Hiking trails head to far-flung lighthouse

Devils Island Lighthouse is Wisconsin's northern most light.

Devils Island topo map. Click for larger version.

Day hikers can visit Wisconsin’s remotest lighthouse on Devils Island in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

The northern most of the Apostle Islands, Devils Island Lighthouse is difficult to reach as tour boats usually don't stop there, though they may pass. Boaters and sea kayakers, however, will find several landing spots on the island.

A good route for hikers is to land on the island's southwestern shore where there's a small man-made harbor. From there, head to the wooden boathouse and take the 1-mile (one way) South Landing Trail north. It follows the track of the old tramway across the island.

Passing through an old growth forest, you'll be amazed by the size of the trees. A brief section of the trail also runs alongside a bog.

The route is fairly flat, starting at 638 feet above sea level at the harbor, rising and dropping a half-dozen feet a couple of times, and finally ending at the light station, which sits at 628 feet atop a stout bluff overlooking Lake Superior.

Last built
Devils Island was the last of the Apostle Island light stations constructed.

In 1891, a red brick, two-story Queen Anne-style keeper's dwelling and a steam fog signal building were completed, but a temporary tower of wooden timbers housed the station’s non-blinking red light.

During 1897, a two-story, brick and shingle house was erected for the assistant keeper as construction began on a permanent tower, an 82-foot high cast iron cylinder. Though the tower was completed the following year, a lens didn't arrive for three more.

Lake Superior's high winds frequently shook the new tower, sometimes extinguishing the lamp. During 1914, external braces were added to stabilize the cylinder.

Just as Devils Island was the last light station built, so it was the last one to be manned. The Coast Guard kept a five-man crew on the island until the station was automated in 1978. Today the light can be seen up to 13 miles away.

Also at the light station are a dock, two oil houses, a radio beacon, a tramway, and a brownstone tramway engine building.

Other trails
In addition to the light station, three other trails can be explored.

Two are alternate landing sites to the southern shore's harbor. The 0.5-miles West Landing Trail links a boat landing at a rocky ledge on the island’s northwest corner with the lighthouse. The 0.05-miles East Landing Trail runs from a rock ledge on the island's northeast corner to the lighthouse.

In addition, a 0.4-mile looping nature trail runs west of the lighthouse through the forest. Part of it rambles along the island's northwestern corner.

During summer, a volunteer lightkeeper usually staffs the station with tours of the tower available between 9-11 a.m. and 1-4 p.m.

Wis. trail heads to beach with singing sand

Julian Bay Beach on Stockton Island. NPS photo.

Julian Bay Trail map. Click for larger version.

Day hikers can walk across singing sand on Julian Bay Beach in Wisconsin’s Apostle Islands.

The 1.8-mile round trip trail sits on Stockton Island, a popular summer destination in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Stockton is northeast of Hermit Island, directly north of Madeline Island, and northwest of Michigan Island on Lake Superior.

Stockton Island boasts 14 miles of maintained day hiking trails that head along beautiful bays, through majestic pines, and across the singing beach. To reach the island, you’ll have to charter a boat or sail your own. There’s a dock at Presque Isle Point near the Stockton Island Visitor Center. From the dock, the Julian Bay Trail heads northeast past interesting rock formations along a cliffside.

Be sure to pick up a trail booklet at the visitor center to learn about the variety of plant communities you’ll pass. Despite the island’s small size, it sports a diverse array of flora and fauna. More than 430 plant species has been identified here. For wildlife, expect to see at least signs of beaver, black bear, fox, otter, and whitetail deer.

On the trail
At 0.1 miles from the trailhead, the dirt path heads through a stand of 200-year-old yellow birch. To survive so long, the birch first had to escape the lumberjack’s ax and then elude several forest fires on the island.

Thanks to the forest canopy, the trail is mostly shaded. The lack of sunlight allows ferns to dominate the forest floor at about 0.2 miles in.

Sugar, red and mountain maple all have replaced the white pines that stood here before they were logged off decades ago. It makes for a colorful autumn walk.

Past the maples, the elevation dips a bit and enters a marshy area. Balsam fir, cedar, and eastern hemlock dominate the wetter soil.

When the trees switch to spruce and white pine, you’re close to the beach. These hardier trees are able to withstand the fierce storm winds blowing off the lake from the northeast.

