Apostle Islands Lakeshore Trail to Mainland Campsite 1

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, National Park Service (near Cornucopia)

Most camping in Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is on islands you can reach only by boat, but the Lakeshore Trail leads to the park’s mainland campsites on foot. The National Park Service describes it as 6 miles from the Meyers Beach parking area off Highway 13 to a reservable backcountry campsite perched above a Lake Superior beach.

On the way it passes the clifftop overlooks above the mainland sea caves, the same caves that, in winters when the ice is safe, visitors walk out across the frozen lake to see.

The hike

The NPS breaks the trail into three sections. Section One runs 1.8 miles through hardwood forest to the Crevasse, which the park describes as a 100-yard-long fracture in the bedrock. The first 0.7 mile is relatively easy, the NPS says, and the rest is more challenging. Backpacker’s 2013 trail guide adds that the early forest has several short, steep climbs through drainages, a few stream crossings, and a sandy road crossing about 0.8 mile in.

Section Two is 0.6 mile of sea cave overlooks ending at a feature the park calls the Bowl. The NPS warns that you may hear “loud popping or booming noises” as waves hit the caves below and says not to be alarmed. Backpacker describes a 50-foot-deep chasm with a natural bridge along this stretch. Milwaukee Magazine suggests the end of the overlooks as a turnaround for day hikers, a 4.8-mile round trip.

Section Three runs 3.8 miles through hardwood and cedar forest to Mainland Campsite 1. About a mile before camp, the trail splits: left goes to Lunch Beach and right continues to the campsite. Backpacker, which put the campsite at about mile 5.3, describes it as a bluff-side site with bear boxes and fir trees that break the wind, where you can hear the waves. The route back is the same way.

The trail can be hiked in winter, but the NPS says it may be snow-packed, icy, or deep in snow, and it does not recommend cross-country skiing. The park closes the Meyers Beach area during extreme cold and keeps the ice caves closed whenever the lake ice is unsafe. WISN reported that the park expected to open the ice caves on Feb. 16, 2026, “for the first time since 2015,” and news reports dated Feb. 17 said a winter storm had closed them.

For an island overnight with a short hike, see Stockton Island. The nearest Lake Superior backpacking across the Michigan line is in the Porcupine Mountains, on the Lake Superior Trail.

Tips

Reserve the campsite on Recreation.gov; the NPS says reservations open 30 days before the start of your trip.
Park only at Meyers Beach. The parking pass is separate from the camping permit, per the NPS and Recreation.gov.
Stay back from the edges. The NPS recommends at least one body-length.
Carry water and a way to treat it; Backpacker notes some streams dry up by late summer.
Use the food locker at camp.

Camping

Camping on the mainland is by reservation only through Recreation.gov (or by calling the Bayfield headquarters at 715-779-3398, option 2). The NPS says individual sites take parties of one to seven people, and Recreation.gov lists Mainland Campsite 1 for up to seven people, with 11 a.m. check-in and checkout, pets allowed, and campfires allowed. The NPS says each mainland site holds up to three tents and lists a picnic table, fire ring, food locker, tent pad, and stump privy, and no water. The NPS camping page notes, “Remember that you are in bear country.”

Inside Intel: Backpacker’s 2013 guide says the bluff-top site “provides a good night’s sleep,” with fir trees blocking the wind and the sound of waves below. No more recent camper accounts recommending a specific site were found.

Trail facts

Distance: About 12 miles round trip (6 miles each way per the NPS; Backpacker gives 10.6)
Route type: Out-and-back
Difficulty: Moderate
Campsites: Mainland Campsite 1, about 6 miles in; the NPS lists two more mainland sites about 1 mile from the trailhead
Water: None at camp; seasonal streams; treat
Permits: Required; reserve on Recreation.gov
Food storage: Food locker at the site
Dogs: Allowed at Mainland Campsite 1 (Recreation.gov)
Trailhead: Meyers Beach, off Highway 13 (45-foot maximum vehicle length)
Last verified: October 12, 2026

The Lowdown

Supper above the sea caves:

Mainland Campsite 1 has a food locker but no water, so whatever you cook has to be carried 6 miles in along with the water to make it. See which trail meals reviewers rate for flavor and weight.

See the picks →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.