Reviews of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (Tourist Attraction)

terry pernsteiner

Crazy gorgeous! Water is quite cold year round so prepare.

Cindy Carlson

It was beautiful!

Sivaram Chinta

Absolutely enjoyed the stay here. Drove around the big island and enjoyed hiking the state parks. Absolutely beautiful in fall. Bayfield is a nice town to have a quick getaway and relax.

Bill Plate

Beautiful area. Great for kayaking, boating, hiking. Its a popular area but there are some places to get away from the crowds.

Don Hankins

Sailed in apostle islands for 3 days. Went ashore Michigan Island to tour lighthouses. Excellent tour by national Park service.

Chris Walkins

Beautiful, state park very nice!

Sandy Forster

Beautiful

lisa ellis

Beautiful...

Jessica Murray

Beautiful easy hike through the forest. Saw a ton of cool mushrooms and saw the sea caves from the top. If I ever go back in the summer I will definitely rent a kayak to explore the caves. Or even go in the winter to see lots of ice.

karen and Troy

I have dealt with many of the park service staff and they are always courteous and knowledgeable. Great places to hike and swim and just enjoy the great outdoors.

Brian Schunck

So many places to visit and not enough time. Will have to come again. The area there is beautiful.

Hollie Staebell

Spectacular views. . . Scenery is absolutely breath-taking. Be prepared, winds come up quickly.

Tgod1991

Beautiful location, lots of wildlife and great views

Dani Marie

It's absolutely beautiful here any time of year. In the winter it's like the icing on the cake! Ice formations galore. Check if the ice is safe to walk on before you go!

Diana S

Lots more exploring to do. Plenty to see and outdoor activities all around.

Amber Ruffing

One of the most beautiful and magical places to visit. We go back year after year and it never gets old. Rent a boat from Captain Bob to fully explore all these islands have to offer: sea caves, beaches, hiking, lighthouses, and never ending beauty.

Hal Watkins

We loved the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore so much that we move here. The water, islands and Bald Eagles are always a hit when we entertain family and guests. Most people dream of just seeing Lake Superior. We are blessed to boat on it anytime "the Boss" allows us to.

Jason Stewart

A great day on the water while all the tourists were packed into apple fest!

Réjean Allard

Nice place for looking all of your nature

Jim Schultz

Beautiful scenery but ruined by biting flies. Drove us insane.

Ryan Rampersad

The parks are tourable out of Bayfield. The prices for boat rides is okay, but gets higher for larger groups. The Grand tour ride gets you to a bunch of highlighted locations and the caves which are very cool. The rides can get long! The day-hiker is very fun too - getting out to explore the island is awesome. Be sure to bring water and snacks and water/sand proof baggies.

Tim Suggs

So perfect! Great place to get away. Not much people travel here.

Tobiah Talsma

I've been around and have seen very few things as beautiful as this Lakeshore.

Rudy G

One of the most special places in the world. We have cruised here on a 27ft sloop for the past 3 seasons. What a life-changing experience. The caves, the beaches, the views, the trails, and the other cruisers all make this a phenomenal cruising ground. The flies can get bad in July, but hey that's what keeps the crowds away.

Eric Shrum

This is a great place for an amazing natural adventure!

Josiah Nunemaker

Started a kayak trip here. Great spot to start a long trip. Covered by other islands for beginners so not wavy unless boats are arriving or departing.

Steve Jwanouskos

Lake Superior is ch-ch-chilly; wear a suit!

Trent Nutter

Great views overall. This is a must see place. I would recommend by boat or kayak

David Hammer

Visited in the winter to see the ice caves. It was a long walk on the ice but well worth the walk.

Jeff Riordan

Beautiful Area. Great Fishing

Mitch Hoyt

Beautiful view such a perfect day. 71 deg with a nice breeze.

Jeffrey Italiano

Beautiful scenic place! Wild and dangerous! Had a beautiful winter hike on a well maintained trail.

Stephanie Buerger

The islands are amazing. Kids had a blast and will be going back there next year.