Julian Bay Beach
The trail turns rocky as it descends and passes a bog. The bog is slowly filling in, allowing blueberry, huckleberry, laurel and rosemary to take root at its edges.

On the other side of the bog is a forested sand dune that has stabilized. A stand of red pine rises from it.

The trail next arrives at the beach. You’ll want to take off your shoes as the sand “sings” when walked upon.

Exactly why the sand makes a high-pitched squeaking sound is unclear, though there are theories. What is known is that sand grains must be fairly spherical, between 0.1 and 0.5 mm in diameter, contain quartz, be at a certain humidity, and be pollution-free. If you don’t want to take off your shoes, no worries – you also can create the sound by rubbing your palm against the sand.

Wisconsin's only tombolo
Julian Bay Beach actually is the convergence of two sand bars for two separate islands that joined thanks to Lake Superior’s wave action. Presque Isle used to be the southeastern part of Stockton Island as recently as 3000 BC., about the time construction of Stonehenge began and the ancient Egyptians starting using papyrus. Today the beach stretches 1.5 miles around the crescent-shaped bay.

The sand bridge beach between the two islands is called a tombolo, and Julian Bay Beach is Wisconsin’s only one.

In the distance beyond the sands are great views of two other Apostle islands. To the southwest is Madeline Island, and to the southeast is Michigan Island.

To return to the dock, take the Anderson Point Trail along the edge of the former Presque Isle. The trail heads through 1.4-miles of old growth hemlocks that parallels the point’s rocky shoreline. The dark red sandstone you’ll see along the way is called brownstone, which once was widely quarried in northern Wisconsin.

Visit historic lighthouse on Raspberry Island

Raspberry Island Lighthouse, location of two trailheads
on Raspberry Island in Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

Located in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, small Raspberry Island boasts two small trails that run along the shore with both beginning at a lighthouse.

The dock is on the island’s southwest corner. From the dock looking south is the mainland with the land curving from Raspberry Bay in the southeast to Point Detour in the southwest. Looking directly west, you should be able to spot York Island in the distance.

At the boathouse, take the staircase up the cliffside to the blufftop where the Raspberry Island Lighthouse complex sits. At 43 feet tall, the lighthouse juts like a chimney from the keeper’s red-roofed white house. It was first lit in 1863 and then automated almost a century later in 1957. Restored just a few years ago to look as it did in the 1920s, the lighthouse is open to tours.

From the lighthouse, Sandspit Trail runs 0.75 miles one way (1.5 miles round trip) from the lighthouse to a sandbar on the island’s east side. As heading toward your destination, the mainland appears on the south with Oak Island to the east.

At the sandspit, several islands appear on the horizon. The four closest ones, going clockwise from north to southeast, are Bear, Otter, Manitou and Oak.

West Bay Trail runs a mile (2-miles round trip) from the lighthouse to the island’s northern tip. Raspberry Island’s keepers used the trail to check the beacon of the Sand Island lighthouse beginning in 1921, when it was automated.

Along the way, you’ll pass West Bay with a view of York Island and the much larger Sand Island behind it. To the northeast is Bear Island.

Read more about day hiking Northwest Wisconsin in my Headin’ to the Cabin guidebooks.

Five best hikes for exploring Ashland WI

Copper Falls State Park/ Photo courtesy of Wisconsin DNR.

Located along Lake Superior in northcentral Wisconsin, Ashland County is an outdoor recreational paradise. During summers, bicyclists and off-road vehicle enthusiasts explore a number of wooded trails while fishermen cast lines on freshwater lakes and campers set up tents across a sprawling national forest. Come autumn, the roads turn busy with drivers enjoying the colorful blaze of autumn leaves lining the countryside. Throughout winter, snowshoers, cross country skiers and snowmobilers sail across white paths while ice fishing shacks pop up on frozen lakes. And, of course, day and backcountry hikers alike during three seasons enjoy the county’s hundreds of miles of trails, some routes well-groomed and others primitive, but all rambling through fabulous scenery.

