Raspberry Island Keeper's Tour

Bayfield

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City Dock
Bayfield, WI 54814
800-323-7619
715-779-3925

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Toddlers & Pre-K

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Pre-Teens & Teens

Raspberry Island Keeper's Tour Description

Sit above deck and watch the bustle on the docks until a rumbling noise signals the start of the engines and... you're off! Kids' eyes go wide with wonder as they head out on the open water of Lake Superior, wind in their hair, seagulls cawing, and the sun lighting up the triangular white sails of other boats on the iridescent lake. The lighthouse tour, led by an engaging ranger who's apt to sing a lighthouse ballad, is both educational and fascinating. Kids love looking out from the lighthouse on Raspberry Island and seeing bald eagles soaring overhead. It's so enchanting to the whole family, it's worth the splurge.

Kid Tips

Toddlers & Pre-K: Preschoolers will enjoy everything about this tour, including Ranger Jim Stowell's bass rendition of Edgar Guest's "Lighthouse Keepers Blues" (that's right, he sings it for you) and the steep spiral climb up to the top of the lighthouse.

School-Age Kids: Kids who have read "Little House in the Big Woods" will be especially intrigued by the 19th-century house and all its period artifacts.

Pre-Teens & Teens: Don't miss the hike to the beach, though you may not have as much time to enjoy the sand, sun, and water as you'd like (the boat will leave without you if you don't get back).

Planning Notes

Bring a sweater or light jacket. It's colder out on the water.

Bring water. You'll spend 2.5 hours on the island, and all that lighthouse viewing will make you thirsty (bringing snacks is a good idea, too). The only concessions available are those sold on the boat.

Get to the dock early. The boats board 30 minutes before departure.

Be ready for park fees. Bring $3 in cash per person, or $8 per family, to pay the park fee for visiting the lighthouse.

Take a walk through old growth. Raspberry Island was never commercially logged, which means visitors hike through old growth forest as it was in northern Wisconsin more than 100 years ago. Thick with the pleasing smells of thimble berries, blue-bead lilies, and wild blackberries, the trail winds past yellow birch and cedar trees down to a sand spit and pristine water. Follow the well-marked path that starts at the lighthouse.

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