DAVE DUREN

Just spent the 4th week there and couldn’t be more pleased !!! We came back after a visit in September 2018. What a convenient place to downtown and surrounding areas. The new owners Zack and Jenny are some of the friendliest campground owners we’ve ever met! Always willing to help and make sure your stay is the best! Very spacious sites on the hill and lots of open area for kids and people to play and hang out. We’ll definitely be back!!!!

Tom Reynolds

Beautiful area

Dave Z

Great tour

Gregory Bernard, D.C.

Great park, great kayaking and the views are amazing

Gayle Pirtle

Had a great day

Becky Swing

Beautiful area.

Better Service

The Apostle islands are totally awesome. Every person that I take out boating agrees with me. The fishing is good. The secluded beaches are cool. A great place to get lost.

pavan yakkali

Its wonderful place to go in summer for vacation. We went to this place in winter to see the ice caves but the place was closed. so we just did the snow trail and saw the sea up from the hill and came back. but it is awesome place for the people looking for some activity in summer.

Karen P

Beautifully scenic and desolate

Mike Deiman

While I loved the islands, and do rate it 5 stars, if you take boat tour, more than 80% of your time is spent on open water. The cost was on $45, so not too bad.

Matt Jones

Such a neat place. Lots of small tourist city surrounded by amazing nature and sweet local's attractions. The Islands a beautiful with good kayaking in between.

Shaw Langenfeld

Beautiful and unique place,great place for any nature lover to experience.

Bryan Moats

My family and I have been to many national parks this particular National Park is very underutilized. Much of the hiking trails and locations are beautiful and lush.the cost for a boat ride to the outer islands is spendy $60 per person. If you have never experienced the Great Lakes before this would be an awesome introduction.

Bill Larrabee

Despite being a national park (ie - tourist land) this collection of jewels in Lake Superior remains pristine. Every island we visited had its own unique character, and several had traces of the people who lived here many years ago. One even has a monument for fallen military personnel. An amazing place; I'll be back!

it is what it is

Beautiful

Keith White

Beautiful place! Don’t miss the opportunity to kayak the caves!

ben wilson

Totally worth going one of the best experiences on the lake

Tim Montague

Unbelievably gorgeous!

Jeffrey Fremouw

Best vacation location ever if your around legendary waters stop and ask Joe for a tour of the island fare rates

Shawn Norman

Great scenery and fishing. Devil's island is a must see.

Jason V

Definitely has worthwhile things to do. My only issue with the place as a whole was how difficult it is to rent a kayak. First, you have to pay for and then take a 3 hour safety course then actually rent the kayak. In all honesty I could probably enroll and finish with medschool in less time and spend less money. Also, there are not a lot of places to go mountain biking. However, the scenery is exquisite and you will not be bored if you decide to spend a weekend here.

Herkey1

Beautiful, great vacation with my boys. Loved it up in northern Wisconsin. Best place around Midwest to disappear and be out in the wilderness.

Martha Manske

So beautiful. We took a shipwrecks tour. Unfortunately water was too muddy to see them all but we did see some. So much history. Leaned about some of it. The old light houses, moving island and how some of them got their names. There is camping on some of the islands. Lots of different ways to see them. Definitely worth a trip.

sharon kennedy

Beautiful. You get just about any kind of sailing weather you can think of, and beautiful surroundings. Along with great company, you can't get any better.

Steve Johnson

Great place to get away and into nature! Beautiful area. Friendly to kayaking as long as weather holds up.

