City Spotlight: Madeline Island, Wisconsin

Happy Wednesday and welcome to the first week of Weekly Wanderlust: City Spotlights! To kick off this new series, I'm going to take a look at Madeline Island, Wisconsin. In the spirit of full disclosure, there are actually several cities located on Madeline Island, but the area in itself was so great that I want to feature it immediately! Madeline Island is one of the lesser-known gems of the Midwest, and I was fortunate enough to visit Madeline Island for my first- and definitely not my last - time just a few weeks ago. Without further ado, here is the spotlight on this beautiful island!

Location: Madeline Island is the largest of the 22 Apostle Islands of Lake Superior. Currently, Madeline Island is the only Apostle Island open for commercial development and private ownership. Towns on the island include La Pointe, Middleport, and Old Fort.

Population: A mere 246 permanent residents! Madeline Island is a terrific destination for weekend getaways and cabin time, so much of the 'population' you will see at Madeline Island are temporary visitors.

How to get here: Madeline Island can be reached by taking a ferry from Bayfield, Wisconsin. During peak hours, ferries will run every 30 minutes to the island. You can either purchase tickets as a solo passenger on foot, or you can purchase a ticket to bring your car over to the island as well.

my first ever Paddle Boarding experience!

Where to stay: Tourism is Madeline Island's largest industry, and as such there are tons of great places to stay! You can opt to stay in a motel, a private residence rented out through sites such as Airbnb, or camping at Big Bay State Park.

Fun facts: La Pointe was voted one of the coolest small towns in America in 2011 by Budget Travel Magazine!

What to do: Madeline Island is the perfect destination for a Midwestern weekend getaway! With tourism being the main industry, there are tons of great activities for people of all ages to do. In my short time on the island, I was able to experience paddle boarding for my first time, visit Big Bay State Park and go cliff jumping, lounge at the beach, and enjoy swimming in the (albeit cold!) waters of Lake Superior. Other activities available include kayak and bike rentals, sailboating, hiking, fishing charters, and much more! My personal favorite activity was cliff jumping into the lake!

Have you ever been to Madeline Island? What do you look for when you are booking weekend getaways in the summertime?