Four major attractions await day hikers and backpackers in the loosely L-shaped Ashland County. The massive Chequamegon National Forest covers about a third of the county, filling up the southwest corner. A number of campsites can be found in the forest, which boasts the granite rock formation St. Peter’s Dome and Wisconsin’s second highest waterfalls, Morgan Falls. Just slightly above above the county’s center sits Copper Falls State Park, which offers dramatic waterfalls and cascades over ancient lava flows. The 4600-mile North Country National Scenic Trail winds its way through the county, primarily in the national forest with a spur running through the state park. Lastly, the county’s northern portion includes the Lake Superior shoreline and Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, the latter of which consists of 21 protected islands that only can be reached by boat in the world’s largest freshwater lake.

Among the best trails to see these attractions and experience Ashland County are:
Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest
• Morgan Falls St. Peter’s Dome Trail
• Black Lake Trail
Copper Falls State Park
• Doughboys’ Nature Trail
North Country National Scenic Trail
• Copper Falls State Park segments
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
• Michigan Island Trail
• Stockton Island Trails

Read more about family friendly day hiking trails in my Headin' to the Cabin guidebooks.

Discover history of fishing on Manitou Island via day hikes

Manitou Island campsite. Photo courtesy of Apostle Islands NPS.

A historic fish camp, hemlock groves, and an ancient fishing site await day hikers on Manitou Island in northern Wisconsin’s Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

The island’s two trails both begin at the dock for the Manitou Fish Camp; a boat is the only way to reach the island. Manitou Fish Camp can be found on the island’s southwestern corner, where a strait runs between Oak and Manitou islands.

The fish camp consists of five wooden cabins restored to how they looked when Great Lakes fishermen used them during the 1930s-1950s. Their living quarters and much of their equipment remains there for public view. A park service volunteer often is available during summer to give tours.

From the fish camp, the Campsite Trail runs 2 miles and follows the west shore through several hemlock groves en route to the island’s only campsite. The evergreen is at the extreme northwestern limit of its range here.

Across the stait northwest of the trail is Otter Island. Excellent views of the strait and island are available at the campsite.

The Archeological Site Trail rambles for 0.75 mile to a viewpoint at the south tip of the island. It is near the site of a prehistoric Native American fishing camp. Oak Island is to the trail’s southwest, and at the viewpoint Stockton Island is to the southeast.

Just as who fished on the island and their rtechnology changed, so the name given to Manitou Island as evolved over the centuries. In the 1820s, maps referred to it as New Jersey Island and then in the 1870s as Tait Island.

Find out about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.

Day hike Basswood Island in Apostle Island National Lakeshore

Basswood Island quarry walls. Photo courtesy of Wis. DNR.

The pretty Apostle Island National Lakeshore in northern Wisconsin includes 20 of the 21 Apostle Islands and a stretch of shore on the Bayfield Peninsula. Other than the peninsula stretch, you won’t be able to reach any of the islands in the national lakeshore by vehicle – but you can sail there yourself or take any one of a number of charters from the nearby towns of Bayfield and Ashland.

Isolation from vehicular traffic makes each island a quiet and secluded paradise of Northwoods wilderness. Almost all of the islands contain hiking trails to enjoy.

The closest Apostle Island that’s part of the national lakeshore is Basswood Island. The island sits between Bayfield Peninsula to the west and Madeline Island to the south and east.

A lone trail runs on the island’s southern end. A 5.4-mile loop, the trailhead is on a clearing up the hill from the island’s dock along its western shore.

Going clockwise on the trail into the island’s heart, after 1.75 miles you’ll reach the McCloud-Brigham farm site. The trail then joins with an old logging road along the island’s eastern shore, with Madeline Island on the horizon.

In a little more than 2.25 miles, the trail comes to the island’s southern end, which affords overlooks of the abandoned Brownstone Quarry. The quarry pit sports massive blocks of cut brownstone and rusted equipment parts used in the mining operation, in a scene that looks like it was transported here from the Rocky Mountains.

Swinging north, the forested trail heads north for 1.5 miles, passing a campground along the way. It then ends at the dock clearing.

Read more about day hiking Northwest Wisconsin in my Headin’ to the Cabin guidebooks.

Lighthouse, 250-year-old trees await day hikers on Sand Island

Sand Island Lighthouse

Trees that took root before the Revolutionary War, a spectacular lighthouse, and sea caves await day hikers on Sand Island in Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. The island is the westernmost of the Apostle Islands with maintained hiking trails (Tiny Eagle Island actually is westernmost but has no trails or facilities.).

