Little Sand Bay Articles

Discover the Park – Places

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...

Tracking ever-changing ice conditions in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

Tracking ever-changing ice conditions in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

At times it may seem like winter, with its short days and long dark nights, the bitter cold, and the snow and ice it brings, will never end. But spend even a week or two exploring the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, and you'll discover it's simply not true. Winter, like the ice on Lake Superior, is ephemeral - freezing, melting, and changing by the hour. And watching the changes in the ice can become a compelling spectator sport.Consider the rare one day ice cave viewing season. Thousands of people trekked across 2 miles of ice to explore the mainland ice caves on February 16th. At the...

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...

Unfinished business – returning to the mouth of the Sand River

Unfinished business – returning to the mouth of the Sand River

You might think the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is so vast and so wild that it doesn't change much. But when you visit more than once and pay attention to the details, you soon discover that change is constant. Friends board member Neil Howk shares a case in point on the way to the mouth of the Sand River.In mid-September, Mark Peterson, Garry Miller, and I took three sea kayaks to Little Sand Bay for a paddle trip along the mainland shoreline west toward Big Sand Bay. Our goal was to reach the mouth of the Sand River and paddle up into the slough. We made it within about a mile of...

Autumnal swan song at Little Sand Bay

Autumnal swan song at Little Sand Bay

Even if you're the only human exploring a section of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, that doesn't mean you're alone. Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore board member Neil Howk proves the point during a recent visit to Little Sand Bay.I went to Little Sand Bay yesterday (October 21st) to enjoy the fall colors before an approaching weather system could strip many of the remaining leaves from the trees. Though the colors were still nearly at their peak, the overcast sky, brisk temperature, and a stiff northwest breeze kept most visitors away. Mine was the only car in the...

What will happen to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore during the government shutdown?

What will happen to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore during the government shutdown?

After Congress and the President failed to come to an agreement on any short-term funding bill, the United States government ground to a halt at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on October 1st. This is the 22nd government shutdown since 1976. Those government lapses have varied from short one-day closures which took place several times in the 1980’s, to 35-days in 2018-2019, the longest shutdown in U.S. history.As always, there is a tangle of questions about what happens across the federal government in times of a shutdown, not the least of which is the question of what will occur in our national...

Shadows and reflections at Little Sand Bay

Shadows and reflections at Little Sand Bay

Summer tourists are long gone. Fall colors fade as shadows lengthen on the sand, signifying shorter days, longer nights and the change of seasons. And yet there's always something to see and do in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Retired park ranger and Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore board member Neil Howk proves the point with this story and photos from his walks on the beach at Little Sand Bay.I went to Little Sand Bay a couple times in late October to walk the beach, see what was new, and experience the impact of the changing seasons. The town of Russell...

A spring fling to hear the birds sing at Little Sand Bay

A spring fling to hear the birds sing at Little Sand Bay

There's always something to see, hear and experience at Little Sand Bay in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Friends board member Neil Howk takes us along on a recent nature walk.I went to Little Sand Bay to do some birdwatching on this fine June morning. I donned my bug shirt and walked around the parking lot, out to the end of the road, into the woods, through the Hokenson Fishery, along the beach, past the marina, around the visitor center and TWILITE exhibit, past the Town of Russell boat launch, through the dunes, across the outlet from the lagoon, and back along the beach to the...

NPS craftsman Dave Brunsvold hangs up his tool belt

NPS craftsman Dave Brunsvold hangs up his tool belt

The rich history of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore lives on through the historic buildings and artifacts you'll discover throughout the park. The man you are about to meet is one of the talented craftspeople dedicated to restoring, preserving and presenting these treasures to teach and inspire generations of park visitors. Dave Brunsvold devoted 23 years to that effort, before transitioning into retirement on October 19, 2023. Friends board member Neil Howk sat down Dave, saying it's important to give him a tiny bit of the recognition he deserves for the marvelous work that he...

In search of the sandiest place in the park

In search of the sandiest place in the park

You might say that sand is an important part of the Apostle Islands and one of the reasons why people come to visit them. The islands have a foundation of sandstone that is nearly a billion years old. Island shorelines feature a variety of spectacular sandy beaches. The Devils Island Sandstone produces the area’s signature sea caves. Julian Bay beach on Stockton Island is known for the “singing sand” that squeaks when you walk on it. A 2004 visitor survey revealed that walking on the beach was the second most popular activity for park visitors, second only to sightseeing. Sixty-six percent...