Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TOURISM AND NATIONAL LAKESHORE STATUS
GreatLakesmarinersandmanywell-to-doshippingbigwigsbecameenamoredoftheplace
(and its salubrious environment) and began making pilgrimages here as early as the 1850s.
(The first newspaper travelogues appeared at about the same time.)
As far back as 1891, Northwestern Wisconsin communities had been pushing for the
establishment of the islands as a national park. Calvin Coolidge, who relocated the White
House to Superior in the late 1920s, wholly supported the idea. The initiative was initially
rejected because the National Park Service feared the islands would never heal sufficiently
from logging. Nothing much came about until the 1960s, when U.S. Senator and former
Wisconsin Governor Gaylord Nelson, founder of Earth Day and the same man who would
later help spearhead the National Ice Age Scenic Trail, brought John F. Kennedy to the
Apostles to trumpet federal recognition—one of the earliest environmental speeches by a
U.S. politician. Richard Nixon eventually signed the documents on September 26, 1970.
In homage to this prescient and passionate fighter for the land, in April 2004 80 percent
of the lakeshore become federally protected wilderness. Better, it was renamed the Gaylord
Nelson Wilderness.
MM THE APOSTLE ISLANDS
Sure, everyone lands in Bayfield and up the coast for the obligatory lakeshore experience,
yet how many actually see the islands? Don't be one of those folks. Make the effort to at
least get out onto the lake, or hop off onto one of the island for a stroll, and witness them
for yourself.
Twenty-twoislandscomprisetheApostleIslandschain.Twenty-oneofthem,alongwith
a 12-mile chunk of shoreline, belong to the National Lakeshore. They range in size from
three-acre Gull Island to 10,000-acre Stockton Island. Madeline Island is not included, as
it's got year-round residents.
All but two of the islands are open for some sort of exploration—those that aren't are
off-limits as flora or fauna preserves. Some are primitive and wild, others are almost like a
mini-statepark.SomearereacheddailyviaBayfieldshuttles,whileothersareoffthebeaten
track and require a kayak, private boat, or an expensive water taxi from Bayfield.
More than 60 miles of hiking trails can be found on the islands (and mainland), mostly
on old overgrown logging roads. Looking at the map of an island, you're likely to presume
that skirting the perimeter would be a great day hike. Don't bet on it. Not only are many
shoreline areas off-limits to protect flora or fauna, but many of the islands aren't as tame as
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