The Apostle Islands
The Apostle Islands are on the northernmost tip of the state of Wisconsin:
We took a road trip to the Apostle Islands and on the way we discovered a little surprise when traveling through Montello, WI:
Montello Granite Park is on Hwy. 23 in Montello.
The red granite quarried there is reported to have been used to build the tombs
of Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, and in Wisconsin's State Capitol Building.
Frog Bay Tribal
National Park
The first Tribal National
Park in the United States
This park is about 15 miles north of Bayfield, WI, and opened to the public on August 3, 2012; we
visited August 24, 2012.
DIRECTIONS to
Frog Bay Tribal National Park
Drive north on Highway 13 to Red Cliff.
Turn right on Blueberry Lane at Legendary Waters Resort & Casino.
Follow Blueberry Lane for about 3 miles. (Be sure to obey the speed limit)
Turn right onto Frog Bay Road.
Follow Frog Bay Road until it dead ends.
Park your vehicle in the parking lot at the dead end.
Take the access road to the wooden bridge.
Look for the trail head sign (when we were there it said "Beach") on the left at the wooden bridge.
Take the trail through the woods to the bay.
If you took the access road all the way to the bay you missed the trail and entered private property.
Drive north on Highway 13 to Red Cliff.
Turn right on Blueberry Lane at Legendary Waters Resort & Casino.
Follow Blueberry Lane for about 3 miles. (Be sure to obey the speed limit)
Turn right onto Frog Bay Road.
Follow Frog Bay Road until it dead ends.
Park your vehicle in the parking lot at the dead end.
Take the access road to the wooden bridge.
Look for the trail head sign (when we were there it said "Beach") on the left at the wooden bridge.
Take the trail through the woods to the bay.
If you took the access road all the way to the bay you missed the trail and entered private property.
Everything written about getting there says not to speed;
even though it seems ridiculously slow...don't speed! |
"...parking lot at the dead end." |
Parking area to the left and continuation of "Frog Bay Road" (the access road) to the right. (Well, at least it looks like it continues when viewing Google Maps.)
|
This is the start of the walk to the beach. |
Note that the sign says "BEACH" not "TRAIL" |
It appears
that the author was visiting the Apostle Islands/Bayfield area at the same time
we were... only he was smart enough to make a little money by writing some
articles and likely deducting travel and lodging as a business expense!
Note this
error: “To reach the bay, walk down the access road to a wooden bridge,
where a sign on the left says ‘trail’."
Nope…the sign reads “BEACH”. A minor issue, unless you find yourself wandering around “in
the middle of nowhere!”
IF YOU GO
Frog
Bay Tribal National Park is 390 miles northwest of Milwaukee via U.S. 51. To
get to the park trailhead, take Highway 13 north out of Bayfield and continue
north on Blueberry Lane at the Legendary Waters Casino. Go three miles (be sure
to follow the 25 mph speed limit) and then turn right on Frog Bay Road. To
reach the bay, walk down the access road to a wooden bridge, where a sign on
the left says "trail." (No…it says “beach”) Follow it to the water.
Do not trespass on non-park land. If you reach the Frog Creek estuary, turn
back because it is privately owned.
We stayed a couple of nights at the Bayfield Inn and had a
room that overlooked a municipal park and the main pier.
Sunrise viewed from room at Bayfield Inn |
Teardrop trailer sweepstakes prize from Madison's Capital Brewery was parked outside Bayfield Inn. Hope we win, but the hotel room did provide a few more creature comforts.
|
An "Amphicar" parked on a street in Bayfield; looked cool, but the ferry and tour boat seem to be a better way to navigate the islands. |
We didn't take this pirate ship to the island either. |
A few Miller Lites and Brandy Manhattans atop the
Bayfield Inn while the sun set across the islands made for a relaxing evening. |
Ferry view back toward mainland town of Bayfield;
not going
to win any photo contests with this one.
|
Uninspiring photo of view from the ferry while docking on
Madeleine Island
|
thick for the ferries to cut through.” http://www.madelineisland.com/madeline-island/getting-here/location/
Luckily this map was hanging on the wall in the ferry depot,
but it was not found in any of the many brochures available about the area. Had to snap a photo with cell phone camera
before taking bicycles on the ferry to Madeline Island.
Sure would have been helpful to have had a printed brochure.
Took bicycle ride out to Big Bay State Park; numbers 1 - 6
on map.
Then back to La Pointe ferry dock via route numbered 7 – 13.
…about 18 miles round trip.
Beach at Big Bay State Park |
Deer keeping an eye on us along the trail as we walked back
from the beach.
|
Had to pay a visit to the
Madeline Island Public Library
|
THE APOSTLE ISLANDS
The original Apostle Islands National Lakeshore bill was proposed by Wisconsin
Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1965 and over the course of a few years, Congress considered
Nelson’s legislation. The final
bill passed the Senate in 1969, and on September 10, 1970, it was passed by the
House. President Richard Nixon signed the
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Act on September 26, 1970.
Fish camp on Manitou Island
The blue
tarped roof is not historically correct!
The national park service is making restorations.
|
Raspberry
Island Lighthouse
|
Copper Falls
Copper Falls
State Park was created in 1929 and much of the development work was done by two
Depression-era government agencies, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA)
The water has copper color but it is not from copper, it’s from tannin from the trees and plants as they decompose.
No discussion of life insurance coverage occurred before this photo was taken. |
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