Images of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore – Wisconsin, taken in August 2024.

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore protects twenty-two islands that sit off the coast of the Bayfield Peninsula in northern Wisconsin. Sitting in the waters of Lake Superior, the largest fresh water lake by area in the world, the islands are famous for their rugged shorelines, wilderness and no less than eight lighthouses.

Although this park includes a sliver of land on the mainland, in order to truly experience the beauty of the islands one needs to get out on the water. I took a late afternoon cruise which allowed me to be along the north shore of Devils Island, the northernmost point in the state of Wisconsin, when the rugged sandstone formations would be bathed in the fading light just before sunset. The day could not have been any better as clear skies and the unusually smooth waters of Lake Superior allowed our boat captain to get closer to the shoreline than normal. I was amazed by the intricate sandstone formations, windows, arches and sea caves, beautiful works of natural art carved over the many eons by wind, ice and the relentless pounding of Lake Superior. It put me into a photo-frenzy as I tried to capture it all as the catamaran went up and back along the coast twice, that second time because, as the captain told us, the waters were so ‘darn calm’!

Devils Island was most definitely the highlight of the trip, and that included seeing the Devils Island Light towering over the north shore sandstone formations, but a close second was seeing the picturesque Raspberry Island Lighthouse also immersed in late afternoon sunlight, making it look like a life-sized postcard laid out before us.