Wisconsin’s Ice Caves
Most of the Midwest can agree that this winter has been one of the harshest in recent memory; however, magical things happen when temperatures barely climb above zero. In one of the most northern points of Wisconsin there lies a small wintertime treasure hidden among the Apostle Islands. Due to the aggressive waves of Lake Superior (over thousands of years), this small cluster of islands has been battered to the point that cool sea caves have formed on most the islands, and in the bitter cold winter they become magical ice palaces. This is the first winter since 2009 the caves have been accessible in winter, and photos of them caught the attention of state and national media throughout January.
Chippewa Falls photographer Tony Liedl managed to capture much of the beauty these caves have to offer. “I remember hearing about the Apostle Islands ice caves a few years back … but this was like a fairy tale or even Superman’s fortress of solitude,” Liedl explained in an email. “I highly recommend a trip up to the Apostle Island ice caves.” Liedl posted his pictures to a Facebook album – check it out.
**UPDATE**
Local photographer and virtual tour pro Jonathan Leuthe just took some amazing virtual tours of the ice caves. If you can't visit, this is definitely the next best thing:
BONUS: If you're on an iPad you can tilt it around in space using the augmented reality feature.
