We are now in the heart of the summer paddling season in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. July and August typically provide the warmest, calmest conditions for kayakers but in every season, safety must remain your top priority when you’re on Lake Superior. Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore board member Neil Howk takes us along for the maiden voyage of his new kayak to share what’s new and what’s not, about the paddling experience at Meyers Beach and the mainland sea caves.

My son and daughter-in-law surprised me with a kayak for my birthday. I decided to do its shakedown cruise on Monday. After lunch I looked at the Wave Watch website to check the conditions at the mainland sea caves. The winds were light, and the waves were only 0.3 feet. The 11:30 am photos on the two Sea Cave Watch webcams showed kayakers at the caves and barely a ripple on the lake. I packed up the new kayak and my PFD and headed for Meyers Beach.

Calm conditions and kayakers on the seacaves web camera

The weather was beautiful when I turned into Meyers Road. Sunny skies, a slight breeze, and temperatures in the low 70s. I wasn’t surprised to find cars parking on the road about halfway out to the highway. It was a great day for hiking, paddling, picnicking and walking the beach and it looked like visitors were doing all the above.

Meyers Beach parking lot – Neil Howk photo

I was a bit surprised when I pulled up to the fee booth to pay the parking fee and there was a cap covering the iron ranger. The new sign said, “Payment by digital methods only for parking fees at Meyers Beach!” 

I pulled out my new smart phone and scanned the QR code for the Pay.Gov parking fee form. Knowing that internet connections at Meyers Beach can be spotty, I was relieved when the form popped up. I filled out the necessary information and was pleased with myself that I remembered to bring my Senior Pass to qualify for the 50% discount on the fee. I wrote in my pass number and hit enter but was a little perturbed to get an error message. My pass number was invalid! I tried again and got the same result. Hmmm… time to ask the ranger what to do.

I found ranger Melanie chatting with visitors in the shelter near the top of the stairs. I presented my dilemma, and she explained that the form was only set up to work with the last five digits of the nine-digit pass number. She politely noted that this information was also included on the sign at the fee station. I thanked her, filled in the number, and received confirmation that the transaction was successful. Melonie then gave me a Mobile Pay Confirmation Slip to fill out and place on the dashboard of my car to verify that the fee was paid. I asked her if I could park briefly near the top of the stairs to unload my equipment and she said yes.

Mobile pay confirmation slip – Neil Howk photo

As I prepared my boat, Melanie stopped by to make sure I had a PFD and asked if I had been to the caves before. I introduced myself and assured her that I had made the trip many times. She said that she thought she recognized me, but wasn’t quite sure. We then chatted about the busy holiday weekend. Melonie felt bad for the outfitters because the weather had forced them to cancel many of their guided trips, and it was too bad that most visitors could not stay to enjoy the perfect weather we were having on Monday. She told me that she was one of two rangers that covered Meyers Beach seven days a week. We also talked about the staff shortages plaguing the park this summer.

One thing that hasn’t changed at Meyers Beach is access to the beach. When my kayak was ready, I was alone, so I had to drag it down the stairs and across the beach to the shore. Fortunately, that was the only unpleasant part of the trip (someone offered to help me carry the kayak up the stairs when I returned).

The paddling was wonderful. The new craft was seaworthy, the conditions were perfect, the caves were beautiful, and there weren’t many other paddlers on the water. It was a lovely afternoon.

Mainland sea caves photos by Neil Howk – Click to enlarge

If you are heading to Meyers Beach this summer, you can find a list of companies offering kayak tours and outfitters on the National Park Service website. When you arrive at Meyers Beach, be prepared for the change in fee collection, but most things remain the same.  If it’s a nice day, it will be crowded, there should be a ranger to chat with, and you still must tackle the stairs to get to the beach. Hopefully by this time next year, construction of the new ramp/accessible path will be in progress.