Apostle Islands and Bayfield WI

We spent a long weekend exploring northern Wisconsin and the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. 

Camping
We stayed at a small campground called Apostle Islands Area Campground. It was minutes away from downtown Bayfield, had full hookup sites, open space, a playground with gaga ball, and a fun brew pub in walking/bicycling distance! 

Adventure Club Brewery
​This was a fun stop for both kids and adults. The kids loved getting the wolf to move and playing Frisbee Golf, while the adults enjoyed some locally made drinks.

Hiking
We hiked the Meyers Beach Sea Cave Trail at Meyers Beach. It was hot and sticky on this 4.5 mile hike. It made jumping in Lake Superior at Meyers Beach at the end of the hike feel great! The hike itself was very wooded and the majority of the hike was very well maintained. You really don't get a view of Lake Superior or sea caves until the end of the hike. It was very pretty, but I wish you could see the lake on more of the trail. 

Car Ferry to Madeline Island
We took the ferry over to Madeline Island for a day. It was nearly $100 for the round trip, so make sure you have your day at Madeline Island planned to make it worthwhile. 

Things to do at Madeline Island

1. Bring bicycles. We put our bicycles in the back of our truck so we didn't have to fully depend on biking around the entire island because we also wanted to do some hiking. 
2. Big Bay State Park-we loved cliff jumping off of the point. If you take Big Bay Point Loop Trail, you will come across the popular spot to cliff jump. On a nice day there will a line of people jumping in! 
3. Tom's Burned Down Cafe-this is not for everyone, but it's just crazy enough you have to drive by and if you're brave enough stop in for a drink!
4. Big Bay Town Park-Enjoy an afternoon at the beach!
5. Take a drive around the island and check out the shops, museums, cemetery, or school of the arts.
6. Take a kayak tour.

Boat Tour
There are so many kayak and boat tours in this area to choose from. We took a boat tour through Apostle Island Cruises. We took the Grand Tour, which was a 55 mile scenic tour around the National Lakeshore. We saw lighthouses, sea caves, and bald eagles.