Curtis Huber

One of the best place to be. Get kayaking,sup,and hiking. Good beaches and boating, fishing,and photography. Great sunsets anytime of the year

Cohen Rautenkranz

Short version: Go. Reconnect with nature. Enjoy this amazing gem of the Midwest. Find a quiet moment to contemplate what an amazing thing it is to be alive! Long version: The Apostle Islands are a group of (21, if memory serves) islands off the North Central tip of Wisconsin and on Lake Superior. It is a wilderness area that is protected/monitored by the Dept of the Interior, National Park Service, and U.S. Coast Guard. There are six light houses amongst the isles that are largely maintained by private foundations and manned by volunteers who give tours and maintain various functions on the respective islands. This is a wilderness area and camping is by reservation only. Some islands allow for wilderness camping - by permit only. Others, like Sand Island offer sites on raised platforms that have access to "bivies" (i.e. outhouses). A "leave it like you found it - or better" approach is absolutely mandatory by all visitors. To call the area a gem would be understating the case to a true extreme. There are caves that are absolutely amazing, beautifully restored light houses, pieces of history from the 1800s, gorgeous views, first growth trees, and much more. I would recommend a visit to anyone who is looking to escape day to day life and feel a connection to nature that is often difficult to find. Just come out, enjoy seeing the sunrise, sunset, and the Milky Way in between. Access to the islands can be made by taking trips via just about any watercraft capable of operating safely on a major body of water (think ocean essentially). Please do remember that Lake Superior isn't named that because it is always for the faint of heart. There are serious squalls on this lake that can blow up with very little warning. Even with contemporary forecasting abilities, this lake can (and likely will) humble you. On a "light" day, the lake is navigable with a properly outfitted sea kayak (the absolute minimum). At it's worst, it easily swallows ships. While that sounds a bit dire, once you accept that the "Lake is the boss" you will be fine. Just never forget that the water is cold enough year round to kill you in roughly 20 minutes (at it's warmest) and that a cuddly looking Bear can disembowel you with ease, and you will be perfectly fine.

Keith Peres

This place rocked, great pizza.

Akshaya Lakshminarasimhan

It's Wisconsin ❤️ Where You Can Get Sunburned and FrostBitten on the Same Day

Steve Langenberg

Great Cruise to see Apostle Islands and informative comments from Captain during trip. Sat on the upper open deck for most of cruise and went down to enclosed lower deck for the rest of the trip.

Chris Rautio

Underutilized however an amazing example of natures' beauty. Truly a Gem!

Joshua Wilkosz

We brought our own kayaks and put in at Meyers beach. Phenomenal paddle with such beauty. The wind was around 16 knots so we didn’t go inside any but the largest of the caves. We also saw a white tailed buck on one of the ledges. No idea how he got there but a fun treat. The caves our grander here than sand Island but both our worth doing. Took us about 3 hours there and back again without really playing in the caves.

Sheri K

Gorgeous!

Eric Thomas

So beautiful and so much fun. The few people we met were very nice and helpful. It's a bit out of the way, but I hope to be back soon.

Nicole Morgan

Fine sandy beaches. Quaint small towns. Prefect water in a hot day.

Mike Hiles

It is beautiful and very picturesque

Meghan Malone

When people ask me the most amazing place I've ever been, I tell them about the Apostle Islands. I canoed and camped here for several days a few years ago. Lake superior is a beautiful and wicked beast. Our last 24 hours downpoured nonstop. We had to canoe through giant white caps to get back to the mainland. It was scariest and also the most amazing thing I've ever been through. The camp sites are beautiful and many of them are remote. On more than one occasion we had a private beach to ourselves for a whole day. We went in the fall and were able to feast on berries every day. Cannot wait to go back someday.

Mary Ann Hicks

Very picturesque. Interesting history. Enjoyable boat ride.

Gena Abramson

Unbelievably undefiled and vast!

Marcia Becker

Staff on ship was great

Mike Kjeseth

Slow life down, enjoy what God made!!!

Jason Hammargen

One of my favorite places on earth. You can spend the entire summer hopping around the islands and wandering the trails, camping, taking pictures, picking wild berries, fishing...and napping to the sounds of the waves on the beach. Lots of wildlife, great park staff, clean.

Tom Germiat

Was on a boat.

Michel leana

Had a blast kayaking here lake Superior is beautiful there are also a couple of state parks in on Madeline island and another one about 40 miles or so away, the Sea Caves are a must if you really want to experience what the apostle islands have to offer, there's a lot of cute restaurants and some beaches if you wanna go for a swim

Brittany MacMillan

I loved this place. We took a boat tour around the area. I’d love to come back and kayak and camp.

