Starry Skies Viewing Sites
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Look up.
There is an entire universe over our heads and the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore offers some of the best night sky viewing in the upper Midwest. Here are a few places to go and tips to get you started. And when you’re feeling inspired, be sure to support our Starry Skies Initiative to help preserve these dark skies for generations to come.
MAINLAND SITES
Meyers Beach: Parking area (fee for parking), stairway access to the beach that looks out over mostly open waters to the northwest.
Some light pollution from the north shore but easy access, great place to watch sunset, and star-gaze. Possible northern light sightings. Also access to the Lakeshore Trail (don’t try to walk this at night but consider going in during daylight hours after reserving one of the Mainland campsites along the trail.)
Aurora over Meyers Beach – Jeff Rennicke photo
Little Sand Bay: Good views to the west and northwest. Some light pollution from local sources and the north shore of Minnesota.
Easy access to the beach, dune boardwalk, and the accessible overlook on the dock. Great spot for sunset, moonset, stargazing, northern lights.
Northern lights over Little Sand Bay beach – Jeff Rennicke photo
SELECTED ISLAND SITES
Oak Island Sandspit: The open area of near Oak Island campground #1 offers an open view to the south and east offering good star viewing, moon watching, and sunrises.
Oak Island #6: Located on the northwest side of the island, campsite #6 offers some very dark sky views to the north and east. Good stargazing and potential northern lights.
Sand Island: While some of the sites at East Bay face south, site #6 and the soon-to-be-completed accessible boardwalk to the lighthouse grounds on the northern end of the island offer some good sky watching potential.
Outer Island #1: Situated on one of the most spectacular sand spits in the Apostles, this site offers dark sky viewing at its finest. Although set on the south end of the island, the site is so open you get nearly a 360 degree view of the sky from out on the sandspit.
Cat Island #1: A stage of sandy beach stretching from the southern end of Cat makes a perfect platform for sky watching far from light pollution.
Stockton Island – Julian Bay: Although a popular overnight anchorage, Julian Bay offers some wide open skies and safe beach walking as well as a board walk and privy.
Basswood Sites: Camps 1-4 on the southern end of Basswood offer some of the most accessible sky watching on the islands however the camps open to the potential mainland light pollution.
Docks: Many of the Island docks can be wonderful platforms for star gazing. Always be courteous of overnight boaters and others and tread carefully.
Milky Way from Stockton Island Presque Isle dock – Jon Okerstrom photo
Stars over Outer Island dock – Jon Okerstrom photo
Lighthouses: Many of the lighthouses in the Apostle Islands can work well for Milky Way images. Some lighthouses may be occupied. Always be quiet and courteous.
Devils Island – Mark Weller photo
Sand Island – Mark Weller photo
Michigan Island – Mark Weller photo
SKY WATCHING TIPS
- Scout out potential night sky viewing spots during daylight hours to plan the safest route and viewing areas.
- Carry flashlights and headlamps (check the batteries) to light the way but limit their use when you are on site and be respectful of other groups on the trail or campers along the way. Using red lights, rather than normal white lights, will allow you to see while preserving your night vision.
- Dress warmly. Temperatures can drop significantly at night in the islands.
- Carry water and snacks.
- Be weather aware.
- Give your eyes 15-20 minutes to adjust to the dark.
Binoculars, small portable telescopes, even cameras with long lenses and a tripod can greatly enhance the viewing experience. - Be aware of the night sky calendar of meteor showers, moon phases, potential comet sightings and northern light forecasts.
- Consult websites such as earthsky.org/ or the facebook page of Astro Bob King’s Astronomy is for Everyone and aurora prediction sites such as NOAA’s 30 Minute Aurora Forecast before you go. You can also use northern lights apps that offer alerts.
- Consider a small, portable star chart such as those available at the Earth Sky store and other sources.
- Stay quiet to enjoy the moment fully and out of respect for other campers or stargazers nearby.
- Plan to leave with plenty of time to return safely to your campsite or boat.
Milky Way over Devils Island east landing – Jon Okerstrom photo
NIGHT SKY PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS
- Scout the area ahead of time to know the best and safest shooting locations.
- Night sky photography apps like Photopills and Stellarium can help you plan and visualize where the stars and moon will be at a specific date and time of night.
- Tripods, remote triggers and fast lenses are often used to achieve sharp long exposure night sky photography.
- Use a fast lens (f/5.4 or lower) and wide open aperture settings to capture as much light as possible.
- Turn ISO up to 800 or higher
- Exposures are often 10 seconds or longer. When exposures are too long, star trails will result. You can use an exposure calculator like this one to determine the optimal settings for your equipment.
