Now on to part II of the Big Bay State Park hiking adventure. If you missed part I, which included Bayfield, getting to the island, the Boardwalk Trail, and the closeup debut of a turtle, check it out here.

Helpful links:
Park website
Trail descriptions
Park map

Let’s jump right into part II. After hiking to the end of the boardwalk and back, we crossed the grassy day-use area to the start of the Bay View Trail. Looking at the map, this is the trail I was most excited for as it hugged the shoreline for its entirety. I love a scenic view of water and this trail seemed to be entirely made of scenic water views.

Bay View Trail

Length: 1.3 miles one-way
Difficulty: Easy
Description: This trail begins at the day-use picnic area and travels along the shore ridge to the Point Trail with amazing views of the lake and rock formations.

The trail is at times lower and closer to the water but it’s mostly on a slight ridge allowing you to look down at rock formations.

Further along we saw a bunch of toppled trees and this sign.

The trees on the ground were pretty large, but I guess 100 mph winds would do it. Yikes.

As the trail continues, it curves away from the bay and toward the open water of Lake Superior. I’ll stop talking and let these beautiful views speak for themselves.

The East side of the trail had more wind and larger waves. The temperature dropped quickly and we started to walk faster.

This fenced off area and the land behind it is a popular spot for photos and picnics.

A Travel Wisconsin selfie stand!

I can see why this area is so popular. Look at that water!

The Bay View Trail meets the Point Trail at the southern end of the park. The Point Trail is a loop, with an outer ring near the water and an inner ring through the forest. We stuck to the side near the water and didn’t complete the entire loop.

Point Trail

Length: 1.7 mile loop
Difficulty: Easy
Description: This easy loop trail near the picnic point parking lot gives visitors a short hike with water and forest views.

The point trail also brings visitors to the overlook picnic area. After being spoiled by spectacular views for the last two miles, this overlook was honestly pretty underwhelming. If you plan to drive to the overlook, it will give you a nice look at the lake, but if you are able-bodied and willing, I highly recommend hiking the Bay View Trail instead for way more spectacular sights.

After finishing our time at the overlook, we hopped on the Woods Trail to head back to camp.

Woods Trail

Length: .7 miles linear
Difficulty: Easy
Description: This easy connecting trail brings hikers from one side of the park to the other by cutting through the woods and away from the lake.

While I was expecting worse, this trail was still very muddy in sections. I was also covered in leaves. We lost it a few times.

This trail is exactly as it sounds, a trail through the woods. Get ready for a lot of trees and chipmunks along this route.

After making it back to camp, we enjoyed the last night of our mini-moon. The next day we packed up camp, took the ferry back to the mainland, and drove the five and a half hours back to Madison. While the trip had been an amazing experience, we were tired and excited to sleep in our own bed with the kitties. This trip is full of memories and sparked a desire for a yearly week-long trip to access parks that we just can’t explore over a long-weekend. Teaser, the 2020 second annual mini-moon trip will again take us to the shores of Lake Superior, but this time in Michigan. More on that later.

Up next is the final recap of the mini-moon with our Big Bay campsite and best deer friend.