Ice Caves
Lake Superior Ice Caves – a breathtaking winter adventure
As snow and ice transform the quiet landscape, Northern Wisconsin winter has something for everyone in Bayfield. During the winter season, the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore offers a popular attraction in the dazzling shoreline ice caves at Mawikwe Bay along the mainland.
The winter adventure of seeing the beauty of the ice caves will take your breath away. Lakeshore cliffs along Lake Superior form crimson red borders to create an arctic landscape. Pillars of ice extend to the cliff tops where waterfalls have hardened in place. Frozen Lake Superior water encrusts the base of the cliffs. Inside the ice caves awaits a fairyland of needlelike icicles. The Lake Superior ice cave formations change from chamber to chamber and from day to day.
The most common way to get to the Lake Superior ice caves is to hike out to them from Myers Beach Road, which is well marked on the Bayfield Peninsula’s Highway 13 (approximately 3 miles south of Cornucopia from Bayfield). Park your vehicle and hike approximately one mile east to the ice caves. Although each year hundreds of visitors trek out to experience the fantasy, hikers are warned that conditions can be dangerous and appropriate hiking boots are needed as the ice can be slippery and bumpy with snow cracks and ice and snow mounds.
We update a weekly report on current conditions for all our winter activities. Please check the Winter Recreation Report for the most current conditions.
