Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, located at the northern tip of Wisconsin's Bayfield Peninsula, features 21 stunning islands, a scenic 12-mile shoreline along Lake Superior, and is located within the ancestral homeland of the Ojibwe people. Established in 1970, the park showcases picturesque sea caves, sandy beaches, and the largest collection of lighthouses in the National Park system.
Alerts
- CautionNPS ↗Hunting Season Safety
Hunting is allowed in parts of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore from mid-September through early January. Wear blaze orange to stay visible and keep pets leashed and in bright vests. Make noise while hiking so others can hear you. Stay aware and enjoy a safe visit. Click the link below for more information on hunting and trapping in the Lakeshore.
- CautionNPS ↗Bear Alert
Black bears inhabit many of the Apostle Islands. Follow safety guidelines: store food and scented items properly, hike in groups, stay attentive, and make noises if you encounter a bear in a visitor area.
- InformationStockton Island Trail Access
The trail between Presque Isle Bay and Quarry Bay on Stockton Island is open, but a footbridge on the western portion of the trail was washed out in a 2024 storm. Visitors must wade through shallow water or take an alternate route.
- InformationOngoing Closure Notices
Devils Island dock and campsites and West Bay Club on Sand Island are closed. These closures affect only a small portion of the Lakeshore. Enjoy your visit.
- InformationNPS ↗Construction Activity at Little Sand Bay; Boat and Kayak Access Maintained
Construction for the Little Sand Bay Marina Rehabilitation Project begins May 1. The Town of Russell boat launch and the NPS kayak beach will remain open, with short detours around work areas. Expect reduced parking, delays, and increased noise. The Little Sand Bay Visitor Center will be closed in 2026 due to construction.
- InformationPrivate Inholdings: Sand & Rocky Islands
There are privately occupied residences and docks on the southeast corner of Sand Island, as well as just north of Group Site A on Rocky Island. These areas are closed to the public. Please respect their privacy and do not trespass in these locations.
Fire nearby
- WildfireCamp 4 Grade
43 mi from the park's reference point · 10 acres
- WildfireRedhouse
46 mi from the park's reference point · 22 acres
Within 50 miles, as of 2026-10-14. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge. Check the park's alerts and the managing office before you drive.
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
An entrance pass is not required to access or enter Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. However, there are fees for camping, docking, interpretive programs, parking at some locations, and for special recreation permits.
Hours
| Entire Park | Daily · All Day |
When to go
July draws the most visits here and December the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Visitor centers
- Bayfield Headquarters ↗Passport stamp
The park's headquarters is located in the Bayfield, WI in the old Bayfield Courthouse Building. This iconic, brownstone building is easy to recognize from Washington Ave.
- Little Sand Bay Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
The Little Sand Bay Visitor Center will be closed throughout 2026 due to construction associated with the Little Sand Bay Marina Rehabilitation Project. We appreciate your patience as we work to improve infrastructure and visitor access.
No campgrounds, no webcams, no things to do or events in Park Service data. What is here comes from the official page. The rest lives there.
Checked nightly. Modules appear as soon as the Park Service publishes the data.
Explore
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
News
- National Park Service Advances Plans to Relocate Chequamegon Point Light Tower ↗2026-08-25
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore has awarded a contract for the deconstruction and removal of the historic Chequamegon Point Light Tower on Long Island due to structural failure.
- National Park Service to Deconstruct Chequamegon Point Light Tower Due to Structural Failure ↗2026-05-20
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore plans to dismantle and remove the historic Chequamegon Point Light Tower on Long Island in summer 2026.
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
On the National Register nearby
- Manitou CampBuilding · Apostle Islands National Lakeshore · 0.9 mi
- Hadland Fishing CampBuilding · La Pointe · 5.6 mi
- Rocky Island Historic DistrictHistoric district · La Pointe · 5.8 mi
- Bass Island Brownstone Company QuarrySite · La Pointe · 10.1 mi
Public land nearby
Distances are approximate. Wilderness Atlas publishes a center point and an acreage for each area rather than a boundary, so each area is treated here as a circle of the same size and the figure is the gap to that circle.