Joel Skinner

Amazing kayak trip. Great camping.

Dennis Nylander

Great place to get away with or without the kids

dinesh veeramaneni

Very nice place

Bruce CunninghamMD

Fabulous place to visit if you want to get out into nature without taking a small plane to a very remote place. The Apostle Islands are lovely, and the area is wonderful for sailing

Wayne Rakow

Great 3 hour tour. Captain Zach kept us informed with some great humor added in.

Mike B

God's beauty on display, lighthouses, rocks and wrecks boat cruise was first rate with Apostle Island Cruises.

Kristen Herber

If you are able to make it during a year that the ice caves are open, DO IT! One of the most beautiful natural formations I've ever seen in WI. Plan to make a trip back during the summer to visit by canoe.

Maggie Schmidt

Gorgeous area. Definitely get out in a boat to see it well (kayak or tour boat.)

Avinanda Das

Really good So clean and there are so much things to do

Matt Simmons

Beautiful rock formations and nature. Fall color is unbelievable.

Gloria & Ron Witt

So much beauty here! An absolute favorite place for us! Love Love Love this area and the feeling you get here!

jacksepticeye jacksepticeye

Good hiking spot

Ryan Davey

Very educational and a nice getaway from everyday life

Scott Payne

This lakeshore is a national treasure. Great place to visit! Highly recommended!

Jérôme Saint-Omer

Amazing place to fully embrace nature. We both kayaked to the sea caves and camped on Stockton Island. On the island, the longest trail are not fully maintained so be sure to have the appropriate gears. It is really beatiful, even if you just go on the shorter loops. The main problem was the bugs! Try your bug spray to test its efficiency and take it with you of you plan on hiking.

Caroline Phillips

Gorgeous place to visit in both summer and winter

ron wiley

A place like no other take your bug spray when you ride the boat

Christian Franken

A varied landscape from the sand dunes and beaches of Long Island to the sea caves and cliffs of Meyers Beach. Use caution when exploring by kayak or other small water craft, Lake Superior may seem calm and docile one moment and turn into a roaring cauldron the next.

Naveen Kumar Kotta

When conditions are right, this stretch of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore along Lake Superior, ice over, allowing for some incredible exploring. The red sandstone cliffs sprout impressive icicles, while the natural sea caves freeze allowing people to explore on foot. The trek can be treacherous, so would-be visitors should always check local conditions before attempting to reach the caves. ©Trip Trivia

Ev Niska

How can you beat this area? You can't

Robert Harrigan

Beautiful!

Minh Do

The area is just plain gorgeous

B Wilk

Great place to visit on Lake Superior! Nice Beach. You can kayak to the caves.

Jace T. McDonald

Must see when in Wi

Don Monday

Really a neat place. We took a 5 day kayak tour and really enjoyed it!

Hari Prasad Josyula

I liked the visit to Apostle islands and the grand tour.

Mike Medin

Beautiful. We saw the islands by boar and it's something most people should experience.

Kimberly Sandbulte

Beautiful area, lots of great trails and beaches on the islands. Perfect for sailing, power boat, kayaking, etc. Remote area, very clean and natural. Lighthouses make for great sight seeing.

Michelle Aslagson-Klimek

Beautiful place to go see. We took the grand tour cruise out of bayfield Wisconsin. I would do it again! Totally worth the money.

Amy Pavlopoulos

This was a last minute, quick, small get away. And worth it. In fact, I wish we would have planned better and had more time to explore the area. Definitely will plan a return trip.

Julian Bailey

I’m usually a north shore guy, but this area is well worth the trip. Also, Bayfield is a gorgeous small town!!

Alex Golemgeske

Beautiful! Bring a hat though, sadly I got a bad sunburn on my head, we we're on top deck of the boat with a great view, about 55 degrees out so I forgot that out in a boat I need to avoid the sun a bit!

Wendy O'Neil

Absolutely love this place had a great time with our family.

Mollie Imhoff

Beautiful

Linda Mauney

Great boat tour. Beautiful scenery.

