Visitation · National Lakeshore

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore visitation by month and year

July is the busiest month at Apostle Islands, when the average temperature nearby is 66 degrees. December is the quietest, and the average temperature then is 21 degrees. An average July draws 65,194 visits where an average December draws 2,585. The crowd arrives with the warm weather and leaves with it. Annual visits rose 8.5 percent from 240,613 in 2019 to 261,009 in 2025.

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Visits by month, with temperature and precipitation

Bars are the average recreation visits in each month over 2021 to 2025. The line is the average temperature at Bayfield 6 N, 9 miles from the park's reference point at 820 feet, station USC00470603 in the NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals. The lower panel is monthly rain and snow from the same station, also 1991 to 2020 averages.

Annual visits, 1979 to 2025

Recreation visits per calendar year. A year with a missing month is left blank rather than estimated.

The last ten years

Year	Recreation visits	Change on prior year
2025	261,009	+2.9%
2024	253,703	+2.6%
2023	247,167	-3.1%
2022	254,952	-12.4%
2021	290,961	+32.9%
2020	219,009	-9.0%
2019	240,613	-4.9%
2018	252,920	+24.3%
2017	203,421	+10.7%
2016	183,796	-21.0%

Visitation at other parks

Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway Ice Age National Scenic Trail Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Source: NPS Visitor Use Statistics, monthly recreation visits, as compiled for Publicopia Labs. A year is shown only when all twelve months were reported. Temperature, precipitation and snowfall normals are the 1991 to 2020 monthly averages published by NOAA NCEI for station USC00470603, 820 feet above sea level. Data refreshed October 14, 2026.