See Timeline Of Photos Of What The Wind Did To The Ice At The Apostle Islands Ice Caves

It is now official, the Apostle Islands Ice Caves 2026 season is over.

After opening to the public for the first time in over a decade on Monday, the incoming winter storm that is now battering the Northland with heavy snow and powerful winds forced the National Park Service to proactively close access to the caves on Monday night.

While conditions were mild on Tuesday morning, concerns about the impending gale-force wind gusts that would sweep across Lake Superior forced the hand of the NPS staff at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore on Wisconsin's Lake Superior coastline.

The wind started to pick up in the morning hours of Tuesday (February 17), gusting to nearly 30 mph by noon. In the overnight hours, wind gusts pushed over 40 mph at times, with wind and large waves battering the ice that had hosted crowds of thousands of people on Monday.

The team with the University of Wisconsin's Sea Caves Watch has a couple of webcams that show the ice along the shoreline, perfectly capturing the change in conditions of the ice, going from crowds of people on stable ice on Monday to a slushy brine on Wednesday morning.

Here's a look at the ice conditions on Monday afternoon, as crowds were still enjoying the ice caves.

Tuesday afternoon shows the ice still intact, though there are no crowds due to access being closed by the park staff.

Wednesday morning, it is a whole different story, with hours of wind gusts of 25-40+ mph taking its toll on the ice.

This winter storm sadly seals the fate of the 2026 season of the Apostle Islands Ice Caves. If you were one of the folks who had the opportunity to see them on Monday, consider yourself lucky! The odds of seeing the right conditions for the ice to redevelop to safe levels this season are quite low.

We'll have to see how long the wait is before we see the right combination of cold and lack of wind in the winters ahead to allow them to reopen to the public. Here's a look back at the ice caves from 2014