Kayaking the Apostle Islands Sea Caves

byKenneth Casper
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Sea Kayaking beneath stone arch in Lake Superior

Striking. Legendary. A National Treasure. The Apostle Island Sea Caves, large enough to paddle a tandem boat through, are drilled into the stone armor of the Bayfield Peninsula and its famed archipelago.

Scoured by Great Lake Superior’s ice, waves, and wind these caves exhibit a giant’s gallery of sandstone sculpture permanently on view for any mariner with a sea-worthy watercraft. From the hiking trail above the views are awkward. But, balanced in a narrow sea kayak explorers can navigate deep into fissures in the high red walls of Mawikwe. If you don’t have your own boat, you can rent one from one of Bayfield County’s many liveries that run daily guided tours. As daunting as a sea kayaking trip on Lake Superior may sound, it only requires beginner level skills. If you know how to swim and have kayaked recreationally before then, with the assistance of the guides, you’ll be able to reach the most spectacular sea caves, arches, and stacks.

In 2023, I took my first paddling tour of the mainland sea caves at Mawikwe. The half-day trip (2 ½ hours on the water) from Meyers Beach rekindled my deep romanticism for our Great Lakes.


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framed view of shoreline through stone arch
There's no better way to see the famed Apostle Island Sea Caves than from a sea kayak

Sometimes menacing and at other times halting in its pacific calm, Lake Superior’s coastline seems an otherworldly place. Those who have never seen one of the Great Lakes are usually surprised that, like an ocean, you cannot see across it; the Great Lakes are, by definition, freshwater seas.

Of the five Great Lakes, Superior is the crown jewel. It is the largest and deepest. It’s a cold lake with crystal clear fresh water and an iconic coastline displaying stunning rock features and colored stone cobble beaches. Superior’s northern location and long winters has kept its shores largely undeveloped and public, preserved in parks, Canadian crown land, and national forest.

Wisconsin’s Apostle Islands and the mainland coast along the Bayfield Peninsula are a National Lakeshore Monument administered by the National Parks Service. The Apostles, so named by French Jesuit missionaries because there are many of them, each have their own coastlines - some with sand beaches and some with their own sandstone caves. The best sea caves in the park are said to be at Devils Island.

But it is hard to imagine anything more impressive than kayaking through the monumental arches at Mawikwe. These are also the easiest to reach. They are found within two miles of launch points at either Little Sand Bay or Myers Beach.

Based in Cornucopia, Lost Creek Adventures runs a kayak guiding machine, launching full and half day guided expeditions from Meyers Beach. This livery may well be the singular reason for Cornucopia’s continued existence. Of the string of Bayfield Peninsula communities Cornucopia stands out for its chill vibe, a place beyond the crowds with only a few shops and restaurants but wide-open beaches and a postcard-worthy working harbor. You’ll find Bayfield’s active adventurers and campers gathering on its two block long main street or inside Ehlers the Mayberry-esque town general store seemingly still lit with kerosene lamps as though nothing had changed since it opened in 1915.

As timeslots for kayaking expeditions near, Cornucopia’s main street blossoms to life for an hour. Last minute lattes and breakfast wraps devoured, the visitors disappear as quietly as they arrived – making their way to the LCA porch with anticipation and a last check of the weather. What a beautiful day to get out on the water!

After introductions and a briefing at Lost Creek we were loaded up into vans for the bus over to Meyers Beach. An orientation and lesson about sea kayaking basics took place in the grass pitch before our group was tasked with hauling the heavy tandem kayaks down a long flight of stairs to the beach. After what seemed like a hurried succession of events the clamor of the morning faded in an instant to the silence of the sea and we were off - gliding across the glassy surface of Lake Superior.

Calm seas calmed my nerves and my anxiousness about being out on a lake well known for its peril faded into the wonders of the trip. You know the reason they say Lake Superior never gives up her dead? It's because the lake is so cold that bacteria can’t grow and the bodies of those that drown here sink to the bottom where they are preserved. (nervous laughter). But on this particular day, after another summer of record-breaking heat, Superior was in fact warm enough to swim in leisurely and we were able to forgo wetsuits - the usual requirement for even these short half-day trips.

If you’ve always dreamed of being in the Apostle Islands sea caves but aren’t sure about the kayaking part - it may be worth the pause – this lake, its unpredictable weather, swells, and usually frigid water temperature isn’t to be underestimated. On the other hand, just about anyone can jump in a kayak and pull on a double-bladed paddle to propel the boat forward. Kayaking is intuitive. The kayaks provided by Lost Creek Adventures include rudders. Press your left foot down to turn left and your right foot down to turn right.

