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Lighthouse and Apple Festivals in Bayfield, WisconsinStory by Ann Hattes
The annual Apostle Islands Lighthouse Celebration is in September, and one of the most popular apple festivals in the nation, the fun filled Bayfield Apple Festival, is the first weekend in October. Finding appropriate lodging isn’t difficult because Bayfield is filled with award-winning B & Bs and critically acclaimed inns.
Bayfield is worth a visit even when there isn’t a festival going on. Throughout the year this town of about 700 population offers boutique shopping, museums, golf, historic walking tours, art studios and galleries, and an assortment of excellent dining opportunities. A “must try” is sampling whitefish livers, the local delicacy. I usually don’t eat liver, but I must admit this is a very special dish. If you’re really brave, take a ghost tour. Virginia Hirsch, educator, storyteller and professional speaker, leads visitors on Ghost Walks early evenings, June through September.
Hirsch researches her tales from newspapers of earlier times and from taped recollections of elder residents. In sharing these tales of odd characters and strange happenings, she keeps visitors entertained and entranced. We learn of love, hardship, old fashioned fun and frontier justice in the Bayfield of bygone days. Many cities around the country have walking tours, but finding one in a small town of this size amazed me and left me pondering whether the ghosts of founding fathers still keep watch over this tiny community. These family oriented walks make a great way to get exercise and a dose of history at the same time.
With all the family together enjoy autumn’s beauty in one of Wisconsin’s most charming small towns, off-the-beaten-path Bayfield. Lighthouse Celebration: 800-779-4487; www.lighthousecelebration.com Bayfield Ghost Tours: www.bayfieldheritagetours.com; June – Sept.: 715-779-0299; October – May: 414-447-613 Reservations are required – for your secret meeting place and password! $10 for ages 13 and older; $6 for children ages 7 – 12; free, age 6 and under. Bayfield Apple Festival: 800-447-4094; www.bayfield.org Wisconsin Dept. of Tourism: 800-432-TRIP; www.visitwisconsin.com Photo Credits
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JustSayGO Travel Show
Bayfield on Lake Superior is the gateway to the
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, home to the largest collection
of 19 th. century lighthouses in the US. Fall, with its color season
and orchard harvests, is a truly special time in this little town
with no stoplights and no fast food chains. A few years ago Chicago
Tribune travel writer Alan Solomon titled Bayfield “The Best Little Town in the Midwest.” The
August 2004 issue of Bon Appetit Magazine continues the accolades.
On special narrated cruises of the waters of the
Apostle Islands I enjoyed picturesque views of fall color splendor
combined with the history, mystery and romance of the area’s
seven lighthouses including those on Raspberry and Devil’s
Island. As an alternative to a cruise tour, some visitors sail with
the wind on a captained ship while others kayak past the sea caves.
During special Keeper’s
Dinners listen to tales of the past, of the hardiness and self-sufficiency
of the men and women who kept the lights burning for mariners on Lake
Superior’s turbulent waters. Today the life-saving beams are
all automatic.
With candle lanterns in hand, I and other ghost seekers followed Miss
Maude (Virginia Hirsch) through the dark streets past Bayfield homes
and landmarks, many of them listed on the National Historic Register.
Along the way we learned of Native American legends of ice monsters,
of nails flying through the air, of faces in windows and mysterious
footsteps. 
During the three days of Bayfield’s annual Apple Fest orchard
owners, artists, musicians, crafters and food vendors line the historic
streets of this quiet fishing village. You’ll find many varieties
of apples – Cortland, Gala, Jonafree, Liberty, and Priscilla,
for example, prepared in delicious styles. There are caramel apples,
apple pies, apple tortes, apple tarts, apple sundaes, apple dumplings,
and even apple bratwurst and apple chili. Taste fresh apple cider too
and pick your own apples. Contestants even gather to try their hands
at the apple peeling contest. When I heard a recent winner peeled a
continuous strip 387 inches long, I knew I didn’t have a chance!
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