Wisconsin guidebooks
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Seen this monthBald Eagle 3× · Coyote 1×Research-grade observations within 25 km, last 30 days, via iNaturalist
Full checklist: 230 birds, 42 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsAmerican Kestrel · Bald Eagle · Barred Owl · Broad-winged Hawk · Cooper's Hawk · Ferruginous Hawk · Golden Eagle · Great Gray Owl · Great Horned Owl · Hen Harrier · Long-eared Owl · Merlin · Northern Saw-whet Owl · Osprey · Peregrine Falcon · Red-shouldered Hawk · Red-tailed Hawk · Sharp-shinned Hawk · Short-eared Owl · Swainson's Hawk · Turkey Vulture · eastern screech owl
Waterfowl & wadersAmerican Bittern · American Black Duck · American Coot · American White Pelican · American Wigeon · Barrow's Goldeneye · Black-crowned Night Heron · Blue Goose · Blue-winged Teal · Bufflehead · Canada Goose · Common Goldeneye · Common Loon · Common Merganser · Common Teal · Double-crested Cormorant · Great Blue Heron · Great Egret · Greater Scaup · Green Heron · Hooded Merganser · Horned Grebe · Lesser Scaup · Long-tailed Duck · Northern Pintail · Pied-billed Grebe · Red-breasted Merganser · Red-necked Grebe · Ring-necked Duck · Ruddy Duck · Sandhill Crane · Tundra Swan · Virginia Rail · Wood Duck
Shorebirds & seabirdsAmerican Woodcock · Baird's Sandpiper · Black Tern · Black-bellied Plover · Bonaparte's Gull · Buff-breasted Sandpiper · Caspian Tern · Common Tern · Dunlin · European Herring Gull · Forster's Tern · Franklin's Gull · Greater Yellowlegs · Hudsonian Godwit · Killdeer · Least Sandpiper · Lesser Golden-plover · Lesser Yellowlegs · Long-billed Dowitcher · Marbled Godwit · Pectoral Sandpiper · Piping Plover · Ring-billed Gull · Ruddy Turnstone · Sanderling · Semipalmated Plover · Semipalmated Sandpiper · Short-billed Dowitcher · Solitary Sandpiper · Spotted Sandpiper · Upland Sandpiper · Western Sandpiper · White-rumped Sandpiper · Willet · Wilson's Phalarope · Wilson's Snipe
Gamebirds & dovesMourning Dove · Rock Pigeon · Ruffed Grouse
WoodpeckersBlack-backed Woodpecker · Downy Woodpecker · Hairy Woodpecker · Northern Flicker · Pileated Woodpecker · Red-bellied Woodpecker · Red-headed Woodpecker · Yellow-bellied Sapsucker · american three-toed woodpecker
Hummingbirds & swiftsChimney Swift · Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Also on the checklistAlder Flycatcher · American Crow · American Goldfinch · American Redstart · American Robin · American Tree Sparrow · American pipit · Baltimore Oriole · Barn Swallow · Belted Kingfisher · Black-and-white Warbler · Black-billed Cuckoo · Blue Jay · Blue-headed Vireo · Bobolink · Bohemian Waxwing · Brewer's Blackbird · Brown Creeper · Brown Thrasher · Brown-headed Cowbird · Bruant de LeConte · Canada Jay · Canvasback · Cedar Waxwing · Chestnut-collared Longspur · Chipping Sparrow · Clay-colored Sparrow · Cliff Swallow · Common Grackle · Common Nighthawk · Common Redpoll · Common Starling · Common Yellowthroat · Connecticut Warbler · Dark-eyed Junco · Eastern Bluebird · Eastern Kingbird · Eastern Meadowlark · Eastern Phoebe · Eastern Towhee · Eastern Wood Pewee · Eurasian Whimbrel · Evening Grosbeak · Field Sparrow · Fox Sparrow · Gadwall · Golden-crowned Kinglet · Golden-winged Warbler · Grasshopper Sparrow · Gray Catbird · Gray-cheeked Thrush · Great Crested Flycatcher · Great Grey Shrike · Harris' Sparrow · Henslow's Sparrow · Hermit Thrush · Horned Lark · House Finch · House Sparrow · House Wren · Indigo Bunting · Lapland Longspur · Lark Sparrow · Least Flycatcher · Lincoln's Sparrow · Loggerhead Shrike · Mallard · Marsh Wren · Northern Cardinal · Northern Goshawk · Northern Mockingbird · Northern Raven · Northern