The dock for Sand Island sits on the east-central shore of East Bay. Looking book across the lake is York Island. To the southeast is the mainland running from Point Detour in the north to Sand Bay in the south. There’s a campground near the dock.

At the campground, you’ll have a choice of two trails.

The longer of the two, Lighthouse Trail, runs two miles one way (four-miles round trip) to the island’s northern tip. It begins by heading through a forested area. In about a half-mile of walking, you’ll cross an overgrown field, which used to be part of the Hansen family farmstead.

The trail then then curves toward the shoreline. At the one-mile point, you’ll reach a sand beach at Justice Bay, which offers views of the Swallow Point sea caves.

A half-mile later, you’ll pass through a grove of virgin white pine grove. The trees are about 250 years old, meaning they took root sometime around 1760.

The trail ends at Sand Island lighthouse overlooking Lighthouse Bay on the island’s western shore. Built in 1881 of sandstone, the lighthouse was used until 1933 when a steel tower with an automated light was constructed. During summer, park volunteers staff the lighthouse for tourists.

From the bluff at the lighthouse, you can see York Island to the southeast with Bear Island to the northeast in the distance. A quarter mile south of the lighthouse is an overlook with a grand view of Lighthouse Base.

For a shorter walk from the East Bay campground, take the Noring Farm Trail, which runs 0.3 miles one way (0.6-miles round trip). At the trail’s end are the ruins of an old farm once owned by the Noring family. Some buildings and historic farm equipment remain at the site. Stay away from the well, though, especially if children are with you.

Read more about day hiking Northwest Wisconsin in my Headin’ to the Cabin guidebooks.

Hike among carnivorous plants on island

Campsite on Otter Island sandspit near dock.

Otter Island sits near the middle of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. You can access it via a dock on the island’s southeast corner. From it, looking south is Oak Island, to the southeast is Manitou Island, and to the northeast is Ironwood Island.

At the dock, take the 1.9-mile (one way) Otter Island Trail, which heads north over relatively flat landscape. The trail itself is a serene escape into a pine wilderness.

You’ll be walking over land formed some 500 million years ago when an ancient, pre-dinosaur river deposited sand in a delta here. Today, the sandstone is part of the Devil's Island Formation.

Keep an eye out for butterwort, a carnivorous plant that thrives in the island’s wet, alkaline soils. Watch for yellow-green leaves in which ants or other tiny insects are stuck upon, as if caught in flypaper. Enzymes excreted from the leaves will dissolve the trapped bugs, and the nutrients released are then absorbed into the plant. You’ll also find rare plants upon reaching your destination, the island’s northern shore, which is lined by about a mile of cliffs. Adder’s-tongue, fir club-moss, and spike trisetum like the sandstone cliff’s shaded areas that water drips down.

The view of Apostle islands in the distance also is impressive at the north end. To the north is Rocky Island with South Twin Island to its east; Ironwood Island is directly east.

Primitive campsites are available for those wishing to stay overnight on Otter Island.

Read more about day hiking Northwest Wisconsin in my Headin’ to the Cabin guidebooks.

Hike to highest point in Apostle Islands

Campsite off of Northwest Beach Trail

Oak Island, sitting roughly in the middle of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, offers 11.5 miles of day hiking trails. It also boasts the national lakeshore’s highest elevation at 1081 feet above sea level.

The Oak Island dock leaves you at Campsite B and the trailhead for the 5.2-mile Loop Trail. To reach other trails and campsites on the island, you’ll have to take at least a segment of the Loop Trail.

The Loop Trail heads northwest (or left of the dock). You’ll briefly follow the shoreline; across the channel is the mainland, stretching from Frog Bay in the southwest to Raspberry Point in the west.

The trail then swerves north into the island’s interior. It passes the Northwest Beach Trail junction at about 1.2 miles from the dock.

While the island is named for a hardwood, before East Coast and European settlers came here, the island was known among Native Americans for its sugarbush, or maples whose sap could be tapped and made into syrup. During the 1800s, many of the oaks and pines were logged off here; at one time, six logging camps dotted the island.

As the trail curves east, it climbs toward the island’s highest point. At 1.7 miles from the dock is the Overlook Trail junction. The trail then reaches the island’s crest, but there is no viewing platform.

