It is one of the most remote areas on God’s paved earth. No motors are allowed and nothing man-made can be built within its pristine borders. The adventures are almost limitless in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Your days can be filled shooting rapids, hiking through virgin forest to thundering waterfalls or snagging bass and walleye from remote lakes almost as fast as you can cast and reel. You may see moose and black bear amid the wild scenery. And at night, you drift off to the serenade of wolf songs, waking each morning to plunge from a bluff into cool crystal water.
Great adventures can be found canoe camping on the sand-banked splendor of the Wisconsin River or at dizzying heights above a Michigan beach town. They can be had swimming through the wreckage of sunken ships fathoms deep in Lake Superior or blazing through the Cheqaumegon National Forest on a mountain bike. Adventure is found on the uninhabited Apostle Islands and in constricted caves far below an unassuming landscape. You can reach adventure on horseback in the wilderness or on foot climbing a towering rock formation.
Adventure is about risking misadventure. Without gambling some inconvenience, it can’t happen. Of course, risk tolerance is different for everyone. For some, adventure is bushwhacking for months with dysentery through a snake-infested Congolese jungle; for others, it’s the drive-through at Wong’s Wok. For most of us, the appropriate level of adventure is found somewhere in between. We scoped out Wisconsin and some nearby Midwestern areas for just that and found wonderful places for adventure. Sometimes the nearest vacation spots can turn delightfully thrilling in a flash.
Wreck Diving
Very few undertakings tempt our dare-devil instincts like wreck diving. Our impulses for adventure – to go farther, to understand, to overcome limitations – collide with our most basic urges: to breathe and flee from signs of danger.
The Great Lakes have claimed hundreds of vessels, but few places in the world are littered with as many shipwrecks as Lake Superior’s Alger Underwater Preserve. The area, located off the coast of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula near Munising, boasts seven major wreck sites preserved below its chilly waters.
For your first dive, try the Bermuda, a 150-foot wooden schooner that went down in 1870. The Bermuda’s top deck lies just 12 feet below the surface, making it perfect for novice divers. More advanced divers can head deeper to follow the wreck’s interpretive trail, which points out important features, including hatches that allow penetration into a cargo hold.
While most of the wrecks here met their end in fires, storms and collisions, the Steven M. Selvick was sent to its watery grave on purpose. The 71-foot tug was sunk in 1996 as an additional dive site. Resting in 70 feet of water, the Selvick is a thrilling dive for intermediates.
The Smith Moore, a 260-foot steamer, was fatally wounded in a foggy collision in 1889. At 90 feet, the wreck is the deepest of the Alger wrecks and is recommended only for more advanced divers. Dive trips typically include dives on two sites per day ($70).
If you prefer to stay topside, take a narrated glass-bottom boat tour of the wrecks ($27 adults; $11 kids 5-12; free for children 5 and under). But considering the area’s track record, a boat tour might be riskier than the diving. We’re kidding, of course… gulp.
Outfitters offering diving and glass-bottom boat tours:
Fun Time Charters: www.funtimecharters.com; 906-387-4477
Shipwreck Tours Inc: www.shipwrecktours.com; 906-387-1720
Area information: Munising Visitors Bureau: www.munising.org;
Munising.Com: www.munising.com; 906-251-8147
Mountain Biking
Despite our glaring lack of mountains, we Midwesterners have carved out some fairly sweet mountain biking terrain, the best of it being right here in northern Wisconsin. The Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association (CAMBA) trails located near Cable are unrivaled in scale and variation. The area boasts more than 300 miles of marked and mapped routes weaving through approximately 1,600 square miles of boreal forest. The bike terrain is divided into six trail clusters ranging in length from 40 to 100 miles and varying in difficulty from leisurely, fat, gravel roads to punishing switchback and obstacle-happy single tracks.
Bikers come from all over the world to compete in the area’s annual race events, including the ginormous Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival (September 15-17), one of the biggest mountain biking events in the world. Between such events, the enormity of this place allows you to almost always find private dirt. Camping is allowed anywhere in the Chequamegon National Forest, so peddle till you can’t anymore and stay where you lay. For a bit more luxury, bunk up at Spider Lake Lodge, a renovated 1929 Adirondack-style retreat turned bed-and-breakfast that stylishly caters to adventure seekers. Bike all day, then head back to the lodge for a little leisurely fishing. Shovel down a gourmet breakfast in the morning and then do it all over again.
