2015 Apostle Islands Ice Caves Update: Ice Not Safe For Visitors Yet

A little earlier this winter, it was announced that there was a chance ice conditions might develop again to allow visitors to access the Apostle Islands Ice Caves. Here's the latest information on ice conditions.

---UPDATE 1/19 6:30 PM---

Officials at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore posted the photo below to their Facebook page, showing extreme wind damage to the ice from over the weekend. While this doesn't completely rule out the chances of ice reforming for visitors to make the trek out the the caves, a lot of calm and very cold weather would need to set in for a significant amount of time.

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As of January 15, park rangers say the ice is too thin to allow visitors to safely visit the caves. There are also reportedly holes and open spots along the shoreline where visitors would walk to access the caves. While conditions currently aren't safe, that doesn't mean they won't develop yet this season.

In years the caves are open to the public, they traditionally open toward the end of January or into February. If we get another burst of cold to return temperatures to where they need to be to develop ice along the shoreline, it wouldn't be out of the question to see the caves open again this year.

If the caves do open again this winter for visitors, it is worth noting that there will be a new visitor fee charged. You can learn more about the fees here. To receive up to the minute updates on ice conditions and whether or not the caves are open to the public, you can call the Ice Line at (715) 779-3397. Below is one of the most recent pictures of the ice conditions from the lakeshore.