News Articles

Newly received or noteworthy information, especially about recent or important events and happenings.

“Discover the night” in the Apostle Islands during International Dark Sky Week

“Discover the night” in the Apostle Islands during International Dark Sky Week

30 miles offshore, Devils Island and Outer Island offer some incredible views of the Milky Way set in a field of innumerable stars. And if you’re very fortunate, you'll witness the spectacular northern lights dancing in some of the darkest skies in Wisconsin. The featured photo above captures the northern lights as seen from the top of the Outer Island lighthouse. In fact, most of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore offers great night sky viewing; night sky lovers, stargazers and photographers want to protect those views for generations to come.Milky Way over Stockton Island - Jon...

Access for All: National Park Service wants your comments on plans for accessible ramp at Meyers Beach, Little Sand Bay trails

Access for All: National Park Service wants your comments on plans for accessible ramp at Meyers Beach, Little Sand Bay trails

Plans for an accessible ramp at the popular Meyers Beach kayak launch take a significant step forward in April, as the National Park Service publishes a draft Environmental Assessment and asks for public comment for the next 30 days. The 54-page document says, "Providing an Architectural Barriers Act-compliant ramp would provide long-term, beneficial impacts to visitor experience via access to the beach and primary kayak launching location to the mainland sea caves, increase safety and improve capacity for visitors of all abilities. " "This is an important step in achieving Access for All,...

An eye for helping: Photographer couple targets Friends with April 22nd fundraiser

An eye for helping: Photographer couple targets Friends with April 22nd fundraiser

From the Galapagos to Africa, from Iceland to Hawaii, the husband-and-wife photography team of Carol and Roy Toepke have an eye for nature and a deep-seated desire to help protect it. This April 22nd, they are targeting the Access for All initiative of Friends with a fundraising effort to help one of their favorite places on earth: the Apostle Islands.Carol and Roy Toepke“We're big fans of the Apostle Islands,” says Carol. “We have explored the lighthouses, ventured out to the mainland and Devils Island sea caves and trekked to the ice caves twice.” And they have captured it all in...

The lake effect is in full effect in the Bayfield and the Apostle Islands

The lake effect is in full effect in the Bayfield and the Apostle Islands

The winter of 2022/23 is one for the record books for Bayfield and the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. A massive 158.7 inches of snow - so far - makes this the snowiest winter on record. Thanks to the lake effect snow machine, the previous record of 150.3 inches in 2013/14 didn't stand a chance. And while we're several weeks into meteorological spring, you wouldn't know it in Bayfield. Friends board member Erica Peterson says, "Spring is supposed to enter next week with temps in the 50s but today winter lake effect is in full display. I wouldn't trade our last few days of winter for...

Watch the video presentation: National Geographic: the story behind the story

Watch the video presentation: National Geographic: the story behind the story

I'm leaving tomorrow to go to Ukraine for couple of months," photographer David Guttenfelder told the audience. "I’ve spent my whole life going as far away as I possibly could from where I grew up, looking for adventure and telling stories…" “I grew up on the shore of Lake Superior and I had picnics with my grandparents numerous times... but then I wanted to go away too," said outdoors writer Stephanie Pearson. With vastly different backgrounds and experiences, these two well-traveled journalists, now based in Minnesota, talked about the value of coming home and about feeling the allure of...

Like being inside of a diamond: Apostle Islands shimmer with northern lights

Like being inside of a diamond: Apostle Islands shimmer with northern lights

It began with just a faint rippling of light. The sun had barely set, its light still coloring the sky, but already it was clear: something special was happening.NOAA northern lights forecast - click to enlargeOn the night of March 23, 2023, the sky over the northern United States glittered in one of the strongest displays of northern lights in decades, visible as far south as northern Missouri. In the Apostle Islands, clear skies and just a sliver of moon, meant perfect viewing conditions.Our Executive Director Jeff Rennicke caught the display over the national lakeshore. “To stand beneath...

Jewels on the water: Two artists share the inspiration of the islands

Jewels on the water: Two artists share the inspiration of the islands

The Apostle Islands have long inspired artists, from songwriters to painters, potters, and poets. Recently, two local artists – photographer Jeff Rennicke and silversmith Lissa Flemming – combined their talents in a unique tribute to the inspiration they find among these islands. The result was a one-of-a-kind line of jewelry created by Flemming inspired by Rennicke’s photography, both unveiled during a joint presentation at Canoecopia, the country’s largest paddling expo recently held in Madison, Wisconsin. It began with a photograph.Photographer Jeff Rennicke aboard Little Dipper“I have...

Join us for “Apostle Islands in National Geographic: the story behind the story”

Join us for “Apostle Islands in National Geographic: the story behind the story”

The March issue of National Geographic magazine celebrates Wisconsin's Apostle Islands National Lakeshore with the kind of global exposure few other publications can match. “Return to Wild Waters” describes the Islands as a “sublime, yet dangerous playground for kayakers, sailors and powerboaters to explore.” And on March 30th at 7 p.m., you'll be able to experience the story behind the story during a special online event. In the magazine and online, writer Stephanie Pearson and award-winning National Geographic photographer David Guttenfelder captured in words and images the alluring...

Exploring Basswood Island’s brownstone quarry by skis and snowshoes

Exploring Basswood Island’s brownstone quarry by skis and snowshoes

Cross country skis and snowshoes can easily carry you across lake ice and snow. With the right destination in mind, they can also transport you back in time, to the late 1800s when miners used steam drills and derricks to harvest giant blocks of Apostle Islands brownstone destined for buildings in Chicago, Milwaukee and Bayfield.NPS MapAfter checking ice and weather conditions, Friends board members Mark and Erica Peterson and Neil Howk took advantage of a beautiful sunny day to make the trek from Roy's Point on the mainland across the West Channel to the south end of Basswood Island. Howk...

Get your copy of the National Geographic feature on the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

Get your copy of the National Geographic feature on the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

The Apostle Islands are a national treasure. In its March 2023 issue, National Geographic magazine celebrates their beauty and importance.The story, "Return to Wild Waters" calls the Apostle Islands a "sublime, yet dangerous playground for kayakers, sailors and powerboaters to explore." Author Stephanie Pearson and photographer David Guttenfelder collaborate to capture in words and images the alluring beauty, the cultural significance, and what the future may hold for this untamed wilderness in northern Wisconsin.  Pearson writes, "... in August 2021, I joined Guttenfelder for a segment...