John L's Old Maps / Supplementary Pages:

 Views of the Apostle Islands 

Part 2: LONG ISLAND LIGHTHOUSES
and a Few Glimpses of Gull and Eagle Islands

Plus Photos of Siskiwit Falls on the Mainland

Click on images to see full view in separate window.

An excellent .pdf map can be downloaded from here.

On September 26, 2007, as the last of the scheduled events of the yearly Apostle Islands Lightouse Celebration, a small group of intrepid explorers was whisked from Bayfield on the Ashland Bay Express tour boat to an offshore point near the LaPointe Light on historic Long Island. From there we rode to shore in a rubber boat and then began a hike to check out both lighthouses that are still in operation as automated beacons. For the past couple decades, Long Island has been an extension of Chequamegon Point – a long, narrow and sandy peninsula nearly enclosing the Chequamegon Bay of Lake Superior just north of Ashland, Wisconsin. When and if Long Island becomes an island again depends on the dynamic nature of Lake Superior whose shoreline along the islands and mainland is certainly not eternally set in stone. Indeed, the south shoreline of Long Island continues to erode while the beach along the north shoreline constantly builds up. This land mass thus appears to be inching toward Madeline Island, just to the north.

1: This is the LaPointe Light Tower, built in 1897 about a mile from the western tip of Long Island where the other light station on our itinerary was built the same year. Both light stations were the successor to the old LaPointe Light which had been built around 1858-59 at a location between the two later sites.

2: Here we are heading west on one of the several well-trodden paths that run roughly parallel to each other between the two light stations. Any trace of the old concrete sidewalk that was built over a century ago to ease the walking difficulties of the lighthouse keepers appears to be gone – totally obliterated by the shifting sand and the build-up of vegetation. (I had been hoping to get a ground-level movie of at least a portion of the sidewalk being used presently.)

3: The remains of an old oil storage building.

4: A high ridge running parallel to the northern shore about a hundred yards away – possibly having originated as a sand dune along the beach which ran along here many decades ago. The Ashland Bay Express can be seen in the distance.

5: One of my fellow hikers pointed out patches of cryptobiotic soil along the path near the beach where the vegetation was relatively sparse. Once again the thought of a bull in a china shop came to mind, and "tread lightly and carefully" became the rule in such areas.

6: The beach along the north shore, about a half mile west of the 1897 LaPointe Light tower.

7: Looking northerly and seeing Bayfield in the distance toward the left. LaPointe on Madeline Island is barely visible in the center of the photo. A couple more views of both towns are shown here and here as we make our way to the western tip of Long Island.

8: A small pond near the western tip.

9: We reach our destination: The Chequamegon Point Light – originally built in 1897 and more recently moved from the eroding shoreline to a point further inland. It has been joined by a "D9 Tower" which presently houses the beacon at this site.

10: The Chequamegon Point Light was moved with considerable difficulty to its present location my means of a Coast Guard helicopter. The original foundations are shown in this photo very near the shoreline. (I'm a couple feet off-shore taking this photo.)

11: A close-up of one of the original foundation stones.

12: Another view of both structures as we round the point and look roughly northward.

13: A magnified view of the Chequamegon Point Light showing work in progress to stabilize the structure. This is indeed a hazardous area that is well-marked to keep visitors at a distance.

Island-spotting among the Apostles from driveable locations certainly is not something that one often reads about, but it's something to do along with the great boat tours of the area until I become fully amphibious! (At which time you may see me get hung up on the Steamboat Island reef!)

14: An aerial photo of Gull Island on the eastern edge of the Apostle Islands group, situated just off the northeast tip of Michigan Island. Between May 15 and September 1, one must stay at least 500 feet away as the island is a protected gull rookery. (Image is from the Terraserver site.)

15: Straight off the northeast coast of Madeline Island is a nice view of the southwest end of Michigan Island, approx. 3.5 miles away. A telefoto view is shown here in which the Michigan Island lighthouse may be seen (just barely) toward the far right. On a clear day, Michigan Island and its lighthouse can be seen from about 33 miles away on St. Peter's Dome as shown on this page.

