Lake Superior Ice Caves

Otis

Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2015
Messages
18
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore - 2/28/15

So the ice caves were open again for the second year in a row, which I understand to be relatively rare considering before last year they hadn't been open for 5 years. It is an area I've wanted to check out, so when the opportunity came I jumped on it, just like everyone else... Estimates put the number of visitors at about 12,000 for the weekend. I met a guy that drove 12 hours from Ohio, and saw license plates from as far away as NY.

The park service doesn't allow access to the caves until they deem the ice thick enough for thousands of people. According to their website, they send people out wearing full cold water immersion suits to check the thickness of the ice before they ok it.

This trip was planned fully last minute, so invites were sent out for people to join us. The two people that decided to tag along were friends of my girlfriend that I had never met. Turned out to be not the best company. One of the members of our group took to complaining about the hike right away so it kinda put a damper on how far we could go. Kinda frustrating. It was basically impossible to get away from people for pictures, but I made the most of it. I think if you got there early or stayed late, you could get some pretty good photos.

Thanks for checking it out, Tom

IMG_0662.JPG IMG_0671.JPG IMG_0696.JPG IMG_0702.JPG IMG_0736.JPG IMG_0739.JPG IMG_0742.JPG IMG_0759.JPG IMG_0791.JPG IMG_0805.JPG IMG_0826.JPG IMG_0847.JPG IMG_1394.JPG IMG_1396.jpg
 
Not sure how I missed this. This looks awesome. Looks like the hike there was across the lake?
 
Very cool! Yet another place I'd never heard of before. Thanks for sharing!
 
Great pics. I was headed there this weekend but the warm weather finally arrived and they are closed.
 
Awesome! I used to live around that area but never made it out to the ice caves. Good on ya'.
 
Similar threads
Thread starter Title Forum Replies Date
Georgia Yankee Apostle Islands, Lake Superior (again), June 2022 On The Water 4
Georgia Yankee Apostle Islands, Lake Superior, June 2021 On The Water 4
scatman Grebe Lake - September 4th through the 6th, 2024 Meet Up (Members Only) 20
K How long in Lake Bled? Trip Planning 1
wsp_scott Yellowstone Lake to Brooks Lake (Aug 2023) Backpacking 16
Mikjik86 Backpacking Indian Peaks Wilderness - King Lake - August, 2023 Backpacking 0
Ugly Two Popular Lake Basins in the Cascades Backpacking 12
TheMountainRabbit Ortenburger Lake, Talus Lake, & Glacier Peak (Grand Teton NP) - October 2023 Backpacking 14
kwc Fall hike to Chase Lake, Southern Adirondacks Hiking & Camping 1
TrektheWorld Red Deer Lake & Beyond Backpacking 10
shredhiker Thorofare, Heart Lake, Snake River Sept. 2023 Backpacking 16
Bob Wind Rivers - Short Trip to Cook Lake Trip Reports 9
regehr (Uintas) Lake Fork Fun Backpacking 8
Timber High Sierra - North Lake to South Lake Loop - Layover Day Trip Planning 9
kwc Limekiln Lake paddle On The Water 0
shredhiker YNP Fawn Pass to Sportsman, Crescent, Shelf Lake Backpacking 11
Bob The Thorofare to Brooks Lake - 9 Days in Pictures Backpacking 10
Janice Lizard Head Plateau - overlook Upper Cathedral Lake? Trip Planning 15
uintafly Chepeta Lake to Hayden Pass Trip Planning 0
DrNed Naturalist Basin: Blue Lake to Shaler Lake? Trip Planning 12
shredhiker YNP Fawn Pass to Sportsman & Crescent Lake Trip Planning 14
kwc Jockeybush Lake- southern Adirondacks Hiking & Camping 0
shredhiker Yellowstone Heart Lake September 2022 Backpacking 9
TheMountainRabbit Black Lake (Rocky Mountain NP) - January 2023 Hiking & Camping 3
Ross Any Lake Powell experts who can advice on changed conditions at dramatically new lake levels? Trip Planning 3
NorthwestWanderer Backpacking Grand Teton National Park : Fossil Pass,Fox Creek Pass,Indian Lake,Alaska Basin,Hurricane Pass,Ice Floe Lake,& Snowdrift Lake Backpacking 19
NorthwestWanderer 8 Day High Sierra trek : Humphreys Basin, Star Col, Granite Park, Lake Italy & Piute Canyon 6/25-7/2/22 Backpacking 7
TractorDoc Yellowstone's Wrangler Lake, Bog Creek, Joseph's Coat Springs, Broad Creek, Wapiti Lake, Hot Springs Basin, and Pelican Valley. The Second Half. Backpacking 15
kwc Another Southern Adirondacks hike - Clockmill Pond and Rock Lake Hiking & Camping 0
TractorDoc Yellowstone's Wrangler Lake, Bog Creek, Joseph's Coat Springs, Broad Creek, Wapiti Lake, Hot Springs Basin, and Pelican Valley. Part One of Two. Backpacking 61
kwc Round Lake, north central Adirondacks, in the Round Lake Wilderness On The Water 2
Jackson Heart Lake and Snake River for Labor Day Backpacking 23
scatman Pacific Creek, Moss Lake and Gravel Lake - Teton Wilderness - October 7, 2022 Backpacking 32
TractorDoc Yellowstone's Hayden Valley, Trout Creek, Beach Lake, and Arnica Creek Meadows. September 11, 2022. Hiking & Camping 7
balzaccom Obata Lake...xc in Yosemite Backpacking 0
scatman Grizzly Lake - September 7, 2022 Backpacking 31
P Yellowstone, one night by a lake Backpacking 19
kwc A Few More Photos from Scatman’s Grizzly Lake trip … Backpacking 3
P Scatman's Grizzly Lake hike, 2022 Backpacking 28
P Yellowstone--Heart Lake to South Entrance Backpacking 13
scatman Shoshone Lake Lollipop Loop - Yellowstone National Park - July 24, 2022 Backpacking 63
T How big are the Mirror Lake campgrounds in the Porkies? Trip Planning 6
kwc Adirondack Hike to Middle Lake Hiking & Camping 0
K Hello from the Salt Lake Valley Noobs: Introduce yourself! 2
J Lake Powell at 3528 feet General Discussion 1
WasatchWill WRHR: Day 5 - Camp Lake to Titcomb Basin Backpacking 15
WasatchWill WRHR: Day 4 - Halls Lake to Camp Lake Backpacking 17
WasatchWill WRHR: Day 3 - 'Desolation Valley' to Halls Lake Backpacking 15
J Lake Mead NRA and Sloan Canyon NCA summit and vista hikes. Nov 21-25, 2021 Hiking & Camping 0
scatman Grizzly Lake - Yellowstone National Park - September - 2022 Meet Up (Members Only) 149

Similar threads

Back
Top