Washburn, North Live Cam

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Surrounded by the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest

Thompson's West End Park - 45 campsites, boat launch, fishing pier, dump stations, artesian well, electric hook-ups, handicapped bathrooms, showers, sandy beach, picnic tables, pavilion and playground.

Memorial Park - 48 campsites, overlooks Lake Superior among towering pines. Showers, sandy beach, picnic tables, electric hook-ups, pavilion, playground and cable television hook-ups.

Snowmobiling - Snowmobile over 600 miles of groomed trails and over 1,000 miles of forest roads. The trail system was ranked second in the nation by a major snowmobile publication.

Snowshoeing - Beautiful trails in the Chequamegon National Forest and along Lake Superior.

Mt. Valhalla Recreation Area - Located northwest of Washburn on County C. Snowmobile, cross-country ski, snowshoe, slide or just relax in the chalet with indoor fire pit. When the snow melts - ATV, mountain bike, horseback ride or hike the Chequamegon National Forest trails and forest roads.

Bayfield County Big Rock Park - Located three miles northwest of Washburn via County C and Town Road on the Sioux River. Camp, watch the trout and salmon run upstream.

Fishing - Right in Washburn's back yard on Lake Superior's Chequamegon Bay, fishermen will find a bountiful supply of many species all year. Enjoy excellent coho, chinook and splake fishing on the 'Big Lake' either by boat or from our piers in the spring and summer. In the fall, find plentiful steelhead, brown trout, coho, chinook and splake in the protected waters of Chequamegon Bay. Winter brings ice fishing when our bay freezes across. Must have a valid State of Wisconsin fishing license.

The Biggest Apple Festival in Wisconsin

Our Apple Festival is known as the largest and has been voted the BEST in Wisconsin. Attracting more than 50,000 visitors, it offers nearly as many variations on the apple! Names you may hear include: Wolf River, Beacon, Duchess, Cortland, Wealthy, McIntosh, Firesides, Macoun, Dudleys (the original Knight apple), Hume, and more!

And then, there's the list of what we turn apples into: pies, apple butter, apple jam, cider, turnovers, jam, jelly, fritters, ice cream topping, apple crisp, carameled apples, apple mustard and apple bratwurst... to name a few. You will find your favorite at one of the food booths strung along the streets during the first October weekend.

Once you've located and sampled your favorite foods, you'll want to review the art booths and enjoy the grandstand show. Big Top Chautauqua performers and street entertainers bring their musical skills to Bayfield during this fun filled weekend. 1996 saw Peruvian street music and mimes. Families enjoy strolling the classic American carnival or bringing kids to the petting zoo.

Tons of Talent

Bayfield hosts over forty artists for an incredible art display and sale at the lakefront Festival of Arts. Held every fourth weekend in July, Bayfield's Festival of Arts attracts artists from Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. Artwork includes paintings, pottery, glasswork, jewelry, woodworking and photography. The Festival includes live music and a children's art corner.

The beauty of the Bayfield Peninsula is an irresistible force which has attracted artists and performers from all disciplines. Fortunately, many of these talented people have made their permanent home here. Visits to Bayfield galleries add a new dimension to window shopping as you can see demonstrations and displays of creative work, some which uses indigenous materials such as wool, stone and wood and many using northern motifs in their expressions. You can appreciate or purchase artwork here that is not available in any other place.

Fish Are Biting - No trip would be complete without landing fresh lake trout. Nothing relaxes like an afternoon spent trolling for lake trout and salmon. Fishing is one of the most popular sports on the lake. If you don't have your own boat, charter services are available. Get your license at the DNR, the Pier Restaraunt, or the Outfitters store.

Inland Sea Symposium - In June, the Inland Sea Symposium draws hundreds of visitors to Bayfield. The Symposium offers classes on techniques for kayakers of all levels, including beginners, and special family programs and tours. The range of topics has included navigation, holistic first aid for muscles, food preparation and ecology. Paddling, food, fun, races and music are all ingredients of this event.

Bayfield Race Week - At the beginning of July, the Apostle Islands Yacht Club's annual Race Week draws sailors from across the midwest. It is an open regatta where sailors can race against some serious competition. Race Week is kicked off by the Around the Islands Race, a 60 mile sail around the perimeter of the islands. Many races start and finish off the City Dock, providing visitors with a rare chance to watch colorful spinnakers power sleek sailboats around the islands and throughout the bays. Race Week is five days of countless fun and serious sailing.

To The Islands - For island access, contact the Apostle Islands Cruise Service which will tour you on the Island Princess for cruises or camper shuttles. Also, rentals are available for sailboats and thousands of people have discovered the joys of sailing and exploring the Islands here. Charter fleets offer learn-to-sail and bare-boat certification. Boats launch during April and May with the last few boats reluctantly put away as late as November. In the Bayfield area you will find captained charters, schooner trips, marinas, sail & boat repair and a US Coast Guard Station.

Boat Festival - From the time that Bayfield was first settled, the lake has been a primary source of its economy. At first it was a vital transportation route, a busy highway into a growing community. Later, as railroads and highways grew, the lake supported Bayfield with a thriving commercial fishing industry. Now, the old fish tugs are outnumbered by sleek pleasure craft. But it's easy to imagine Bayfield in the 1850's, with schooners tied along the Booth dock and steamships delivering passengers.

In keeping with this heritage, boat builders and enthusiasts, professionals and amateurs, converge at the annual Bayfield Wooden Boat Rendezvous scheduled this year. You may visit with builders of canoes or kayaks or admire the graceful lines of a Herreshoff designed sloop or ketch. One can also view classic runabouts, fine rowing craft and a launch or two. A nautical flea market was recently added to the event and is a great success. The Rendezvous offers a chance to share ideas and have some fun too! Join us at the City Dock.

