Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, scenic archipelago in extreme northern Wisconsin, U.S., at the southwestern end of Lake Superior. Established in 1970 with 20 islands (another was added in 1986), the national lakeshore now consists of 21 islands and a 12-mile (19-km) strip of the adjacent Bayfield Peninsula, covering a total land area of 108 square miles (281 square km); including water, it encompasses some 720 square miles (1,865 square km). The islands are noted for high cliffs of reddish sandstone with many wave-formed arches and caverns that develop magnificent ice formations in winter. Sandy beaches also meet the cold, clear lake waters. The islands were probably named by 17th-century Jesuit missionaries for the Twelve Apostles. La Pointe, located on Madeline, the largest of the Apostle Islands, was formerly a fur trade settlement; it houses a year-round population and is not part of the national lakeshore.

Mixed conifer and northern hardwood forests cover the islands; logging was once an important activity. Wildlife includes white-tailed deer, black bears, coyotes, river otters, and beavers, but these animals are rarely seen. Birds such as bald eagles, loons, cormorants, ducks, and gulls are abundant. Six lighthouses were built in the archipelago, and all have been automated; the exterior of the Raspberry Island light station has been restored to its early-20th-century appearance. Some old-growth forest of white pine, hemlock, cedar, and birch remains where it was once reserved for the use of lighthouse keepers.

Other relics of the islands’ history can be seen in late-19th-century brownstone quarries on three islands and at the Manitou Island fish camp, where commercial fishermen built temporary housing near fishing sites. Headquarters of the national lakeshore are in Bayfield along the eastern shore of the peninsula. Private boating, fishing, kayaking, and diving are popular activities. A reservation of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians adjoins the mainland part of the national lakeshore. The islands can be reached in summer by private boat or kayak, excursion boats and shuttles from Bayfield, or a car ferry from Bayfield to Madeline Island. In winter some of the inner islands can be reached on foot across the lake when ice conditions are favourable.