Beautiful Bayfield (Wisconsin)

Our main base for our time enjoying Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in early October was the charming lakeside town of Bayfield, Wisconsin.

Bayfield's beauty related to its location on Lake Superior is well known.

There are so many picturesque perspectives of Bayfield.

Bayfield was relatively quiet when we were there during the week in the first week of October except for when the Apostle Islands Cruises Grand Tour was loading or unloading and on the weekend when the annual Apple Festival was held (we were leaving shortly after it started).

Bayfield's annual Apple Festival started on our last day in Bayfield, which worked out well for us because we could experience some of this festival and then leave as the crowds moved in.

Bayfield's Beauty Beyond the Waterfront

Bayfield (Wisconsin) is a charming small town on Lake Superior that makes the most of its picturesque lakeside location.

However, this post focuses on some of the beautiful areas on the outskirts of Bayfield away from the waterfront.

The forested areas outside of Bayfield are especially stunning in autumn and we enjoyed these colors while visiting the Apostle Islands during the first week of October.

Bayfield is known for its apples and there are apple orchards all around the Bayfield area.

The Apostle Islands Natioinal Lakeshore's main Visitor Center and Headquarters is located in Bayfield.

This visitor center and headquarters is housed in a beautiful building and the landscaping is gorgeous in the fall.

The visitor center features information on the national lakeshore as well as interesting exhibits.

After visiting the main Visitor Center and Headquarters of Apostle Islands National Park, we drove to the nearby Iron Bridge and Nature Trail.

The Iron Bridge and Nature Trail turned out to be one of those nice little travel surprises that exceed one's expectations.

The short, generally easy trails offered all kinds of interesting things to see in early October.

Views of the bridge are certainly part of the attraction.

Views from the bridge are pretty impressive as well.

Although the coastal scenes of Bayfield are stunning, the inland scenes are also scenic and are particularly stunning in autumn.

Madeline Island (Apostle Islands)

We took a day trip from Bayfield (Wisconsin) to experience Madeline Island during our time visiting Wisconsin's Apostle Islands and Minnesota's North Shore on Lake Superior.

Madeline Island is the largest of the twenty-two Apostle Islands.

Madeline Island is the only island that is not part of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (because it was prohibitively expensive to buy out owners on this island).

There is ferry service for pedestrians, cyclists, and automobiles between Bayfield and Madeline Island.

The ferry boarding location was directly across from the Harbors Edge Motel where we stayed in Bayfield.

The ferry transports people and vehicles between Bayfield and La Pointe on Madeline Island.

Our first main stop was Big Bay Stake Park.

We drove to a large parking lot near the Bay View Trail trailhead.

The view of the forest from the parking lot starts things out nicely.

There's an overlook near this trailhead (a short walk from the parking lot) with stunning views!

Just a few steps into the trail and there is more beautiful scenery.

The Bay View Trail hike in early October featured so many shades of blues, shades of green and yellow, and shares of red and orange!

There are fascinating views of the coast in addition to the gorgeous views of the trail itself, especially in October with changing leaves' colors and leaves strewn along the dirt path.

It was a bit cool, especially when we were on parts of the path not within the trees and exposed to the breeze coming off Lake Superior, but it was worth it for the incredible autumn views.

We next visited nearby Big Bay State Park's Barrier Beach.

We did not spend much time at Barrier Beach on a cool October day, but it was a pretty beach worth seeing.

We next drove to Big Bay State Park's Big Bay Town Park.

We also could have walked the boardwalk from Barrier Beach to Big Bay Town Park.

We laughed at this sign at the entrance to the main parking area at Big Bay Town Park ("8 M.P.H. IS PLENTY").

There is a short hike to the recreation area and boardwalk.

There are beautiful views of the Lagoon on the short walk to the wooden stairs.

There are some wood stairs and a short wood bridge to cross the narrow inlet into the lagoon.

The other side of the lagoon features a nice boardwalk trail with beautiful coastal views.

We didn't see anyone kayaking while we were there in early October, but we could see where the kayaks would be available to rent in warmer months.

We left Big Bay State Park and drove to La Pointe.

La Pointe is a small town anyways and in early October some of its businesses were already closed for the season.

One of La Pointe's most well-known attractions is Madeline Island Museum.

The staff at Madeline Island Museum was friendly and welcoming and we enjoyed a short film before looking at the exhibits in the museum.

Madeline Island Museum is a charming and visually interesting museum with exhibits that are informative about Madeline Island's past and present.

There weren't a lot of open restaurants in La Pointe in early October, but we enjoyed lunch at The Beach Club.

In tiny La Pointe, the Madeline Island Museum and The Beach Club are fairly close to the ferry departure point.

While we waited in our rental car for the ferry to come from Bayfield, we noticed storm clouds moving in. We were near the front of the ferry boat as we crossed and the water was much choppier on the way back to Bayfield than it had been on our way from Bayfield. Our car kept getting soakeed!

We enjoyed our day trip to Madeline Island with so much natural beauty that was largely uncrowded in this first week of October.