After the crest, the trail meanders south until reaching campsites at Sandspit Beach. From the beach, you’ll be able to spot Red Cliff Point on the mainland to the southwest, Basswood Island directly south, Hermit Island to the southeast, and Stockton Island to the east. The campsites boast an outhouse and artesian well.

You can return to the dock by taking the 1.5-mile Sandspit Trail northwest along the shoreline. Stay on the trail, the boardwalks, or the beach itself to protect the fragile shoreline plant communities.

The trails branching off the Loop Trail include:
g Northwest Beach Trail – The 1.6-mile trail heads to a secluded beach and small group campsite (Campsite #4), which is 2.8 miles from the dock.
g Overlook Trail – Of all the branching trails to take, the 1.8-mile Overlook Trail offers the most impressive sites. At its end on the island’s northernmost point is a viewpoint from a cliff 200 feet above the lake. Looking directly east is the famed Hole-in the-Wall Arch, perhaps the island’s most photographed geological feature. To the north, 10 islands can be seen; the front four, going west to east, are Raspberry, Bear, Otter and Manitou islands. Be sure to stay away from the cliff’s edge, as it easily can crumble. The viewpoint is 7 miles round trip from the dock.

In addition, one route branches off the Overlook Trail:
g North Bay Trail – The 1.1-mile path winds into a ravine to a beach campsite (Campsite #6, which is 7.8 miles round trip from the dock). Sometimes parts of the trail close when eagles are nesting.

Bears also live on the island, so if camping be sure to take precautions with your food.

Read more about day hiking Northwest Wisconsin in my Headin’ to the Cabin guidebooks.

Sea caves, sandy beach await on lake hike

Mawikwe Bay sea caves

Mainland trail in Wisconsin part
of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

Day hikers don’t have to leave the mainland to experience the beauty of the famous Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. A fairly new route, the Lakeshore Trail, runs through a Lake Superior forest, an impressive sandstone cave formation, and along a windswept beach.

To reach Lakeshore Trail, take Wis. Hwy. 13 north from Bayfield, Wisconsin. At Park Road, turn toward Meyers Beach. A large paved parking lot sits 0.4 miles away at the road’s end.

Look for trail signs on parking lot’s northeast side. You’ll head east through aspen, birch, several maple varieties, and a few pines. Given the mix of trees and their different fall leaf colors, early September is an ideal time for the hike; mosquitoes also will be few at that time of the year.

A few hundred yards from the parking lot, the trail goes up and down a gully, which in spring and early summer can boast running water. Stepping stones make for easy fording, though.

Sea caves
When you cross a sand road, you’re about 0.8 miles along the trail. Continue that same distance again, and you’ll glimpse the lake and the trail’s highlight: the Mawikwe Bay sea caves.

The lakes’ crashing deep waves and millennia of winter ice carved out honeycombed caves and a 50-foot chasm that runs more than 200 feet long. A natural bridge runs over the formation. The tinted sandstone and rainbows from the spray gives the formation a magical feel.

The caves can’t be accessed from the trail except during winter when the lake freezes (You may see kayakers at other times of the year clambering about the caves, however.). During winter, icicles hanging from the sandstone roofs are otherworldly.

The trail skirts the chasm. If children are with you, make sure they stay away from the cliff edges and off the natural bridge. All are unstable due to constant erosion.

Extending the trail
This marks a good place to turn back for a round-trip hike that is slightly more than 3 miles long. For a more ambitious hike, however, continue onward. After more than a mile on the bluff overlooking the sea caves, follow the trail inland through the forest. The flat trail winds through more hardwoods in a peaceful setting.

Be forewarned that once in the forest, the trail can be difficult to follow. Fortunately, it soon meets a dirt road. Turn left onto the road, which drops about 80 feet in elevation, until reaching a sandy beach.

Seagulls are numerous here. The clump of trees across the lake’s horizon is Eagle Island.

Keep walking east and north along the shoreline for about a half mile or once it turns to cobble. Return the way you came for a roughly 10-mile round trip.

Lakeshore Trail is managed by the National Park Service. There is no fee for hikers to enter or park.

Read more about day hiking Bayfield County, Wisconsin, in my Day Hiking Trails of Bayfield County guidebook.