30 Inspiring Great Lakes Kayaking Photos
April 17, 2022
I’ve been sea kayaking the Great Lakes for almost four years, and have been lucky enough to explore beautiful places like the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Isle Royale, Lake Michigan, and more. Hopefully these photos can inspire you to get outside and hit the water this summer! Here are my 30 favorite Great Lakes sea kayaking photos, and the stories behind them:
My 30 Favorite Great Lakes Kayaking Photos, and the Stories Behind them:
A lot of these photos were taken on the Great Lakes! I’m an ACA Level 3 certified coastal kayaker and Lake Superior paddling guide. I strongly recommend sea kayaks for Lake Superior, or booking a guided tour. Storms hit quickly in the summer, and large waves often kick up unexpectedly. I have recommended outfitters and guiding services in all of the linked full area trail guides below!
People die attempting to kayak and canoe the Great Lakes every year. Read more about the risks and how to prepare for them here.
1) Cathedral Arch, WI
Cathedral Arch is one of the furthest arches from the launch at the Apostle Islands Mainland Sea Caves! On this day, we snuck out after work on a calm late evening and paddled while a storm snuck south. During the day in the summer, the sea caves on Mainland are sometimes so crowded with tourists you have to wait in line to take a photo. All of that changes in the off season.
Read about how to visit the sea caves!
2) Rock Harbor Lighthouse, Isle Royale National Park
This is one of my favorite photos from our 12-day sea kayaking trip to Isle Royale. This day was a bit of a slog. It was cold and spitting rain, with 2 foot swell coming out of the open lake to the south, and we cut that day short around noon after just ten miles. Still, the island is a beautiful place.
Read about how to visit Isle Royale National Park here!
3) Winter Paddling, Grand Marais, MN
This year I got a drysuit, which means paddling season never ends! Paddling in the winter takes a heck of a calm and sunny day, a lot of work to gear up, and all that for only a few hours on the water, which was about as long as we could stand the water freezing to our neoprene gloves.
4) Sand Island Summer, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
Sand Island is probably one of the most-visited islands in the Apostle Islands. It makes a perfect starting point for extended overnight trips, but also works well as a day trip for intermediate-advanced coastal kayakers! We took an early morning trip out to Sand & York Islands in June to visit the Sand Island sea caves and play on the beautiful York Island Beach. After, we buzzed over to Bayfield to meet some old friends for lunch.
Read about visiting Bayfield, WI here!
5) Empire Bluffs, Lake Michigan
This is a shot from my first solo paddle since living in Armenia— my first solo paddle in almost two years! It was the perfect day with light winds and swell coming off Lake Michigan, and my first time paddling this section of Sleeping Bear Dunes. There is something just so special about that clear, Michigan blue water, and about having a place like this just to yourself.
Read about paddling Sleeping Bear Dunes here!
6-7) Manitou Falls, Lake Superior
Ever paddled up to a running waterfall on Lake Superior framed by a sea arch? Manitou Falls on the North Shore is one of my very favorite advanced coastal paddling day trips in the Great Lakes! Manitou Falls is the only waterfall in Minnesota that tumbles directly into Lake Superior. The catch?
Manitou Falls and the surrounding shoreline are on private property, and it’s a 10-mile round trip paddle from the nearest launch point with no chance to land for a break along the way, and no emergency pull offs. As a result, it’s almost impossible to find a guided tour out to this waterfall, because of the risks involved.
You can read about Manitou River Falls here!
8-9) Remote Isle Royale Shoreline
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One of the most beautiful parts of our Isle Royale Expedition was the remote section of cliff between the North Gap and Little Todd Harbor. This section has about 18 miles of unbroken cliffline, making it a notoriously difficult paddle. While there are no campsites for this 18-mile stretch, there are a couple of viable emergency pull offs for kayakers, contrary to common reports.
We tackled this 18-mile stretch in some beautiful fog. It felt so special to paddle a place that so few people will ever get the chance to see.
10) Seasonal Grand Marais Waterfalls
One of my favorite things about spring on the North Shore is the waterfalls! This beautiful little spot just south of Grand Marais was running strong in early May. While this little trickle was small, there’re plenty of more powerful seasonal falls tucked throughout the shore!
Click here to read the ultimate outdoorsy guide to Grand Marais!
11) Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Paddling the Pictured Rocks is an absolute bucket list Michigan experience! This shot is from a solo road trip, where I camped and paddled by myself throughout the Upper Peninsula. This paddle of the Pictured Rocks cliffs was my favorite of the trip!
I had lunch by myself on the beach, made a few friends, and then hopped off the water and drove home to Grandma’s in time for dinner and the end of my little road trip.
You can read more about my first solo road trip here!
12) Butterwort Cliffs, Grand Marais
Last November, a few friends and I hit the water to explore the shoreline south of Grand Marais! It was extra chilly with a headwind, but we found a little bit of peace in the protected cove. There are a few places around Lake Superior that inspire a little bit of absolute awe— anytime a kayaker below a tall black cliff drifts into view, I feel a little bit of that.
Tap here for my notes from two years of exploring the North Shore!
