Meyers Beach Sea Caves

The cliffs here are made of sandstone laid down long ago, a rock soft enough for water to work but firm enough to hold an overhang. Over ages, the relentless waves of Lake Superior have pried apart weaknesses in the stone, opening cracks into caves and caves into arches, and staining the rock the deep reds and browns that give the shoreline its color.

The result is a coastline of pillars, sea arches, and cathedral-like chambers, all at the mercy of the largest freshwater lake in the world. The same water that carved them keeps reshaping them, so the caves are never quite the same from one decade to the next.

The Lake Superior shore and the Apostle Islands lie within the homeland of the Ojibwe, also known as the Anishinaabe, whose communities remain deeply rooted in this region. The Red Cliff and Bad River bands live along and near this coast today, and Madeline Island, just offshore, holds a place of profound importance in Ojibwe history and belief.

For the Ojibwe this is not scenery but home, a place woven into stories, seasons, and ways of life that continue in the present. Visitors to the sea caves are travelers along a shore that has been cared for and understood by Native people for a very long time, and that connection is part of what makes the coast meaningful.

In the warm months the caves are best seen from the water, and sea kayaking here is one of the classic adventures of the Great Lakes. Paddlers slip beneath arches and into narrow chambers where the swell surges and the light turns green, close enough to touch the sculpted stone overhead.

It is also a serious undertaking. Lake Superior is cold enough to be dangerous year-round, and its weather can turn from calm to punishing with little warning. Sea conditions matter more than anything else, which is why many visitors go out with experienced guides, and why a clifftop hike is the wiser choice when the lake is up.

In the coldest winters, when Lake Superior freezes solid along the shore, the sea caves transform into one of the region's rare natural wonders. Water seeping through the cliffs freezes into hanging icicles, frozen curtains, and glassy formations, and people walk out across the lake ice to wander among them on foot.

This only happens when the ice is thick and safe, and that is far from every year, so the ice caves have become something people wait years for and rush to see when they open. It is essential to heed the Park Service, since lake ice can be treacherous, and no formation is worth stepping onto ice that has not been confirmed safe.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.