Area information:
CAMBA: www.cambatrails.com; 800-533-7454
Spider Lake Lodge: www.spiderlakelodge.com; 715-462-3793
Kayaking
With short, open-water crossings, sheltered inlets and camping on desolate beaches, Wisconsin’s Apostle Islands National Lakeshore offers some of the best sea kayaking this side of the sea. Scratch that. The Apostle Islands offer some of the best paddling anywhere. Boaters come from far and wide to explore the park’s cave-riddled mainland coast and 22 islands. While Lake Superior can get ornery, to say the least, the paddle from the mainland to the nearest unpopulated Apostles (Basswood and Sand) is just over a mile away and manageable for even the greenest kayaker. Never done it before? Bayfield outfitter Trek & Trail rents equipment to novices but requires a three-hour course covering boat handling, navigation, forecasting and rescue techniques. After you’ve been schooled, you’re free to rent one- and two-person kayaks (three days, $90-$175) and head off to wherever. Pick an island and set up base camp, then spend your days exploring the interiors and flooded caves of the nearby Apostles or switch islands every night. Sixteen of the islands have been designated for wilderness camping, which allows you to choose your own digs. Other islands have designated campsites. Reservations and permits are required and can be gained through the National Park Service (715-779-3398).
Trek & Trail also offers guided trips. If you have limited time, go for the “Sea Caves” day trip ($89). Spend the day exploring the coast and labyrinthine cave systems that have been jackhammered into the coast by the lake. Trek & Trail also hosts several fully supported (they take care of food and campsites) overnight kayaking trips ranging from one-night adventures to a five-day advanced “Devil’s Island Rendezvous” trip, which circumnavigates the entire island group.
Outfitter: Trek & Trail, www.trek-trail.com; 800-354-8735
Area information:
National Park Service Apostle Islands National Lakeshore: www.nps.gov/apis; 715-779-3398
Bayfield County Tourism: www.travelbayfieldcounty.com; 800-472-6338
River Camping
You may not want junior parachuting off of the Hoan Bridge anytime soon, but giving your younglings a healthy sense of adventure is a gift that will pay dividends their whole life. After all, the adventurous among us are the movers and shakers, the world-changers. Canoe or kayak camping on the 92 miles of the Wisconsin River State Riverway is a perfect way to liven things up for the family. The stretch between Sauk City and Prairie Du Chien winds gently through bluffs, river towns and forests packed with nearly 400 species of flora and fauna. The 25-mile section between Sauk City and Spring Green makes for a great weekend trip. Paddle the river during the day, then set up camp on a sand bar or along the shoreline in time for one of Wisconsin’s brilliant sunsets. There are a number of trip outfitters and guide companies on Highway 60 that can hook you up with everything you need for an action-packed trip, including a ride back upriver to your car after completing your journey.
Outfitters: Captains Cove Motel: www.captainscovecanoeing.com; 608-994-2860
Sauk Prairie Canoe Center LLC: www.spcanoerentals.com; 608-643-6589
Trader’s Bar and Grill: www.tradersbarandgrill.biz; 800-871-0115
Hang Gliding
Most adventure sports – bungee-jumping to surfing – are but flirtations with gravity’s embrace. But take it too far and it’s Wile E. Coyote time. Hang gliding and paragliding tease the whole “what goes up must come down” thing like no other pursuit. The payoff: thrills that are off the chart. While running off of a sheer cliff holding on to some polyester stretched between poles may sound a tad risky, gliding is actually quite safe.
A mere taste of gliding raptor-like over beautiful landscape can turn you religious about the sport in a flash. T.C. Hang Gliders in Traverse City, Michigan, can give you that taste and more ($150 per day). The first thing you’ll need to do is decide whether you want to hang-glide or paraglide. The difference: Hang gliders have a fixed wing and are flown from a prone position and paragliders have a collapsible, parachute-like canopy and are piloted from a sitting position. Paragliding takes a little less time to learn but provides a little less performance for advanced pilots.
After you’ve chosen your discipline, it’s off to Point Betsie, a 70-foot inland sand dune, to learn the basics of flight. Bill Fifer, owner of T.C. Hang Gliders, has 20 years of gliding experience and will expertly instruct you as you make short flights from the dune. After you’ve mastered the fundamentals – about three days for paragliders and seven days for hang gliders – it’s time to leave Betsie’s nest and make your first solo flight.
Leaping from a 370-foot dune on the coast of Lake Michigan, you’ll soar alone over some of the most dramatic scenery in the United States. A few more flights here and Fifer will dub you with a Class II rating, which allows you to fly without the supervision of an instructor. You may be too amped to sleep at night, but try to get some shut-eye 15 minutes south of Traverse City at Hall Creek Bed and Breakfast, a rustic cedar lodge situated on 200 forested acres and a spring-fed fishing lake (from $100).
