Bayfield, Wisconsin Lake Home and Cabin Living

Bayfield Wisconsin

A Perfect Storm

Bayfield Wisconsin is one of those places that seems to transport you to a different place and time.  It's about a four hour jaunt from the Twin Cities, but when you get there, you'll feel as if you've somehow traveled twelve-hundred miles, to a fishing village in Coastal Massachusetts.  Only in Bayfield, the people are friendlier, and they don't have funny, east-coast accents.  Also, there is there is very little chance you will encounter a man-eating great white shark.

Several unique geographical and social features revolve around Bayfield, making it the center of a “perfect storm” for Northern-style recreation and entertainment.  First, and most dramatically, Bayfield sits on a small promontory overlooking the ridiculously pristine, blue waters of Lake Superior.  The main street of the town runs down the hill and ends at the harbor.  That hill is part of a much larger sandstone slab which, just a little north and west of town, plunges in dramatic, colorful cliffs into the lake.  Out into the water itself, the slab has fractured into a series of small islands.  These are known as the Apostle Islands, and most of them have been set aside, along with some mainland shore, into a nationally preserved park known as the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.  Throw in a few terrific community activities, some excellent mainland trout streams, nearby gaming facilities featuring regular big-name shows, and this town becomes a place well worth a visit at any time of the year.

On The Water

One of the main attractions, of course, is Lake Superior.  The Apostles Islands area is one of the premier freshwater sailing destinations in the world.  It is not surprising then, that marina slips in and around  Bayfield are some of the most sought after in the region.  In fact, the Bayfield area is home to more sailing vessels than any other port in all of the Great Lakes.  In addition to a public city dock, there are four full service marinas within about six miles of town, in addition to a few which offer more limited amenities.

If you have never been out on a clear summer day, engine off, sails full, cruising at five knots between Madeline and Stockton Islands, no sound but the gurgle of water rushing past the hull, it is well worth the money to charter a sailboat for the experience.  And there are plenty of charters available in Bayfield.  Northern Breezes, Sailboats Inc. and Superior Charters are three companies based in Bayfield which can help you arrange your cruise.  You can go “bareboat,” which means you are on your own to sail the boat, or you can charter a “captained” cruise with an experienced sailor to run the vessel.  Perhaps you'd like to go bareboat, but you don't feel qualified.  All three of the above mentioned companies offer training for would-be sailors, and so does the non-profit organization, North Coast Community Sailing.  If you want to impress them when you get there, be sure to tell them you already know that “port” is a kind of wine and “starboards” is a brand of coffee.

While there is nothing quite like cruising the Islands using the ultimate “green” fuel (wind), there is certainly more than one way to enjoy Lake Superior around Bayfield.  Another environmentally friendly fuel is human muscle.  Consequently, sea kayaking around the Apostles and the cliff-laden shore is an extremely popular activity.  Several companies in and around Bayfield

Apostle Islands kayaks, located on Madeline Island, and Trek & Trail in Bayfield both offer a variety of Kayaking experiences and options.  In addition to sea-kayak adventures, Living Adventure Inc. also offers specialty historical trips in their twenty-six foot voyageur-replica canoe.

If you favor an approach more sedate than kayaking, and more reliable than wind, be advised that most of the marinas are host to a variety of power-boat charter services.  There's nothing like fishing for Lake trout or Great Lakes Salmon when someone else is doing all the work.  Of course, you can also launch your own boat at the Bayfield public boat ramp.

And for the ultimately relaxing way of seeing the area by water, you might consider taking one of the Apostle Islands boat tours.  The Apostle Islands Cruise Service, (an authorized National Park concessioner) offers a variety of sightseeing tours and Island shuttles.

 For Landlubbers

Almost every small town in the Upper Midwest holds a unique annual festival.  In Bayfield, it's the Apple Festival, and they know how to party with the best of them.  In fact, the Apple Festival, now in its 47^th year, is listed among the top ten autumn festivals of North America.  Most of the other weeks of the year feature some sort of community event also.

But there is more to do on shore than munching apples and enjoying cider and apple pie and carnivals and parades.  The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, in addition to containing twenty-one of the twenty-two Apostle Islands, includes a beautiful section of mainland shore just to the north and west of town.  In addition to all the ways of enjoying it by water, you can hike the shoreline, or take the shuttle to one of the islands for hiking.

Outside of the park itself, there is a regular ferry to Madeline Island across from Bayfield.  You can camp, bike, hike and shop there.  On the mainland, the Bayfield peninsula is home to several terrific trout streams.

The lodging options in and around Bayfield are varied in both price and style.  Campgrounds are plentiful, and range from small private operations to State and National Park facilities.  A few of the marinas offer resort-style lodging, and hotels and motels around town are plentiful, offering everything from “mom & pop” owned establishments to national, name-brand hotels.

 A Unique Experience

There are so many terrific places in the North to vacation, visit and even develop a second home.  It is difficult to suggest that one is better than all the others.  But Bayfield is definitely one of the more unique locales within an easy drive of the Twin Cities metro.  If you have never been there, maybe the time is now.