- Before you start shooting, focus on a very bright star or distant object, check your focus, and turn off autofocus to avoid accidentally triggering it. Some people use gaffer’s tape on the lens to prevent accidental changes in focus.
- For Smartphones, try “night photography” settings and use a small tripod.
- To learn more about night sky photography, LonelySpeck.com has lots of great tutorials, lens reviews and examples.
More Starry Skies stories
Friends Earth Day event draws dozens of volunteers, lakeshore lovers to Bayfield
What’s your memory of your first Earth Day? 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. And he asked everyone to roll up their sleeves.
Silent night, starry night: Photographer Travis Novitsky on the Lake Superior night sky
“Oftentimes the most notable quality of the night is the silence,” photographer Travis Novitsky told the crowd at a recent program in Bayfield. “To hear that silence you need to push everything out of your mind and let yourself truly be in that moment. That’s why I like the night sky so much.”
The stars aligned: After a successful Dark Sky Star Bright event, planning begins for next year
Well over 1,000 people attended one of the more than 50 events that made up our Dark Sky Star Bright festival this year – art exhibits, candlelit dinners, astronomy programs, author talks, film-screenings, saunas under the stars, and more.
How smart lighting choices can protect our precious night sky, save energy and money – a Dark Sky Star Bright Festival event
In my business. In my community. How do I help protect the night sky, one lightbulb at a time?” To answer that question, outdoor lighting expert, Electrical Engineer and Dark Sky advocate Scott Lind took a deep dive into the rapidly-evolving field of outdoor lighting science, technology and design.
Stories, songs and science fill day two of Bayfield’s Dark Sky Star Bright Festival
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The stars are aligning in Bayfield beginning this weekend (Jan. 17th) and running through Sunday, January 25th. Over fifty events for kids and adults, from films to food and fun to programs with astronomers and pizza with photographers.
A shared commitment to wonder: Apostle Islands Booksellers joins Starry Skies Initiative
For the Apostle Islands Booksellers, Dark Sky, Star Bright is not just an event. “It is,” they say, “a shared commitment to stewardship, wonder, and slowing down enough to notice what is easily lost. We’re proud to stand alongside Friends of the Apostle Islands in helping ensure that future generations can experience the profound beauty of a truly dark night sky.”
Reaching for the stars: Bayfield gallery sponsors Starry Skies Initiative
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Dark Sky Star Bright celebration schedule of events for January 17-25, 2026
From January 17–25, 2026, we’re inviting you to slow down, look up, and experience winter on Lake Superior in a whole new way. This nine-day event will bring together stargazing, photography, wellness, and night sky education — all designed to help you reconnect with nature and yourself in the calm beauty of Bayfield’s winter landscape.
International Dark Sky Week focuses attention on the starry skies over the Apostle Islands
The Apostle Islands have some of the most beautiful night skies in the country. Will you help us work to keep them that way? In 2024, Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore has launched our Starry Skies Initiative. It’s designed to identify and monitor light pollution threatening the lakeshore, and to engage in public outreach, increase awareness, and potential certification for the Apostle Islands as an International Dark Sky Park through the Dark Sky International.
Friends of the Apostle Islands and you: the art of making a difference
With so many good causes out there this time of the year, how do you decide which organizations to support? Well, making a difference is an art. As you plan your charitable gift-giving this holiday season, we hope you will consider Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.
Together we support the park we love on Giving Tuesday 2024
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The picture of support: how you can support the park you love and enjoy the beauty of original island photography
Photographer Peter Wagner fell in love with the Apostle Islands through the lens of his camera. Now, the Friends Business Member and owner of Superior Photographic would like to give back to the islands through offering his art in support of Friends of the Apostle Islands. Purchase any of Peter Wagner’s work through his Superior Photographic website between now and the end of the year and you will both receive a 20% discount on his work and trigger another 20% donation to the projects and programs of Friends of the Apostle Islands.
Celebrate the northern lights by giving back to the night sky
The sky danced. Not just over the Apostle Islands but as far south as Florida and Texas here in the U.S. and around the world. You watched the lights. You scrolled the photographs, now give something back to the northern lights. Here’s five things you can do.
Faces of Friends: artisan Kate Clark supports starry skies
You don’t have to look far to enjoy the beauty of the night sky in the Apostle Islands, just look up. When Friends wanted a design to depict that beauty for our Starry Skies Initiative, we didn’t have to look far either.
We turned to Penny Print Studio, a local boutique, print shop, artisan studio, and creative hub located right on Bayfield’s Manypenny Avenue established in 2022 by Friends supporters Kate and Abe Clark.
