Artistic Elegance & Hometown Hospitality

Its location, beauty, culture and history make it a popular place to visit, especially from May until the famed Apple Fest in October. It’s also the harbor where you can jump on the Madeline Island Ferry to go to Madeline Island, with Big Bay State Park and the town of La Pointe.

Because of its protected position on Lake Superior, it offers a number of marinas. Besides the Apostle Islands Marina downtown, boaters may also find transient slips at the Bayfield City Dock, Blackhawk Marina, Pike’s Bay Marina and Port Superior Marina. Most are full-service marinas, with water, power, fuel and pump-out available.

The Apostle Islands Marina right downtown was a favorite with our kids because it put us in the middle of the action. Most of Bayfield’s action is centrally located within walking distance of the waterfront right downtown. Our kids especially liked the enormous play structure built beside the marina in the last few years. The shops downtown also got them walking the hills without much complaint, particularly to visit the candy or ice cream shops. In Bayfield, they found lollipops literally as big as their faces — one of their all-time favorite boating memories.

We often explored the Bayfield Maritime Museum right next to the marina, too. Free and open every day from May to September, we could spend all day there and still not absorb everything the knowledgeable, devoted volunteers had to tell us about ships, equipment, history and, best of all, the shipwrecks.

Just up the road — across from the Bayfield Carnegie Library — we found more history at the Bayfield Heritage Association, with displays of a traditional Anishinaabe Wiigwaasi-Jiimaan (Birchbark canoe), a model of the Bayfield Railroad, the life-size Bayfield jail and a community barbershop.

The area’s beauty and diversity attract exceptional artists of many mediums, and their work is visible all over town. The Bayfield Artists Guild offers a central gallery and retail store exhibiting the work of many area artists working in painting, photography, ceramics, sculpture, jewelry, glasswork and handmade items like soaps and candles. There are many individual galleries as well, showing pottery, paintings and driftwood art. For unique, handmade jewelry, Silverwaves and Grace Hogan Jewelry are my personal favorites — they capture the feel of Lake Superior in unique pieces I’ve never seen anywhere else.

Since I’m a huge reader, Bayfield is one of my favorite towns to visit because they have not one but two outstanding, independently owned, and curated bookstores: Apostle Islands Booksellers and Honest Dog Books. Both are within walking distance of the marina, with their own personalities and tastes, and celebrate and support regional writers and artists. The owners and staff are well-read and quick to recommend just the right fit for anyone who comes in the doors. They also host regular events and readings.

Search for adventure

The search for adventure is a big draw to Bayfield. Besides being a mecca for sailing and boating, the area has outstanding hiking, biking and swimming opportunities, too. Kayaking is popular in the islands, and there are a number of outfitters and guides who will get you the gear you need and take you out to explore the sea caves first-hand. The same goes for seeing shipwrecks; expert divers and guides in town are available for excursions to get you up close with historic wrecks that are well-preserved in the cold water.

For land-based outings, Howl Adventure Center is a great resource. You can rent or buy all kinds of outdoor gear and mountain bikes. They’re glad to share their insider intel on where to hike and bike. Or you can sit back on their grounds and enjoy local beer and tacos. Golfers will love the view from the Apostle Highlands Golf Course, a par 72, 18-hole championship golf course with some jaw-dropping views of the greatest Great Lake.

And, of course, there’s the fishing. Anglers from all over come to Bayfield to fish for lake trout and salmon. It’s advisable to hire a charter captain, who can take you to the exact locations where the water temperature and terrain attract the biggest catch. And if you love to eat fish without hooking them, Red Cliff Fish Company and Bodin Fisheries are two long-standing local businesses that sell fresh-caught Lake Superior fish every day, bringing it directly to market, raw or smoked.

Adventure can come on a smaller scale, too. On days when the weather wasn’t at its finest and when we were all feeling cooped up, we’d take the kids to the Bayfield Recreation Center to swim indoors. It was a great way to experience the community and camaraderie of this close neighborhood.

We first met Bayfield in the summer, and we learned to love this sweet Chequamegon Bay town in the warmer months, but over the years we’ve kept coming back year-round for all the seasonal gifts it has to offer. We return each year in October to pick apples. Even in the winter months, cross-country skiing, fat tire biking and exploring the ice caves from the frozen lake are just a few ways we’ve learned to love this town in the quiet, peaceful off-months.

Whether at the height of boating season when the town is alive and buzzing with energy and activity, or in the quieter winter months when things settle down into a more private groove, Bayfield’s elegant creativity and hometown hospitality are hard to beat.