Yesterday, I squeezed in a fun little beach ride at Wisconsin Point on a visit to Superior, WI. I had ridden this beach in the past, but it had been long enough ago that RWGPS no longer had my heatmap tracks. The beach is only 3.5 miles long, but it is scattered with interesting sun-bleached driftwood obstacles. As an out-and-back, it makes for a nice 8-mile ride.
Lake Superior is non-tidal, but depending on conditions, “seiches” cause the width of the beach to vary from narrow to 100 ft wide. Seiches are the primary reason for water level changes in Lake Superior, and are a kind of “sloshing” movement of the lake water back and forth due to wind or changes in atmospheric pressure.
Wisconsin Point is a natural, narrow sand spit located in Superior, Wisconsin, extending into Lake Superior. It is part of the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve. The point, along with Minnesota Point (also called Park Point) on the Duluth side, forms one of the world’s longest freshwater bay-mouth sandbars.
Together, the two sand spits form the “Superior Entry,” which refers to the natural waterway connecting Lake Superior to Superior Bay and ultimately the St. Louis River. This entry point is crucial for maritime traffic, allowing large freighters (Lakers) to access the Duluth-Superior harbor.
There are plenty of places to park on Wisconsin Point. I started my ride from the southern-most (eastern) part of the route near Schafer Beach and rode up to the other end by the Superior Entry Lighthouse. The lighthouse began operation in 1913 and it stands 55.7 feet (17m) tall. The interior of the lighthouse is closed to the public, but you can scramble over the rocky breakwater out to the grounds around the lighthouse. The breakwater is made up of rock rip rap boulders in the middle of a concrete walkway.
This lighthouse offers a fantastic place for ship watching, but there were no lakers entering or leaving the harbor on my last visit. People also visit Wisconsin Point to collect stones, bird watch and just hang on the beach and swim.
Bark Point Beach will be my next sand ride along the South Shore. I’ll try to get there before sunrise next time to make for more dramatic photos.
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