Julie Maertz

Incredible history of the area, told by "Captain Frosty". It was so interesting, and the islands themselves were amazing to see. The morning tour had to cancel seeing Devil's Island due to 6' swells. Our weather cleared, we saw 21 islands (no Gull). Gorgeous sunset too! Highly recommend!

Isaac Geffers

Went traveling up here and visited basswood island! We wish we would have brought larger kyaks for the trip to the island. We only had 10 footers and we got tossed around alot. Once on the island we had a great time! Would love to travel further out when i have a sea worth kayak

Jason Sanderson

Great trip. Beautiful scenery. The boat tour started to drag along after the first hour. The rest was great.

Ashley Kalenian

Gorgeous hike, varied difficulty that keeps it interesting. Pretty well maintained for the most part.

Gary Reid

Great View, and incredible Staff

cheryl rosolie

A must see if you are traveling the upper peninsula

Joey Mroczenski

Beautiful calm waters

Тамара Онофрийчук

Perfect place for vacation!

Michael Straka

Magical islands!

Cathy Vande Berg

Yep, got to go back again!

Ben Cedarberg

We took a challenging 3.5 or 4 mile hike from the Meyers Beach parking lot with 3 and 5 year old kids to the sea caves. Beautiful trail with lots of board walks, stairs, and steep, muddy hills. Definitely not stroller friendly. Plenty of parking for large vehicle along the road.

Hunter W

The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore provides regionally diverse and unique plant communities." "Over 800 plant species occur within the lakeshore, including Wisconsin listed endangered and threatened species." The Apostles are dominated by boreal forest, composed largely of white spruce (Picea glauca) and balsam fir (Abies balsamea), often mixed with white birch (Betula papyrifera), white cedar (Thuja occidentalis), white pine (Pinus strobus), balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera) and quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides). On Madeline Island, Stockton Island, and several other islands, a unique bog-dune ecosystem can be found near deep bays and enclosed lagoons. According to the National Park Service, "One of the greatest concentrations of black bears in North America is found on Stockton Island in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Bears also regularly inhabit Sand and Oak islands, and, due to their mobility, may be found on just about any of the islands" "The Lakeshore provides important nesting habitat for the following colonial nesting birds: herring and ring-billed gulls, double-crested cormorants, great blue herons, and cliff swallows. Gull and Eagle Islands combined have 88% of the lakeshore's breeding herring gull populations and 80% of the herring gull breeding population on the entire Wisconsin shore of Lake Superior. Eagle Island has the only great blue heron rookery in the park."

Derek Schenk

Awesome place to take your family!

Henrik 333

Beautiful place l like it.

simone eryn

Went kayaking and went on the tour. It was beautiful! I recommend going to Madeline Island too

Peter Carlson

What a beautiful and idyllic destination!! However, if you are thinking of coming here and kayaking the islands (which I strongly recommend) please, please do not be a fool. It is utterly abhorrent that this paradise is occasionally transformed into the site of tragedies. Please rent a real sea kayak from one of the many local and responsible outfitters. Please listen to AND practice what they say. There is no reason this can't be one of the greatest trips of your life. Please do not be arrogant. Lake superior is beautiful, but also untamed.

Kevin Tracy

Enjoyed immensely the narrated section of the tour! The Captain fills those long sections between the islands with local legend and lore. Saw three eagles! For a three hour tour, the time passes quickly! Get there early to get on top, but remember, it's a long path out and back at top speed. Save time getting your hair just right that morning! Captain turns boat so everyone gets the important views so every seat is good. Great to take a tour that had new equipment!

Ed Schafer

Very clean and open with so many different places to explore

Diane Fleser

We have made kayaking the Islands an annual tradition. 5 nights out on the Islands never seems like long enough, but the serene and wild splendor keep us coming back.

Jason Hedlund

One of the most beautiful places. Respect the power of Lake Superior if you venture out into the islands.

Larry Summerlin

Great place to sail

Todd Halverson

Awesome place love it up here. Government workers earning their keep up here!