13) Tettegouche State Park
One of the best under-rated paddling locations on Lake Superior is Tettegouche State Park! It’s an awesome spot for sea kayakers with Level 2 training or higher, or to visit with a guide. We headed out in June and ended up covering 14-miles of the rugged Lake Superior shoreline, and booking it to the beach just in time to beat a classic Lake Superior pop up storm!
So many of my summer Lake Superior stories involve racing crazy electrical storms. It’s always a little frightening in the moment, but makes for a great story in hindsight.
Read about the best kayaking locations on Lake Superior!
14) Traverse City, Michigan
I grew up paddling on the quiet clear waters of Northern Michigan, and this is a photo from a late evening paddle on one of those peaceful lakes.
Read about the best kayaking around Traverse City here!
15) Sand Island, Wisconsin
Did you know there are sea caves on almost every island in the Apostle Islands? Most guided tours take kayakers to the mainland sea caves, or the easiest to access set of caves in the islands, but overnight trippers can make it out to a variety of different cave systems on the islands! My favorite caves are on Sand Island, Stockton Island, Bear Island, and Devil’s Island.
Read about visiting Bayfield here!
16) Oak Island, Wisconsin
This shot is from the my longest day trip ever! On a day off, another paddler and I launched from Red Cliff, WI, and paddled out to Manitou Island, Circumnavigating Oak Island in the Apostle Islands. We clocked a total of 25-miles between 9am and 6pm that day!
17) The Sea Caves, Bayfield
This shot is probably a dime a dozen! Keyhole Arch is one of the first and most accessible arches in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, and according to guide lore (may or may not be true) one of the most photographed arches in the country (or the state? Maybe just in the park?).
Are you looking for remote waterfall-side campsites, sea caves, hidden waterfalls, and the best off-the-beaten-path adventures in the Midwest? Check out the Midwest eBook bundle for 300+ pages of adventures!
18) Merrit Lane, Isle Royale
One of my favorite questions is “where’s the best place you’ve camped?’. I’ve had a couple of beautiful campsites in my time outdoors, but I think my all time favorite is the small campsite tucked away at the northernmost point of Isle Royale National Park. This beautiful little spot had spiky trees and rock outcroppings, and truly felt like camping in Norway. At night, we saw a pair of moose run across the ridge above, silhouetted by the sunset. I’m bummed I missed the shot on my camera, but I was too awestruck to move.
19-20) Cliffs of Isle Royale
The day before we paddled past this remote Isle Royale Arch, we hiked above it! Believe it or not, the day before this photo was taken the same shoreline was pounded by 3-5 ft waves out of the southwest. We took a windbound day in Windigo, and hiked the 9-mile Huginnin Cove loop.
Read about how to visit Isle Royale National Park here!
21) Grand Marais, Minnesota in the Winter
Once upon a time I used to hunker down and hibernate for the winter. Since heading north all that has changed! Nothing beats climbing frozen waterfalls, quiet winter backcountry skiing, or the crystal clear winter water of Lake Superior on a sunny day. Here on the North Shore, we’re often the last of the Lake to freeze and the first to thaw, meaning excellent winter paddling for those with the right gear and experience!
Read about winter activities in Grand Marais here!
22) Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
Some days on Lake Superior call for 5-10 ft waves and bitter winds, others call for calm water, fog, and light rain. I’m a fog and light rain fan. This was the perfect day to explore the Apostle Islands, and I leave damp and happy.
23) Lover’s Leap Arch, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
To my knowledge, Lover’s Leap is the largest currently standing sea arch on Lake Superior, and it’s incredible to paddle through. Sea arches like this one are always so incredible to experience from a kayak— like paddling through a natural church.
Read about visiting the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
24-25) McCargoe Cove, Isle Royale
Sea kayaking is really the superior way to experience Lake Superior (pun intended!). Only by sea kayak do you travel both fast enough to cover 20+ miles in a day with relative ease, yet slow enough to notice the strange pink moss on the cliff side, or the way the fog comes and goes throughout the day.
McCargoe Cove on Isle Royale is a beautiful campground with excellent trail access, which made it the perfect place for us to spend a windbound day laying in the thyme fields on the island. What’s more magical than that? I can’t think of anything.
26) Balancing Rock, Stockton Island
You can find sea stacks in a few places throughout Lake Superior, but none quite as striking as Balancing Rock on Stockton Island. A 28-mile day trip out to circumnavigate this sea stack is on my bucket list!
27) Keyhole Arch, Apostle Islands
Okay, so when I said Keyhole Arch is the most photographed arch in the Apostle Islands, I might have just meant most photographed by me 😉
28) Tettegouche Sea Slot
There’s nothing like the crystal clear cold water of Lake Superior, and a little sea slot canyon!
Read about the best places to kayak on Lake Superior here!
29) Sand Island Sea Caves
Exploring the Sand Island Sea Caves on a calm June morning is always worth writing home about. The crossing to Sand Island is about 2-3 miles depending on where you start and end your crossing. Because the launch point is in a protected bay and because of shallower water between the island and mainland, you often paddle out of the bay in and into waves on this crossing. Cross with care!
30) A Winter Ice Cave
Did you know that Lake Superior in the winter can look a whole lot like Alaska? Me neither! This little ice cave was super fun to explore (carefully, ice can fall at any moment!). About an hour later, ice had drifted into the cave, making it impossible to paddle into.
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