Outfitter: T.C. Hang Gliders: 231-922-2844
Area information: Traverse City Convention & Visitor’s Bureau: www.mytraversecity.com; 800-940-1120
Hall Creek Bed and Breakfast: www.hallcreek.com; 231-263-2560.
Caving
Facing fear is one of the essential components of adventure. Aside from heights, snakes and a Backstreet Boys reunion, belly-crawling into the unknown thousands of feet underground ranks as one of the scariest things in the world. Of course, this is why we have the activity of spelunking. If something is intrinsically frightening, chances are humans will design a sport around it.
Provided you’re not claustrophobic, caves can actually be quite beautiful. Mineral formations and strange life forms make the subterra one of the most unique environments in all of nature. Before you lube your shoulders with Vaseline and go contorting through damp passages to the unknown (what would Freud say?), you should test your freak-out limits in more open caverns.
Indiana has some of the most extensive cave systems in North America. Wyandotte Caves, located in the hills of Harrison-Crawford State Forest, features everything from immense passageways and cathedral-like openings to suck-it-in crawlspaces. Stalactites and stalagmites, a mountain and an underground lake are just some of the wonders waiting to be spelunked, to turn a phrase.
For a mild taste of caving, try the 30-minute “Flowstone Falls Tour” ($12 adults; $6 kids 4-12), an easy walking tour through open, well-lit corri-dors. Turn it up a notch with the hour and a half “Monument Mountain” tour. See delicate mineral formations, one of the world’s largest under-ground mountains and a huge hibernacula of rare Indiana bats. Both trips can be done as part of a package ($22 adults; $12 kids 4-12).
For those who are more mole-like, elect for one of the Natural Adventure Trips, which lead explorers into remote, unlit parts of the caves. A two-hour “Youth Explorers Trip” ($20) is offered for aspiring spelunkers ages 10 and up. A number of cave trips are also provided for adults (ages 14 and up), ranging in length from two hours to six-plus ($24-$50). Be prepared to crawl, squeeze, climb and get very, very dirty.
Area information: Wyandotte Caves: www.wyandottecaves.com; 812-365-2705
Indiana Department of Natural Resources: 317-232-4105
Equine Camping
For ages, nothing symbolized rugged individualism like the horse. And now, thanks to a certain Ang Lee movie, nothing symbolizes rugged to-getherness quite like the horse either. Let’s just say the steed is seared into the American consciousness as the official transportation for adventures of all kinds.
Horseback riding somehow connects you to an environment in ways motorized recreational vehicles can’t. Perhaps it’s because horses are mostly self-guided, which frees the mind to wander deep into the wild. Wilderness Pursuit in Neillsville offers the rare Midwestern opportunity to spend several days riding and camping in vast unpopulated terrain. The trips take place in the 132,000-acre Clark County Forest.
Bring the whole tribe for the “Family Fun Overnights” trip ($180). Trail ride during the day, kick back around the campfire as Cookie prepares a feast and then bunk up in a log-sided cabin. Wake up to a cowboy breakfast. Rough it a little more with the “Wilderness Weekend Overnight” ($230), which provides the chance to tent-camp overnight in a “scenic remote” location. Extended six-day, five-night trips deep into Clark County Forest are also offered ($600) for the more saddle hardened. Trips include guide, horses, tents and meals.
Outfitter: Wilderness Pursuit: www.wildernesspursuit.com; 877-896-4221
Exploring the Boundary Waters
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness was so named because it separates the United States (northern Minnesota) from Canada (On-tario). But the name is also fitting because the area serves as a natural buffer zone between civilizations. A few hours’ paddle into it from just outside Ely, Lutsen-Tofte or Grand Marais, Minnesota, and you can find yourself very much – and very pleasantly – alone.
With more than a thousand lakes and two million acres of birch- and pine-forested territory, the Boundary Waters (called Quetico Provin-cial Park on the Canadian side) offers a rare experience of solitude within relatively easy reach. But its vastness, its greatest asset, can also be incredibly daunting – you can get lost in a topographic map of the area. But a little planning can make a trip of any scale doable.
The easiest way to tackle the Boundary Waters for the first time is to hire a guide. There are several guide options servicing the area (con-tact area chambers of commerce and tourist associations noted below for a full list). The next step up is to opt for an outfitted trip. Outfitting companies supply you with everything you need to tackle the Boundary Waters. Make a reservation specifying what kind of trip you are interested in and what your food preferences are and they’ll take care of putting together permits, maps, meals, canoes and camping gear. Some will even tow or fly you into the Boundary Waters to save you the hassle of getting in.