Tom Doak

Awesome! A must see.

Dan Farrell

A boating paradise! There's lots of open space and nearly pristine wilderness to explore. The area is historically fascinating. There's also an element of danger: bad weather and cold temperatures can happen quickly without warning any time of year, so take it seriously ; folks die out here with regularity.

Ryan Otte

A solid place within the National Park Service system. This lakeshore is a bit less accessible than the others since the main visitor center and headquarters is a little ways away from the islands and the mainland portions of the park. Sure, by the very nature of the Apostle Islands, this may actually be a good thing that keeps more secluded places truly wild. For my part, I was only able to take my kayak along Meyer's Beach to get a few glimpses of the sea caves along the mainland portion. There was a small craft advisory, and my kayak is not a sea kayak, so staying within the protection of the bay within safety distance of the beach was a must. I really enjoyed the mainland portion, and the backcountry options that exist out on those islands certainly beckoned. The Sand Bay area was also quite nice, with a little bit of coastal history at a small fishing dock from years ago, and a nice campground for staying the night.

Daniel McCollum

We camped out on Cat Island. Beautiful park, and great rustic camping sites. It was amazing!

Noel Cruz

The serenity of this national treasure enchanted me from the moment we entered the charming town of Bayfield, where the pillows of Le Chateau Boudin cradled our dreaming heads during our respite from daily life. Even the whimsical weather found around the ever so sovereign Lake Superior fascinated us as we explored the various trails and cruised the waters. We emphatically advocate unplugging from the incessant demands for your attention to discover the rejuvenating atmosphere and nostalgic environment of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore!

Cherie Tope

The views are worth the effort! Definitely worth the visit! The hiking trail is boarded for a good portion, and after that the trail is still well defined. There are a few spots where there is a little more difficulty with navigating slopes and steep steps. I only walked about half of the total trail to where the sea caves are visible, I am looking forward to returning to hike the whole trail to the campsite at the end.

Angie Biwer

This is my happy place! Sunsets and no regrets.... kayaking through the sea caves is amazing we got the opportunity to actually go into all of the caves water was calm an amazing experience highly recommended to all. Locals were all very nice and very helpful. Tom's burnt down bar is a blast. County Park and the state park are both beautiful. Water is cold all year round LOL but it's good to wake you up the water is ridiculously clear. Highly recommend doing a sunset tour bring wine lots of wine tour is several hours long nothing worse than running out of wine early. The Inn on Madeline in is very nice friendly staff and clean rooms. I will go back here every chance I get.

Mike McCarty

Great weather all day on the beach at long island

Vicky Hickey

Wonderful, informative cruise. We really enjoyed the cruise and scenery.

Crystal Boyce

A lovely place to spend a few days boating.

Brenda Braun

Beautiful scenery, saw eagles, loons, plover. Crystal clear water. Reasonable boat tours out of Bayfield, WI.

Heath Hartfiel

It is nice. That's about all I can say

Eric Rudberg

I took a boat tour around the Apostle Islands to check them out. Beautiful part of the country, well worth checking it out.

Denise Malmberg

Very informative cruise tour to sea caves and past a couple of lighthouses

Thomas Action Acton

All I can say is that you need to go here....seriously!

Sharon Lucas

Not quite as good as Michigan's Pictured Rocks, but a nice trip just the same.

Deborah Zinnecker

On a large luxury boat this time, but dream of kayaking the caves one day!

Edward Everitt

Absolutely beautiful and a lifetime of memories

Ashley Newbrough

With 22 islands in Lake Superior there is adventure for everyone...sailing, boating, kayaking, hiking, camping, lighthouses, sea caves...so much to do...

Bogdan Stepniak

National treasure, unique, one of a kind, beauty you won't ever find. Keep it clean.

Stacy Lukas

Respect the lake and enjoy the spectacular sights that mother nature has provided.

Dan Jimenez

Stunning beauty!

Darlene Brunzell

Beautiful place on Lake Superior. I recommend seeing the caves by kayak. Gorgeous natural wonders.