The Apostle Islands and Bayfield, Wisconsin - Hidden Gems

View of Lake Superior from Bayfield, WI

When you find a valuable gem, you tend to hold onto it. This is the feeling that you get when you reach one of the most northern parts of Wisconsin. It's a city named Bayfield and is called "The Best Little Town in the Midwest" for a reason. I'll try my best to help you see why in this article.

Serving as the main gateway to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Bayfield sits on Lake Superior. Now, there are lakes in this world, and then there is Lake Superior. As the largest freshwater lake in the world, it has its name for a reason - it is superior indeed.

Bayfield has all the charm that you would expect from a small lake town - cute shops, ice cream places, and restaurants serving freshly caught fish from the lake - but one thing that makes it unique is that when you stare out across the lake, there are small, grassy-looking islands across the way. There are 22 islands altogether and all but one, Madeline Island, are a part of the National Lakeshore. Madeline Island is also the one that's the easiest to reach, for us anyway, as it has ferry access to it.

If you do take the ferry over, while not a requirement to see things on the island, shipping your vehicle with you is a bonus. Unless you're an avid bike rider, which you can rent by the way, a vehicle allows you to explore the whole island with much greater ease. The island is 14 miles long and 3 miles wide.

If you don't have a bike or vehicle with you, don't fret. You can always visit the little town of LaPointe, which is where you'll immediately land when the ferry drops you off. There are many different shops and restaurants to explore, or if you're a big walker, a gorgeous state park about 6 miles away.

Big Bay State Park has some of the best Lake Superior swimming that we found. Slightly warmer than other beaches on the lake, which you'll appreciate dearly, it offers crystal clear swimming opportunities. There's also cliff-jumping for the more adventurous types, along with kayaking and canoeing.

As I mentioned above, this is the only island that has ferry access to it. To see some of the others, you can take a cruise, which gives you a sightseeing-from-afar tour (a few of the cruise tours actually go to some of the lighthouses, though); you can hire a private water taxi as a way to get directly to the island of your choice; take your own boat if you're lucky enough to own one; or lastly, make friends with someone who owns a boat. :-)

Back on the mainland, one of the neatest parts about Bayfield is the many orchards that you can visit along something called the Fruit Loop. The Fruit Loop is a beautiful drive through the countryside of Bayfield where there are numerous stops along the way at the many fruit farms.

According to the Bayfield Chamber and Visitor Bureau, "Bayfield's location near Lake Superior and the Apostle Islands creates a unique micro-climate, which allows fruits and berries to flourish on the land surrounding the city." (www.bayfield.org)

Feel free to pick them yourself or buy them directly from the particular market you're visiting. You can also browse the gift shops along your drive and try some yummy baked goods, too. Might I recommend the apple cider donuts from Erickson's Orchards and Country Stores.

If you're interested in learning a bit of history about the area, I recommend stopping at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center and the Bayfield Heritage Museum. Both of these places are free-of-charge, however, a donation or gift purchase would be lovely, in my opinion, considering that they offer so much.

The NGL Visitor Center isn't your regular everyday visitor's center. Along with all the information and helpful people that you could wish for, it has a 5-story lookout tower at the top and a museum that covers the history of the area. It's fascinating to learn about the history of the native people, the Ojibwe, who continue to have a strong presence in the area today.

The Bayfield Heritage Museum also has all of the historical info that you could possibly want, including old photographs, maps, and other archives. One of the most amazing parts of the museum is the model train in the basement. Set up to model the town of Bayfield from the years 1889-1925, the model railroad has been a work-in-progress for the past 20 years. The attention-to-detail is magnificent along with the care and devotion that has gone into its creation. After you fall in love with Bayfield, this is definitely a great stop to learn about its history.

Being about a 12-hour drive for us (not including the driving - we were pulling an RV, by the way), Bayfield, WI seems like somewhat of an unlikely place to visit, for us anyway. I had read about the Apostle Islands earlier that year, though, and we decided that Bayfield was where we should go that summer. Believe me, it didn't disappoint, and was so well-worth the drive that we discussed returning the following year.

One of the things on our agenda for the future, and when we have a bit more time, is the Circle Tour around Lake Superior. With cliffs, waterfalls, beautiful beaches, and stunning views of the lake, it's sure to be worth the drive. It's a 1,300 mile tour, though, so you'll want to make sure that you have plenty of time.

Wisconsin has become my new favorite place and I'm so excited to see more of it. Believe me, once you get a taste of Lake Superior, not literally of course :-D, you'll be hooked and won't want to leave. We sure didn't.

P.S. One last thing, if you're bringing your RV and are looking for a lovely campground, we stayed at Apostle Islands Area Campground in Bayfield. It is family-owned, family-friendly, clean, and has a great atmosphere.

P.P.S. I just noticed that Bayfield, WI was named one of "The 23 Best Places to Go in the U.S. in 2023" by Conde Nast Traveler. Way to go, Bayfield.

Happy Travels!

*I am not affiliated with or sponsored by anyone. I am a lover of travel and writing, and enjoy combining those two things whenever possible.

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