Interpretation Articles

Our Work – Articles about Friends’ work regarding interpretation.

Friends volunteers tend historic gardens on Raspberry, Michigan islands

Friends volunteers tend historic gardens on Raspberry, Michigan islands

More than a century ago, Apostle Islands lighthouse keepers and their families planted gardens as sources of food, beauty and pride. The traditions continue today, with help from Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.This month, two volunteer crews joined the National Park Service to plant and maintain gardens on Raspberry and Michigan Islands. The process involves loading locally-purchased plants, tools and supplies onto a Park Service boat, unloading and hauling everything up the stairs and getting to work. The gardens are designed to be historically accurate. The vegetable...

Roots, rocks, and ravines… the rigors of hiking the Lakeshore Trail

Roots, rocks, and ravines… the rigors of hiking the Lakeshore Trail

The most popular trail at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is the Lakeshore Trail. Starting at the Meyers Beach parking area off of Hwy 13, the Lakeshore Trail extends 6 miles through forests and along red sandstone cliffs high above Lake Superior and terminates at a reservable backcountry campsite.Lakeshore Trail map - NPSMost visitors walk the trail to enjoy views of the mainland sea caves. A crevasse with a spectacular natural bridge and the first glimpses of the sea caves is 1.8 miles from the trailhead. Traversing this section of the trail can be a challenging walk. Hikers must...

Silent night, starry night: Photographer Travis Novitsky on the Lake Superior night sky

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. It's the easiest way I can quiet my mind and just be there in the present. When I'm gazing up at the sky, especially on such a quiet night, I feel utterly and completely relaxed and refreshed.”Spirit Tree under the Milky Way - Travis Novitsky photoTravis Novitsky’s program, a part of our Dark Sky Star...

Fleeting beauty: Apostle Islands Ice Caves opened for one spectacular day

Fleeting beauty: Apostle Islands Ice Caves opened for one spectacular day

More rare than Yosemite’s annual Firefall, less predictable than the synchronized fireflies of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Ice Caves of the Apostle Islands are a truly ephemeral phenomena. Temperatures must plummet and stay down for weeks to freeze this corner of Lake Superior tight as a drum. Winds must be light to keep that ice from cracking and lay it down thick enough for people to walk more than two miles each way over deep, space-black water. In Alaska’s Katmia National Park, the brown bears return for the salmon run like clockwork every year. In the Apostle Islands...

Exploring the Basswood Island quarry on skis

Exploring the Basswood Island quarry on skis

Basswood Island (Wiigobiish-minis) is just over a mile out from the Bayfield Peninsula. Beyond its banks of sandstone and red clay you will discover evidence of logging, farming and brownstone quarries dating back to 1869. Crews used steam drills and derricks to cut and move the enormous, heavy stone blocks, destined for places like the current National Park Service headquarters in Bayfield and the Milwaukee County’s courthouse.While only accessable by boat in summer, you can make the trip on cross country skis when winter conditions are right. Friends board member Neil Howk and friend Gerry...

Snowshoeing to the mainland ice caves for some spectacular views

Snowshoeing to the mainland ice caves for some spectacular views

It's been ten long years since the mainland ice caves in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore have been open for exploration from the lake surface. Conditions since then simply have not been safe enough for the National Park Service to permit access.What's the next best thing? Hiking the Lakeshore Trail that takes you from Meyers Beach to some spectacular views above the caves. Friends board member Neil Howk did just that on a sunny January day. Click on the photo gallery to see the spectacular photos that go along with Neil's poetic description of his adventure.[foogallery...

Christmas at Little Sand Bay – a poetic take on an Apostle Islands adventure

Christmas at Little Sand Bay – a poetic take on an Apostle Islands adventure

The holidays are a time for family, friends, faith and food. And for time outdoors if you love the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Friends of the Apostle Islands board member Neil Howk took some time on Christmas Day to explore early winter at Little Sand Bay. Click on the photo gallery to see the photos that go along with Neil's poetic description of his adventure.T’was about 10 o’clock on the morning of Christmas Day, I put my camera in the car and drove out to Little Sand Bay. I stopped briefly on Old County K to take in a lovely sight. I looked out across the...

Dark Sky Star Bright celebration schedule of events for January 17-25, 2026

Dark Sky Star Bright celebration schedule of events for January 17-25, 2026

Bayfield’s winter has always had a quiet kind of magic — the kind that shows up when the lake is still, the nights are long, and the sky finally has your attention. Dark Sky, Star Bright was created to celebrate exactly that. 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. In collaboration with the...

Love Our Lakeshore: the power of nature

Love Our Lakeshore: the power of nature

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 Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore board member Neil Howk squeezes in one more hike before the snow...

The art of aurora: Local artist inspired by the northern lights

The art of aurora: Local artist inspired by the northern lights

We all know that keeping our skies dark can be important to migrating birds and to scientists who study the stars. But, looking up at the night skies over the Apostle Islands can also be an inspiration to artists like Lissa Flemming of Silverwaves Jewelry. “I stepped out and looked up into the velvet inky sky as pink tourmaline, blue topaz and emeralds danced around a diamond dusted night,” she says of a recent night spent stargazing. “Orion winked as I gazed into an unpolluted and pristine night where the Milky Way formed a hazy arch.”Inspired by that beauty, Flemming created a work of art...