Summer solstice 2020 in the Apostle Islands

June 20, 2020

Can you feel it? Whether obscured by clouds or not, the sun is at the highest point in the sky at 4:43 PM on June 20th, 2020. It’s the exact time when we celebrate the summer solstice in the 50th year of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

Also known as estival solstice or midsummer, this once-in-a year solstice event happens when the north pole has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. And if you think the days are long right now in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, imagine being north of the Arctic Circle. There night never falls. It’s light outside, 24 hours a day.

In the converse, it’s dark 24 hours a day in the Antarctic Circle in the southern hemisphere. While you chew on those science factoids, enjoy the warm sunshine and the calming waves washing up on the beach in the park we love, known as APIS or the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

We left this message in the sand on the mainland. Beautiful and fleeting, isn’t it. So is summer. After June 20th, the days will slowly shorten as we make our journey around the sun… and travel toward the winter solstice on December 21, 2020.

The Friends are proud to share the natural and cultural beauty of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, and to support the National Park Service in its mission to protect and preserve the park and the park experience for generations to come.

Updates about NPS operations will be posted on www.nps.gov/coronavirus. For more information about Apostle Islands National Lakeshore,  call (715) 779-3398 or visit go.nps.gov/ApostleConditions.

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