The most adventurous way to experience the Boundary Waters is to go it alone. Pick an interesting area on a map – McKenzie Map Company (www.bwcamaps.com) and W.A. Fisher Company (wafishermn.com) maps are the best – or throw a dart and then plan a route. A nice adventure-packed, week-long circular route can be made in the Frost River Valley, with good hard portages, remote lakes and wild rivers.
Outfitters: Piragis Northwoods Company: www.piragis.com; 800-223-6565
River Point Outfitting: www.elyoutfitters.com; 800-456-5580
Boundary Waters Outfitters: www.boundarywatersoutfitters.com; 800-777-7348
Area information/permits: BWCAW Reservation Service: www.bwcaw.org; 877-550-6777
Ely Chamber of Commerce: www.ely.org; 800-777-7281
Lutsen-Tofte Tourism Association: www.61north.com; 888-616-6784
Kiteboarding
Leave it to thrill seekers to turn a totally chary activity like flying a kite into an adrenaline-pumping activity of the most drenching kind. Kite-boarding (a.k.a. kitesurfing), one of the fastest-growing water sports in the world, reconstitutes kite flying by turning the flyer into the flown. The sport works something like this: A surfboard-like apparatus is secured to one’s feet, a huge kite is fastened to the torso via a harness and this so-kited person is grabbed and propelled by said kite quickly across a body of water and occasionally up to 30 feet skyward.
Now, having read this passionate treatise on the sport, you’re probably inspired to go rushing off to the pool with your Strawberry Shortcake kite in tow. Stop! First, kiteboarding gear is highly specialized. Second, kiteboarding is generally done on large bodies of water that provide long stretches of beach with winds that, at least occasionally, run parallel to the shore. Third, and most importantly, it’s next to impossible to learn without good instruction. Someone with no clue jumping into the water with a kitesurfing rig is tantamount to a redheaded pre-teen asking his new pappy for a tour of the tool shed. There’ll be some kind of bloodshed, guaranteed.
Jet across the lake on the Lake Express ferry ($130 round trip with car) to arrive at primo kitesurfing grounds on the longest stretch of fresh-water beach in the world. Once you’re on the other side in Michigan, you’ll be within 20 minutes of one of the greatest purveyors of gear and know-how in the region, MACkite in Grand Haven. The oldest kiteboarding school in the Midwest, MACkite has developed its basic training into a sleek process. Not sure the sport is for you? Try the “Intro to Kiteboarding” course ($49.99 for one hour or $69.99 for two hours), which will give you a taste of handling a trainer kite on land. Or start your real training with the “Rip It Up Kite Camp” ($499). These two-day camps, held either Thursday-Friday or Saturday-Sunday, will take you from the theoretical to the radical. Classes start at 9 a.m. and run five to six hours or until students “drop in the sand from exhaustion,” as the company notes. If you’re a quick study and have a fair amount of experience with trainer kites on land, you might be able to pick up enough to start hitting it on your own with the “Feel the Stoke Day Lesson” ($299). Private lessons are also available ($399 for one day or $749 for two consecutive days). Imbued with the tricks of the trade, all you’ll need is your own gear to perfect your skills; plan on spending between $1,000 and $3,000 for a beginner rig. Once you’re schooled and outfitted, you can ride right off the beaches of Milwaukee.
Outfitter: MACkite: www.mackiteboarding.com; 800-622-4655, X-1
Area information: Grand Haven Chamber of Commerce: www.grandhavenchamber.com; 616-842-4910
Rock Climbing
Give the devil his due. At least he saved rock climbers the trouble of moving elsewhere by putting his bluff-encircled lake in the middle of our state. Devil’s Lake State Park is without question the rock-climbing destination in the Midwest. Thirty- to 90-foot angular quartzite bluffs create more than 1,500 stellar climbing routes ranging in difficulty from easy to hellish. Before you take on Devil’s Lake, learn climbing fundamentals and develop your technique at Brookfield’s Adventure Rock climbing gym. Adventure Rock offers a variety of classes for aspiring climbers of all ages ($15-$30). Once you’ve developed your chops on the indoor climbing walls, take it up a notch with the “Intro to Devil’s Lake” course (members $95; non-members $115). From there, a couple of more advanced courses are hosted at Devil’s Lake focused on setting rope anchors ($95-$115). Private instruction can also be booked for a weekend of Devil’s Lake climbing ($440 for one to four people). Once you have a good technical foundation, the temptations of the park are yours to surrender to.
Outfitter: Adventure Rock: www.adventurerock.com; 262-790-6800
Area information: Devil’s Lake State Park: www.devilslakewisconsin.com; 608-356-8301
Mario Quadracci is an assistant editor of Milwaukee Magazine.