Dark Sky Week: from the first lighthouse beacon to the starry skies of today and beyond
Now, 15 years after Weller and his team made that first, iconic image, he reflects on the first time he experienced the star-filled skies above Outer Island. “I had never seen skies like that. It was not lost on me that we were looking at sky that people a hundred years ago… a thousand years ago… would see.” Weller thinks back to the mariners who navigated Lake Superior by the stars before the first lighthouses helped to guide them through stormy seas. “That line from the hymn Amazing Grace echos in my mind immediately. “I once was lost but now I am found.”
How you can celebrate International Dark Sky Week in and around the Apostle Islands
International Dark Sky Week draws worldwide attention to light pollution, promotes simple solutions and celebrates the irreplaceable beauty of a natural night.
High school student Jennifer Barlow started International Dark Sky Week (IDSW) in 2003. In explaining why she founded the event, Barlow said, “I want people to be able to see the wonder of the night sky without the effects of light pollution. The universe is our view into our past and our vision into the future. I want to help preserve its wonder.”
Canoecopia 2024 includes presentations on protecting our Starry Skies, paddling the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
If paddling the amazing sea caves in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is on your bucket list, we invite you to see us at Canoecopia in Madison, Wisconsin, March 8-10, 2024. This annual event includes more than 100 educational presentations and clinics on kayaking, canoeing and related topics, including presentations by Friends Executive Director Jeff Rennicke and Ranger Steve Ballou of the National Park Service. You’ll also be able to learn from the experts what gear you need to safely explore the islands.
Reading the sacred skies: new book offered by Friends
peaks to both the human connection to the night sky and hopes for its protection.
Spirits Dancing: The Night Sky, Indigenous Knowledge, & Living Connections to the Cosmos features the photography of Travis Novitsky and text by Annette S. Lee. Novitsky, a member of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, uses his lens to capture the awe and wonder of the northern lights. Lee’s, both an astrophysicist and an artist, uses her text to range across the universe of night sky topics from indigenous knowledge to the science of northern lights and the responsibility of all to help keep our skies dark enough to experience them.
Bayfield’s Carnegie Library embraces dark sky protection with planned lighting changes
Bayfield Carnegie Library’s motto is “A compass for curious minds.” One of the primary goals of library director Teresa Weber is to enlighten the public. Right now, Teresa is also trying to “enlighten” the walkways leading to the library without negatively impacting the dark skies over the city. Teresa recently spoke with Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore board member Neil Howk about this upcoming project. Neil also serves on the library board.
Stories that capture the wonder and the possibilities of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore are most-read in 2023
As we raise a glass to embrace the new year, we look back fondly on the momentus year that was 2023 for Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and for the park we love. Thanks to your support, hard work by a growing team of passionate volunteers and by the Friends leadership team, we have a lot to celebrate.
With your support we helped more people discover the islands, learn about them, and work to protect them than ever before. We set a record for membership, did more outreach trips, more programs, and successfully completed the largest initiative in our organization’s history: Access for All. And there is even more to celebrate about the park and the people who make good things happen for a quarter million visitors each year.
We hope you enjoy this countdown of the top ten stories of 2023 on the Friends of the Apostle Islands website as a great way to start.
Treasures of the night: Friends to focus on protecting the night sky over the Apostle Islands in 2024 and beyond
“One of our priority issues for 2024 and beyond,” Rennicke says, “will be to look at the potential for protecting our dark sky resources here in the Islands through the identification and monitoring of light pollution, public outreach, increasing awareness, and more.”
Northern lights celebrated during 6th annual Aurora Summit at Red Cliff
Begun in 2017, the Aurora Summit is an annual gathering and celebration with a mission of helping “people of all backgrounds and experience levels view, photograph, and understand the Northern Lights, while also developing an appreciation for the surrounding art, culture, science and photography of this rare natural phenomenon.”
“Discover the night” in the Apostle Islands during International Dark Sky Week
30 miles away from the mainland, Devils Island and Outer Island offer some incredible views of the Milky Way – and if you’re very fortunate, the spectacular northern lights – thanks to some of the darkest skies in Wisconsin. In fact, most of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore offers great night sky viewing too, although when you look toward the mainland communities, you’ll see the nighttime glow from city lights. That glow is visible from many miles away.
Like being inside of a diamond: Apostle Islands shimmer with northern lights
On 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.
And the sky danced – northern lights put on a show in the Apostle Islands
The northern lights, or the “aurora borealis,” is one of the treasures of the dark skies over these islands.
The Apostle Islands after dark – celebrating our night sky
It’s dark sky week around the globe… a perfect time to explore the night sky above the Islands and consider dark sky designation.