Boating Articles

Discover the Park – Activities

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...

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...

Love Our Lakeshore: How you can help keep Apostle Island National Lakeshore privies open

Love Our Lakeshore: How you can help keep Apostle Island National Lakeshore privies open

We Love Our Lakeshore for so many reasons, including the natural beauty, the multicultural history and the remoteness of the Apostle Islands in the vastness of Lake Superior. While that remoteness is a blessing for campers, boaters and other Lakeshore visitors, it is also a big challenge for the National Park Service team tasked with keeping island facilities, including 36 privies on 19 islands clean and open for public use. In this Love our Lakeshore report, learn how you can do your part to keep the privies open and get a behind-the-scenes look at the logistics and hard work required to...

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...

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...

Wave Watch buoys are now live for 2025, providing vital boater safety information in the Apostle Islands

Wave Watch buoys are now live for 2025, providing vital boater safety information in the Apostle Islands

The buoys are back for 2025! Whether you're on the water exploring the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore or planning your next adventure, the Wave Watch buoys can help you stay safe. A team from the National Park Service, the University of Wisconsin - Madison and Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore deployed five solar-powered buoys on Thursday, May 22nd, just ahead of the busy Memorial Day weekend. After several days of extremely windy weather and dangerous conditions, the weather calmed and the waves laid down enough for a successful deployment mission covering an estimated...

Chip up in May for our Wave Watch boater safety program at Chequamegon Food Co-op

Chip up in May for our Wave Watch boater safety program at Chequamegon Food Co-op

Can you hear me Major Tom? Our Wave Watch Buoy (nicknamed "David Buoy") is making a guest appearance during the month of May at the Chequamegon Food Co-op in Ashland, highlighting a chance for shoppers to "chip up" in support of Wave Watch. "David" is one of 5 solar-powered  buoys monitoring wave height, period, direction, and water temperature giving boaters real-time information, right when they need it, for five important boating locations within the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. The co-ops “Round Up for Partners” is a program that gives shoppers the option to “round up” to the next...

Love Our Lakeshore: Wave Watch water safety program deployment planned for spring 2025

Love Our Lakeshore: Wave Watch water safety program deployment planned for spring 2025

During this challenging time of change for our nation and for our national parks, Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore wants to shine a bright light – a lighthouse beacon if you will – on this very special place and on the people dedicated to protecting the national lakeshore for future generations. That's the goal of our series entitled “Love our Lakeshore." (You can tell us why you Love Our Lakeshore by filling out our simple form at this link.) In this report we update plans to deploy Wave Watch buoys in the spring of 2025 to improve your safety on the water. We also take a...

Love Our Lakeshore: Wave Watch water safety program deployment planned for spring 2025

Apostle Islands Wave Watch buoys pulled for the 2024 season – With your help, they’ll be back in 2025

What a wonderful summer on the water it was, for thousands of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore visitors. They sailed. They paddled. They cruised from island to island. They fished. And they safely explored the 720 square miles of Lake Superior within park boundaries, many with help from the Wave Watch buoys. These yellow, solar-powered buoys provided real-time information about wave conditions and surface water temperature, 24 hours a day all summer long.On September 17th, a team including the National Park Service, the University of Wisconsin Coastal Resilience and Suitability Lab and...