After less than a half hour on the water we were pulling up alongside towering red sandstone cliffs crowned by lush green boreal forest. The bright colored clothes of hikers on top the cliffs stood out. I’ve hiked and backpacked the Lakeshore Trail a few times and camped at its terminal campsite. The effort to hike to the cliffs above the sea caves and the time to get there on foot is at least double the effort it was taking to paddle in tandem kayaks. Each time I have stood on the edge of those cliffs as a hiker I have looked down at the kayakers on the water with envy. Now finally I was on the other side of that prospect and I was very satisfied.

We reached the mouth of the first cave and gathered for a brief lesson on reversing – a key skill in tight spaces. The guides managed traffic and one at a time we each slipped into the crack in the stone wall. As the sheer walls closed in we had to stow our paddles and push against the walls with our hands to walk the boat further back. An eerie gulping sound swallowed the waves being siphoned back into the darkness.

Suddenly and instinctively, I pushed both my arms against the walls and held the boat back from continuing. I had forgotten that I am claustrophobic. It is a funny thing about fears, even though my conscious mind knew that all was ok, there was plenty of air and a reasonable escape behind us, my subconscious mind would not allow my body to go any further. I marveled at the idea of what was happening – without even feeling anxiety or jitters, I was somehow not in control of my body – my arms simply refused to budge even as I was mentally demanding them to let go. I have my big brother and sister to thank for this … one day they thought it’d be fun to put me in a small box and then sit on the lid and listen to me scream … oh what children will do! To this day I am helpless in enclosed spaces. Somehow the cave part of sea caves didn’t raise a flag when I was adding this tour to my summer adventure to do list.

kayak in tight narrow cave
Going into the deep fissure required us to stow our paddles. It was just at this moment when I remembered that I am claustrophobic. 


I managed to get through a few of the tight passages with focus on breathing and blind faith that if others were doing it then it should be okay, right? But I had to take a pass on the hole in the wall - an even smaller and tighter passage. I was relieved when our group progressed to the high arches. With plenty of room to stretch out I could relax and read the sandstone; its many years recorded in a stratified stack of lines.

Just as I was losing myself to daydreams of ancient glaciers, it seemed our tour group had gotten its fill of cave exploring. And on realizing this the guides led the way back to Meyers Beach.

This, my first adventure on Lake Superior has opened the door to so many more. On our way back I began a mental list of the shores I want to see. Pictured Rocks, Keweenaw Point, the Minnesota North Shore, Canada’s Lake Superior Marine Conservation Area, Pukaskwa, and then over to Huron for the North Channel and Georgian Bay. A lifetime of adventures on America’s inland seas awaits. Only a few months after kayaking to the Apostle Island Sea Caves I had purchased an expedition kayak of my own - capable of reaching all these many places. Stay tuned.


Can't get enough of the stone arches at the Mainland Sea Caves from Meyers Beach




Directions and Address



 Address for your GPS: Lost Creek Adventures: 22475 WI-13 Trunk, Cornucopia, WI 54827
| coordinates: 46.855583557835736, -91.10354192848652 |

From Milwaukee 6 Hours
From Madison 5.5 Hours
From Green Bay 5 Hours
From Wausau 3.5 Hours
From Minneapolis 3 Hours
From Chicago 8 Hours



Photos


red cliffs at edge of Lake Superior
The painted red sandstone cliffs are iconic on the south shore of Lake Superior. The Lakeshore trail is on top of these cliffs.
Smaller stone arches within a sea cave
Sculpted arches that feel like an ancient catacomb 
Looking up in the deep cut
shallow sea cave with tight clearance
This aquamarine chamber is emblamatic of at least a dozen small chambers you can kayak through on a half-day kayaking tour from the mainland. In spite of my claustrophobia I did make it through this narrow passage. I wouldn't want to be in here when the waves kick up!
bird resting on wet red cliffs beside Lake Superior
The outlet of a large stone passage in the cliffs with Raspberry Island 2-miles away in the distance.
Ahead is and tall passage. You can't see the other side from this point of view, but it goes through and comes out the side.
Years of stratification read like tree rings.
a very short and narrow passage through stone cliff on Lake Superior
Hole in The Wall. Nearly every boat in the group went through, but just looking at this passage gave me visions of the panic attack I'd have halfway through.





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