Recreation Articles

Discover the Park – Activities

Sold Out! Annual Friends Cruise planned for August 10th

Sold Out! Annual Friends Cruise planned for August 10th

It is the highlight of the season at Friends of the Apostle Islands: a time to gather with friends, members, supporters, new faces, and enjoy the very place we all work so hard to protect. This year, our Annual Cruise is slated for Thursday, August 10th. We will board the Superior Princess of the Apostle Island Cruise Service at the Bayfield City Dock at 5pm and cruise Lake Superior passing Basswood Island, Hermit, Oak, and others. Along the way we will enjoy a buffet and drinks, stories of the islands, watch the scenery slip by and our destination – Stockton Island – looming on the...

Holiday Weekend Delivers Typically Atypical Island Adventures

Holiday Weekend Delivers Typically Atypical Island Adventures

We have all heard the term “multi use park’’ but only the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore could deliver the wide range of experiences park visitors experienced over the long holiday weekend. We may try to plan our visits across the water but in the Apostle Islands, it’s the wind and waves that determine time and destiny. Some call it “wayfaring.” If you were a sailor, Friday’s 25-30 knot winds out of the southwest tested skill levels and rewarded those who chose the lee side of an island to change sails. Likewise, a quiet bay was a welcome anchorage.Sailor Erica Peterson works the...

Recreation.gov app can be used to pay fees in Apostle Islands National Lakeshore this summer

Recreation.gov app can be used to pay fees in Apostle Islands National Lakeshore this summer

There’s no need to carry cash, checks or credit cards to pay for parking at Meyers Beach or to pay docking fees at one of the islands, if you have the recreation.gov mobile app on your phone. This free app, offered in partnership by the National Park Service and other federal agencies, includes a feature called “Scan and Pay.” You simply download the app to your phone and set up your account. Best advice: do this before you arrive, as cell service may not be available everywhere in the park. When you need to pay a fee in the park, scan the appropriate onsite QR Code located at the payment...

Watch now: Paddling the Apostles – Sense of Adventure series premiere

Watch now: Paddling the Apostles – Sense of Adventure series premiere

Paddling the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is an experience like no other in the world. Only in the park can you experience the combination of stunning sandstone sea caves carved by wind and water, pristine beaches and by area, the largest freshwater lake in the world. The park includes an archipelago of 21 islands, 155 miles of shoreline and more than 27,000 square acres of water. Sometimes the big lake is glass calm. Sometimes it can generate massive powerful waves, just like an inland ocean. Even during the hottest days of summer, the lake is cold enough to take your life if you’re...