FioreBird's Travel Series: MADELINE ISLAND, Part II

Fiore’s Travel Series: Madeline Island, Part II
Madeline Island, Lake Superior – United States

Yesterday, I wrote at length about Madeline Island and the Winter Island experience ... NOT what you typically think about when you think of islands, right? Even though, winter can be harsh here, it still is a beautiful place for people to visit... especially if you like the snow and the smell of the fresh wintry pines that are abundant in the area... So let's forget about winter for now, and talk about summer. Might be hard to do for some who actually live near this area or live in the snow, but come on... take an imaginary ride with me.

If you just happen to want to see the Island in the Winter, and haven't already seen Part I of MADELINE ISLAND, now's your time... click the following link: https://steemit.com/travel/@fiorebird/fiorebird-s-travel-series-madeline-island.

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SUMMER ON MADELINE ISLAND
In the summer at Madeline, there are more people, and tourists, and all the businesses and shops are booming. There are locals and tourists hanging around, and lots of quiet somewhat private local beach areas to venture to.

Here’s Big Bay Town Park, where we decided to venture to their public beach line one of the days we were vacationing. I highly recommend visiting. They also have private campsites for the traveler who likes to tent it in the woods. Check out the park and camping rate here: http://www.bigbaytownpark.com/. The water all over the island is remarkably clear... and people say clear water is best for the spear fishing. Up for spear fishing anyone?

[Big Bay Town Park, Waters of Madeline Island]

**Please note all photos and information are created by me unless otherwise linked/noted.

Even though there are more people around the island in the summer, it's still very peaceful, and it never really felt crowded. The people are very kind and chill on the island, and everything just seems to move at a much slower pace.

[Bayfield, Wisconsin - The Ferry Port to Madeline Island]

[Joni's Beach, Madeline Island - Image of sign on the beach.]
-Note the Ojibwe Native language on the sign.

[Madeline Island, Lake Superior Bay]

...When winter isn't a thing, the ferry is available to trek back and forth to the island and mainland. You can take your bike/car on, and it costs $14.00 round trip, https://madferry.com/ferry-rates. There are many places to camp/tent it and many hotels and condos in the area.

[Bayfield, Wisconsin - The Ferry Port to Madeline Island]

[Madeline Island Ferry]

The best time of year to really go to Madeline Island [especially if you're not really into winter] is in the summer months, with the best months to go in July/August.

NOTEWORTHY PLACES TO CHECK OUT:
There are many cool gift shops, and bar/grill areas to explore on the island. If your looking to liven your stay here, and to enjoy a few adult beverages, make sure to check out Tom’s Burnt Down Bar... It is only open during the summer, and looks like a big tent overhanging a deck with lots of art around it.

Tom's Burnt Down Bar ...Well the bar really did burn down, and the owner's embraced the burnt down cafe/bar as it stands today. There are a lot of quirky signs in this bar and it’s all outdoors a few blocks from the lake. Come back tomorrow for a special post noted just for the owner Tom and his burnt down bar/cafe. I will feature the quirky signs I talk about separate to this post in more detail, along with some of the islands history

[Tom's Burnt Down Bar, Madeline Island]

OH! You have to also stop into the The Beach Club to have a quick bite to eat too. This place had some of the best locally featured Lake Superior whitefish soup... AND the Lake Superior whitefish tacos were absolutely delicious here... An absolute MUST try!

When we visited, we decided on staying at some private condos booked through The Inn on Lake Superior. Our condo was separate from the Main Inn, tucked away in the deep pines of the island. The Main Inn is right on the beach line of Lake Superior located in the tiny island town, and as a guest of the inn you are allowed to use all their main inn outdoor facilities on the lake. It may be a little pricey for just one or two people; however I am sure you can detail it to your needs with the amount of guests. We split the cost of the condo between eight women, so it made it affordable for us all. It was only $90-100 per person as opposed to the total bill near $900-1000 for a four-bed condo with a living room and kitchen for five day and four nights. It was well worth the money doing it that way... and the view of the sunsets spectacular... And plus, we didn't have to tent it, which was cool for when your bones just can't handle tent camping anymore...

[Private Condos - rented from the Inn on Lake Superior]

[The Condo View a.k.a "Our View from the Hot Tub" - Madeline Island]

Check out the Inn's website for reservation information and if nothing else, the beautiful view of Lake Superior from the Island, https://www.madisland.com/.

Our private condo included a semi private hot tub outside on the deck... with no one there to kick us out after 10p.m. and only two other condos nearby. Those guests also had access to the hot tub too, but no one seemed to use it much while we were there. No one was really there to supervise anything at all. I'm sure if we were trouble makers though, one of our neighbors in the other condos would have heard us, or would have complained... Also, there were no rules posted about when to not use/use the hot tub on our deck... so we used it after 10p.m. a few of those cool summer 60/70 F ° nights… need I say more? Sounds pretty nice, huh?

Come back tomorrow for the final part of this feature on Madeline Island, Part 3. In this post, I will feature the local Tom's Burnt Down Bar and the Ojibwe Native history noteworthy to Madeline Island.

TO CATCH UP ON THE SERIES ...

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FioreBird's Travel Series
POST 1 - Oregon:
https://steemit.com/travelpine/@fiorebird/fiorebird-s-travel-series-oregon
POST 2 - Madeline Island, Part I:
https://steemit.com/travel/@fiorebird/fiorebird-s-travel-series-madeline-island

...On a really random side note... The first post won first place in the recent travelpine contest. Our @kpine Steemit neighbor hosted it. The post was the very first part of my FioreBird Travel series, and all about Oregon, located in the United States. If you like trees, check it out.

Until next time my friends....

Coming Soon:
Madeline Island in the Summer - PART III
Pasadena, California
The Grand Canyon, Arizona
Duluth/Superior, Wisconsin Point, The North Shore
The Blue Dragonfly Inn - Cimarron, New Mexico
Totagatac Flowage - Minong, Wisconsin
Sliding Rock National Park - Sedona, Arizona
Long Beach, California
Venice, California
Santa Monica, California
Cozumel, Mexico

P. S. Don't forget to follow my account if you're interested in seeing more travel tips, and/or art, and photography series @fiorebird.