Our restaurants have been included on Milwaukee Journal's ten best list, and written up in The New York Times. Discover recipes, secret sauces, fish chowders, blueberry pancakes and fresh fruit pies. Cuisine varies from home cooking (better than Grandma!) to gourmet, based on Bayfield's harvests of fresh berries, fish and apples. Come Enjoy!

Celebrate Taste - Numerous events celebrate food and drink: Chequamegon Chef's Exhibition in June; the Rittenhouse Wassail Dinners in December, Wine Tasting at the Clubhouse in June; Red Cliff's July Pow Wow; and fish boils throughout the season. Apple Fest offers cider and pie contests where you can sample the very best!

Farmer's Market - Each Saturday in the summer from 9 am to noon, find the Farmer's Market open in what is usually Maggie's parking lot at the corner of 3rd and Manypenny. Find fresh herbs, vegetables and flowers here.

Fruit Seasons - Due to the lake effect, farmers enjoy a long growing season. This makes it possible to grow diverse fruits such as raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, pears and of course, apples! Our farms welcome visitors to pick their own fruit or stop by for a fresh pint of berries, preserves, fresh cut of dried flowers. Look for Strawberries; late June to early July, Raspberries; mid to late July, Blueberries & Cherries; late July to August, Apples & some Raspberries; late August to September,Pears; late September.

Are you looking for a cozy porch where you can relax and read a good book? We have it. We also have romantic hideaways, family-size condos complete with washer and dryer, or rustic cabins for a reflective retreat. This is what our visitors find - a Superior experience which renews the people near it.

Bayfield and Madeline Island have attracted visitors since the 1800's. Arriving by train or steamboat, they found a town and islands filled with lumbermills, sandstone quarries, and commerical fishing. Over the years, Bayfield has hosted the famous and not-so-famous. In the 1920's, President Coolidge made a side trip from his summer residence on the Brule River. In 1995, John Kennedy Jr. kayaked here and slept at the First Street Inn. And just last summer, Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt caught a lake trout while trolling with Roberta's Charters.

Not everyone loved Bayfield, however. Frederick Prentice, an industry baron who first quarried brownstone on Basswood Island in 1868, built an elaborate cedar-sided lodge on Hermit Island for his 19-year-old bride. She arrived from New York, took one look and returned to her eastern home!

Victorian architecture is one of many charms attracting visitors to these shore. Numerous historic homes have been converted to bed and breakfast inns which have a special appeal to the modern, busy visitor, who is often searching for the peace and quiet of yesterday. Grand old homes in Bayfield are often know by the name of the original owner or a longtime occupant. For example, the Kranzfelder home, with its lovely curving porch (36 N 2nd St) was lived in by John Kranzfelder, a butcher who came from Germany in 1895. Le Chateau Boutin passed through many hands including use as a convent but retained the original Boutin name. The 1885 Theodore Ernst house combined Queen Anne and French Second Empire influences. Additions to the back allowed Ernst to reach the cow barn and carpentry shop without going outside. Recently purchased by Edith and Gene Brevold, it is located off Rittenhouse at 17 North 4th Street.

The view from Bayfield is dominated by island jewels known as the Apostles. A 19th century visitor described the area, "It looks like a fairy tale scene. Everything about it is enchantment." The U.S. government was sufficiently enchanted to establish the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in 1970 with 21 forested islands and 12 miles of pristine shoreline. The Apostle Islands possess more lighthouses than any other coastline in the United States and are home to black bear, bald eagles and deer. Harold Maki, a local logger, comments, "If these hadn't been made public lands, you wouldn't be able to land a boat at any of the islands today."

Miles of sandy, forested and rocky lakeshore, trout streams, campgrounds and acres of forest, make the Apostles a favorite destination for walkers, sailors, kayakers, boaters and bikers. Lakeshore headquarters are in an imposing Bayfield brownstone, originally built as the courthouse. A visit here will introduce you to camping, fishing, lake access, cruises, hiking trails, and the rich history of the islands. Scuba divers register with the National Park Service and back country campers can obtain permits here. Winter visitors interested in the ice caves can inquire about ice conditions at the Park Service. Guided walks to the caves may also be planned. Guests may enjoy a video orientation and see a famous Fresnel lighthouse lens rotating in the drama of a darkened theatre. The Lakeshore Visitor Center is open 8 am to 5 pm daily during the summer. Winter hours are Monday - Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm.

Winter Activities

Winter is an active season here. Snow heralds the opening of Mt. Ashwabay Ski Area, home to downhill and cross-country skiing. Cross-country skiers can access trails on public lands plus those originating at Mt Ashwabay. Snowshoes can be rented in Bayfield at Apostle Islands Outfitters and ski equipment at Mt. Ashwabay.

As the Lake freezes, ice fishing begins and picturesque tent cities appear. Closer to shore, ice stock car races compete on Sunday afternoons. Snowmobilers enjoy the quality of trails and use Bayfield as a starting point for exploring county trails. The Chamber of Commerce will provide you with city and county snowmobile maps. Or check out the Ashland/Bayfield County Snowmobile report.

The ice caves at Squaw Bay can be accessed during the winter by taking Meyers Road just east of Cornucopia to the lake. The water freezes into a beautiful display of "icework" that is simply beyond description. A true vision of crystal wonder. Make sure to bring your camera! Or, try this: you can ski, camp and dogsled all at once and experience the solitude of an arctic night here in the midwest. First time dogsled mushers come here to learn the craft from experienced area sledders.

Winter lodging is reasonably priced. We suggest skiing or snowshoeing combined with shopping or one of our unique community events. With holiday lights twinkling on a snowy night, Bayfield offers the winter traveler cozy lodging and dining and the same warm welcome that brings visitors here each summer.