bored. Actually, we are all a little bored, especially because this is our fourth boat trip in two weeks (there was the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls, the Mackinac Island ferry, the Pictured Rocks cruise…). It’s a lot of boats. But the only way to see the Apostle Islands was by boat so… here we are. Bear Island. Then finally… we arrive at Devil’s Island – the furthest point on the cruise.
Devil’s Island is not simply a green island covered with trees. It is spectacular… trimmed with dark orange caverns and caves with kayakers weaving in and out on the turquoise blue water. There is a small lighthouse on the island. The boat circles the island slowly and we take the cameras out and start snapping photos. Then the boat returns back to Bayfield. Fortunately, we seem to make much better time on the return trip.
We get back around 1:30pm and we are all famished. We should have thought to bring lunch with us. Next time. We return to the Fat Radish and pick up sandwiches. Elle decides she no longer likes sandwiches of ANY kind. We have a half hour of hungry, cranky five-year-old before she decides that she will eat half a turkey sandwich. We then drive out to Meyer’s Beach for a hike along the Lakeshore Trail. It is a buggy hot hike. We realize about five minutes into the hike that we need to put the bug spray on, but it is too late for Elle and I – we already have a couple itchy welts! We douse ourselves with spray to discourage any further attacks. We continue hiking and the payoff is incredible views of lakeside caves burrowed into the orange brown cliffs. Very dramatic.
We spend one more night in Washburn, then we are off to our next stop, Isle Royale National Park, only accessible …. by boat! These Great Lakes are never-ending. And we have learned well that we are not boat people. But we persevere because after two more stops we know we will be heading westward into the landlocked interior of our great country, where the only waves we encounter will be amber waves of grain!