Island or Peninsula? In his 1930 book “The Lake Superior Country in 

History and Story”, Guy Burnham wrote, “Long 

Island, the remarkable island four miles in length 

which forms a part of the natural breakwater at 

the entrance to Chequamegon Bay, is an island no 

longer, but simply a very long and narrow peninsula, 

extending out from the mainland. No one can 

guarantee its present status very long, for within the 

memory of the present generation at least, Long 

Island has been quite fickle.” Long Island has 

apparently changed from an island to a continuous 

part of a peninsula many times, usually persisting 

in one form or the other for a few decades. It is 

presently part of a peninsula, and has been since the 

mid 1970s.

Apostle Islands National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

Wisconsin

 Long Island - An Island Apart

Long Island is unlike any of the other Apostle Islands. It was the last island added to 

the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Most of the park was established in 1970, but 

a 1986 act of Congress authorized the inclusion of “approximately 200 acres of land 

at the mouth of Chequamegon Bay known as Long Island” into the park. The island 

is composed almost entirely of sand and has no obvious bedrock pedestal beneath it. 

Perhaps most importantly, Long Island (at least for now) is not an island at all!

One Island...Two Lights Long Island is the only Apostle Island to have two 

active navigational lights. In 1858, the LaPointe 

lighthouse, a one and one-half story wood frame 

dwelling with a short square tower on the roof, 

was built on the north shore of Long Island as the 

second lighthouse in the Apostles. In 1897, the U.S. 

Lighthouse Board replaced the original lighthouse 

with two new towers, one to the east and one at the 

end of Chequamegon Point to the west of the first 

lighthouse. The new LaPointe light tower was a 67 

foot tall cast iron cylinder, while a 42 foot pyramidal 

skeletal tower was built at Chequamegon Point. By 

1987, beach erosion near the foundations of the 

Chequamegon Point light tower forced the U. S. 

Coast Guard to move the tower about 100 feet back 

from the shore. The tower was damaged in the move 

and the beacon was placed on a modern cylindrical 

structure nearby.

Top photo: LaPointe light tower and dock.

Middle photo: Aerial photo by William Cronon

Bottom photo: Chequamegon Point Lights, old and new.
Getting There

FYI

Public access to Long Island is by private boat, water 

taxi, or kayak. The land on the peninsula east of the 

park boundary is part of the 

Bad River Reservation. The 

tribe controls and limits use of 

their lands. A public dock is 

located near the LaPointe light 

tower on the north side of the 

island. Water depths are very 

shallow at the dock, and on 

virtually all approaches to the 

island. Most visitors beach 

their boats. 

There are no maintained trails on the island. In spite 

of challenging access and lack of facilities, the island 

is still a popular place for summer activities like 

swimming, sun bathing, picnicking, and walking on 

the beach.

The island has one designated campsite located 

about one half mile souteast of the LaPointe light 

station. The site has a picnic table, a bearproof food 

locker, a fire ring and a privy. A permit is required for 

camping.

Island visitors must be aware of the following:

Closures

Fencing is used to protect piping 

plover nests from predators and 

human activity. When you arrive 

at an area that is closed due to 

piping plover nesting activity you 

may see a metal fence enclosure 

(approximately 12 feet across) 

surrounded by signs and a twine 

fence (approximately 100 feet 

across).

EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA

Long Island

The wide undisturbed beaches on Long Island 

are not only attractive to people, but are the only 

places in the state where a 

small endangered bird has 

successfully nested in recent 

years. Piping plovers are sandcolored shorebirds that arrive 

on Long Island in late April to 

early May. They lay four eggs in 

nests that are shallow scrapes 

in the sand lined with pebbles 

and driftwood. The eggs hatch 

after about 28 days, and the 

downy young soon follow their 

parents and pluck insects and spiders from the sand. 

Both the eggs and young are so well camouflaged that 

they may go unnoticed. 

Unique Habitat

Poison Ivy and Deer Ticks

Long Island is the one place in the national lakeshore 

where poison ivy is common. The short plant with 

the clusters of three leaflets is scattered across many 

of the vegetated dunes on the island.

The ticks that transmit Lyme disease and Ehrlichiosis 

are also common on the island. If you notice a rash, 

flu-ike symptoms, or pain in the joints following a 

tick bite, call your physician. 

Long Island visitors are subject to the same National Park Service rules and regulations that apply in the rest 

of the national lakeshore. Pay particular note of the following:

•	 Respect all areas fenced or posted for protection of wildlife. 

•	 Dogs must be on a leash that is six feet or shorter at all times - 36 CFR 2.15 

(a) (2).

•	 Permits are required for camping - 36 CFR 1.6 (g) (1).

•	 Visitors must pack out all trash.

Several factors threaten Long Island’s plovers:

•	 Human disturbance (e.g., beach-walking, 

fireworks, ORV use, etc.) may cause the 

parents to desert the nest, exposing eggs or 

chicks to the summer sun and predators. 

•	 Pets, especially dogs, may harass or kill the 

birds. 

•	 Predators such as gulls, merlins, crows, 

foxes, and coyotes eat plover eggs and 

young. 

Piping plover nest enclosure

Piping plover 

Park Rules

Island Dimensions

Length - 3.5 miles

Width - 0.25 miles

Size - 500 acres

LaPointe Light 

Chequamegon Point Light