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Andrew Krueger

Blizzard breaks up ice pack at Apostle Islands caves, likely ending foot access for the winter

Images of ice breaking up along a lakeshore
A series of images from a webcam overlooking the ice caves at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in northern Wisconsin shows how a powerful storm broke up the shoreline ice pack overnight. The images on the left are from Tuesday; the images on the right are from Wednesday.
Courtesy Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

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After one glorious, fleeting day — access to the Apostle Islands ice caves is likely done for the season.

The blizzard that brought heavy snow and gusty winds to Minnesota’s North Shore from Tuesday night into Wednesday also raked the south shore of Lake Superior and broke up the ice pack that had allowed foot access to the ice caves for the first time in 11 years.

Webcams overlooking the caves showed the ice pack still in place as of 4 p.m. Tuesday, but then broken up into scattered shards of ice, surrounded by open water, by 8 a.m. Wednesday.

“The power of Lake Superior is humbling,” officials at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore reported on Wednesday.

As for the prospects of the ice pack reforming yet this winter, park officials said “the stretch of subzero temperatures and calm winds that formed stable ice is unlikely to return before spring.”

“We extend our gratitude to the community, partners, and visitors who celebrated and supported this fleeting natural wonder,” the park statement read.

Hikers explore the Apostle Islands ice caves
Hikers explore the Apostle Islands ice caves near Meyers Beach, east of Cornucopia, Wis., on Monday. It was the first day the caves were open to access by foot in 11 years.
Andrew Krueger | MPR News

Thousands of people flocked to see the ice caves on Monday, the first day that ice conditions allowed park staff to open foot access since 2015. But the approaching storm prompted officials to close the access on Tuesday — and now the path all those visitors used on Monday, is gone.

The ice caves — located a few miles east of Cornucopia, Wis. — are formed by water seeping down through the sandstone cliffs and freezing into icicles and other ice formations, similar in appearance to rock formations in a cave. The icy display also can be enhanced by spray from Lake Superior waves.

The caves, minus the icicles, are accessible to kayakers during the summer. But access on foot requires a solid, stable ice pack along the shore.