Wave Watch Articles

Wave Watch is the Friends of the Apostle Islands fundraising effort to support the WISC-Watch system of solar-powered sensor buoys. The buoys provide real-time wind and wave information from various positions within the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Find an overview of the project here.

Wave Watch buoys are LIVE for the 2026 season

Wave Watch buoys are LIVE for the 2026 season

Ice may still be clinging to some of the cliffs of the northernmost islands, but boating season 2026 has officially begun. On Wednesday, May 20th, Friends of the Apostle Islands joined the National Park Service and representatives of the University of Wisconsin-Madison to splash the Wave Watch buoys for the new boating season.Ice on Devils Island cliffs - Jeff Rennicke photosFive solar-powered spotting buoys were deployed at strategic boating locations throughout the Lakeshore and are already transmitting data to the Wave Watch real-time data page. From now until fall, these buoys will...

Busy season: Summer gears up in the Apostle Islands

Busy season: Summer gears up in the Apostle Islands

Summer is gearing up in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. It is going to be a busy season. Here is a rundown of important things to know to make the most of your island adventures.BAYFIELD HEADQUARTERS AND VISITOR CENTERThe main Visitor Center located in Bayfield will be open for the season beginning May 15th. Park staff will be available daily to provide information, issue camping permits, and sell interagency passes. The bookstore will also be open.ELECTRONIC PAYMENTSDue to a recent executive order, park fees will be moving to electronic forms of payment. Due to connectivity...

Friends Earth Day event draws dozens of volunteers, lakeshore lovers to Bayfield

Friends Earth Day event draws dozens of volunteers, lakeshore lovers to Bayfield

What's your memory of your first Earth Day, whether you were a college student or you were merely a figment of your future parents' imagination on April 22, 1970? Friends Executive Director Jeff Rennicke asked the audience step back in time as he recounted the history of Earth Day and it's everlasting connection to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.That connection is Wisconsin Governor and Senator Gaylord Nelson, a man inspired by the environmentally disastrous Santa Barbara oil spill of 1969 to change the world through environmental education and action. The next year, Earth Day was...

Wave Watch buoys pulled for 2025 boating season as boater safety plans for 2026 start to take shape

Wave Watch buoys pulled for 2025 boating season as boater safety plans for 2026 start to take shape

A growing number of power boaters, paddlers and sailors made smarter, safer choices thanks to Wave Watch buoys positioned in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore during the 2025 boating season. The buoys provided real-time wave and water temperature information for five important locations in the Lakeshore. This week a team from the National Park Service and Friends of the Apostle Islands conducted the annual end-of-season buoy recovery mission, as Friends and our partners work on plans for 2026 and beyond.The recovery team, led by Supervisory Park Ranger Karl Carlson boarded the 28-foot...

Friends wins $10,000 grant from 100 Who Care of Ashland and Bayfield Counties

Friends wins $10,000 grant from 100 Who Care of Ashland and Bayfield Counties

Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is honored to receive $10,000 from the local civic group, 100 Who Care of Ashland and Bayfield Counties. Group members chose to support Friends following a presentation by our Executive Director Jeff Rennicke. He outlined how we would put $10,000 to good use, enhancing boater safety with the Wave Watch program, bringing history to life with our lighthouse gardening volunteers, offering scholarships for individuals with accessibility needs through our new Access Opportunity initiative, and inspiring the next generation of Lakeshore lovers...

Business Member Spotlight: It’s in the water with AquaMedix

Business Member Spotlight: It’s in the water with AquaMedix

For Will Benson of AquaMedix, the Apostle Islands cast a deep net into the waters of family history. “My great-grandfather Karl Bernstein was an early commercial fisherman on Rocky Island from the early 1900’s until his death in 1945,” Benson says. “Many of the buildings he used for that operation are now a part of the Rocky Island Historic District. Several members of the Benson family and I still come up to preserve the site and to enjoy the islands.”For several years now, Benson has been involved in the work of the Apostle Islands Historical Preservation Conservancy. Now, the...

What’s new and what’s unchanged about the Meyers Beach paddling experience

What’s new and what’s unchanged about the Meyers Beach paddling experience

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...

Wave Watch buoys reveal dramatic water temperature swings in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

Wave Watch buoys reveal dramatic water temperature swings in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

These may be the longest days of summer, but you'll definitely want to know current wave and water temperature conditions before you jump in for a swim or head out in your kayaak. Due to a relatively cool spring, the largest freshwater lake in the world is about 5 degrees behind normal averages in warming at the surface. The difference between an invigorating swim and potentially life-threatening hypothermia is literally a matter of degrees and timing. And our Wave Watch buoys verify just how quickly conditions can change. Lake Superior's deep-water temperture is 39 degrees year-round but at...

Bodin Fisheries honors Friends with unexpected catch

Bodin Fisheries honors Friends with unexpected catch

The Bodin family knows a thing or two about fishing on Lake Superior. Nils Adolf Bodin immigrated from Sweden in the late 1800s, marrying Elizabeth Johansson. Together, they had six children and began the family fishing legacy that continues to this day.Lake Superior fishing tug - Jeff Rennicke photoRunning a successful fishing business takes both an understanding of and appreciation for the ways of the lake. So, when Bill Bodin recently received an unexpected opportunity to pick a local nonprofit to receive a donation, he immediately thought of Wave Watch and Friends of the Apostle...

Boater safety with a splash! Watch the Wave Watch deployment video

Boater safety with a splash! Watch the Wave Watch deployment video

Launching the Wave Watch boater safety buoys for the 2025 season takes teamwork, timing and some help from our Friends who value this life-saving service enough to support it. Late last week, a team from the National Park Service, University of Wisconsin - Madison and Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore boarded a park service boat to deploy five solar-powered buoys. Buoys that are now providing real-time wave height, period and direction, as well as water temperature for key locations within the Lakeshore. Thankfully, the plan, the people and the weather came together for a...