Rough-winged Swallow · Northern Shoveler · Olive-sided Flycatcher · Ovenbird · Philadelphia Vireo · Pine Grosbeak · Pine Siskin · Purple Finch · Purple Martin · Red Crossbill · Red Knot · Red-breasted Nuthatch · Red-eyed Vireo · Red-throated Diver · Red-winged Blackbird · Redhead · Rose-breasted Grosbeak · Roughleg · Ruby-crowned Kinglet · Rusty Blackbird · Sand Martin · Savannah Sparrow · Scarlet Tanager · Sedge Wren · Snow Bunting · Song Sparrow · Sora · Swainson's Thrush · Swamp Sparrow · Townsend's Solitaire · Tree Swallow · Two-barred Crossbill · Veery · Vesper Sparrow · Warbling Vireo · Western Kingbird · Western Meadowlark · Whip-poor-will · White-breasted Nuthatch · White-crowned Sparrow · White-throated Sparrow · Willow Flycatcher · Winter Wren · Wood Thrush · Yellow-bellied Flycatcher · Yellow-billed Cuckoo · Yellow-headed Blackbird · Yellow-throated Vireo · black-capped chickadee · boreal chickadee · white-winged scoter · white-winged scoter
Small mammalsAmerican Beaver · American Water Shrew · Arctic Shrew · Brown Rat · Common Muskrat · Eastern Chipmunk · Eastern Cottontail · Eastern Gray Squirrel · House Mouse · Least Chipmunk · Meadow Jumping Mouse · Meadow Vole · Northern Flying Squirrel · Red Squirrel · Snowshoe Hare · Southern Bog Lemming · Southern Red-backed Vole · Star-nosed Mole · Woodland Jumping Mouse · common porcupine · masked shrew · mole shrew · woodland deer mouse
PredatorsAmerican Black Bear · American Marten · American Mink · Coyote · Cross Fox · Ermine · Fisher · Long-tailed Weasel · River Otter · Striped Skunk
Hoofed mammalsEurasian Elk · White-tailed Deer
BatsBig Brown Bat · Black Bat · Eastern Pipistrelle · Eastern Red Bat · Hoary Bat · Little Brown Bat · Northern Bat
Activities
Activity guides for this park Birdwatching in the national parks · Camping in the national parks · Canoeing and kayaking in the national parks · Diving and snorkeling in the national parks · Fishing in the national parks · Hiking in the national parks · Wildlife watching in the national parks
Weather & climate
Lake Superior is renowned for its cold temperatures, rough seas, fog, and sudden squalls. Boaters and paddlers should monitor marine weather forecasts and be constantly alert to changing conditions. Average daytime high temperatures range from 60 degrees Fahrenheit in May, to the upper 80s in mid-summer, to the mid-60s in September. Average lows vary from 40 degrees in May, to the upper 50s in mid-summer, to 50 degrees in September. Average water temperatures in May and June are only in the 40s.
Questions people ask
Does Apostle Islands charge an entrance fee?
No. Apostle Islands is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
Is Apostle Islands open year-round?
Yes. The grounds are open 24 hours a day, year-round.
Source: National Park Service
Is anything closed at Apostle Islands right now?
6 active alerts as of October 14, 2026: Hunting Season Safety; Stockton Island Trail Access; and more.
Source: Alerts
How busy is Apostle Islands?
261,009 recreation visits in 2025, number 158 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
Is there cell service at Apostle Islands?
At the park's reference point, FCC coverage maps show Verizon 4G LTE, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 5G. Coverage inside the park varies by location.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
What is the weather like at Apostle Islands?
Lake Superior is renowned for its cold temperatures, rough seas, fog, and sudden squalls. Boaters and paddlers should monitor marine weather forecasts and be constantly alert to changing conditions.
Source: Weather & climate
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