16: Sighting along the left edge of Michigan Island – whose fairly straight shoreline on that side runs another 3.5 miles to the northeast tip (pretty much parallel to the line of sight) – one may spot Gull Island as seen in this view obtained with my camera's telefoto lens. The line of sight is indicated on the Terraserver image here. Gull Island emerges from a shallow reef which runs off the northeast tip of Michigan Island for yet another 3.5 miles.

On this particular sunny day in June, 2004, the sightings of Gull Island and the far distant shoreline of Michigan were occasionally obscured by patches of thick white fog and also frequently confused (sometimes seemingly elevated) by the uneven texture of the lake. According to Volume III of Geology of Wisconsin – Survey of 1873-1879 (published in 1880), Madeline, Michigan and Gull Islands are the above-water manifestations of a continuous ridge.

It is really no big deal to see Gull Island from Madeline, especially at night when the light from the Gull Island beacon should be easy to spot. My enthusiasm in being able to see Gull Island from this spot masked a developing problem with my feet which I initially thought was simply the result from standing in briars. Soon the pain became almost unbearable, but I just had to take a photo of the problem before taking steps to relieve it. Click here for a shot of at least 17 sand flies penetrating my sock to do their thing. Real professionals they were.

17: Looking in a more northerly direction from about the same spot on Madeline Island, one sees the very close Stockton Island. No, it's not the mainland; we left that way behind as we travelled the length of Madeline as far as we could go.

Since my 2004 visits to this spot, signs have been erected to make clear to all that the area between the town road and the lake is privately-owned. There is apparently no "easement" of any sort for public access. You will instead be eaten alive by sand flies as punishment should you trespass. To experience the joy of a real wilderness beach on Madeline Island, you can follow the crowd to the Big Bay Town Park – some photos of which are shown here. The parking lot may fill up to overflowing in the summer, but the mile-long beach is always a satisfying experience any time of year.

18: Moving over to the western edge of the Apostles, one can get a good view of Sand Island, about 2 1/2 miles northwest of the dock at Little Sand Bay, the site of an Apostle Islands National Lakeshore visitor center. Farther out and to the northeast is York Island.

19: Approximately seven miles straight west of the visitor center, Eagle Island can be seen. An enlarged view of the island is shown in Photo 19, and a telefoto close-up is here. As for Gull Island, one must stay at least 500 feet away between May 15 and September 1. Gulls, great blue herons and black cormorants rule this place.

20: Here is a late-afternoon shot taken from the end of the dock in early June, 2005.

21: About 1 1/4 miles straight northeast of Cornucopia is Meyers Beach whose parking lot was often overfilled in the summertime, spilling into the entrance road and up onto Highway 13. This situation was relieved in the early Summer of 2005 with better access and a larger lot. On this photo, we see a flotilla of kayakers returning from a visit to the nearby shoreline caves. Four miles north (and a little east) is another view of Eagle Island. Despite the persistance on many so-called "updated" maps of an old name – a term generally considered to be derogatory to Native Americans – the actual name of this bay of Lake Superior is Mawikwe Bay. Additional photos of the Meyers Beach area are here.

22: A telefoto view of Eagle Island taken from Meyers Beach in the winter is shown here.

23: A telefoto view of Eagle Island from the parking lot above Meyers Beach. The arrow in the photo points to the approximate location of the unnamed (?) shallows just south of Eagle Island, the site of the submerged Steamboat Island. Hoping to arouse some curiosity about this forgotten lost island – what with the massive interest these days in lighthouses, shipwrecks, sea caves, shopping, kayaking and various other recreational activities in the area – we offer our Steamboat Island page.

24: Here is a similar view of Eagle Island taken in the winter.

25: Special Added Mainland Attraction – something to see if you find yourself anywhere in the vicinity of the Apostle Islands: With a vertical drop of just several feet or so, the Siskiwit Falls near Cornucopia are certainly not the highest in the state but are something to behold nonetheless. Another view is shown here. (Both photos were taken Oct. 6, 2006.) To avoid trespassing on private land, these falls are best approached from the nearby road by walking along the river from the bridge.

• Go to Part 1, 3, 4, 5, 6.

• E-mail me at:
  jlindquist @ arismail.com .