Boat and kayak tours start Tuesday, June 13th, 2023!
5 Hour Devils Island Boat & Kayak Tour – $170 per person
This tour is only offered Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Tour times are 9am and 3pm.
Click this picture to see a photo gallery from several of our boat and kayak tours!
This tour includes the luxury of a power boat to travel into the islands (up to ~30 miles out) and the adventure of paddling the sea caves in an inflatable kayak (optional). All trips include a US certified boat captain, life jackets and use of the tandem inflatable kayaks. Your Captain will tell you about the islands and the history and the geology of the area.
This is our most popular tour – shipwreck, lighthouse and sea caves! We’ll depart from Madeline Island (or Bayfield) and motor past Basswood Island. From there we will view the Fedora Shipwreck – it’s been under water for over a hundred years. Then we pass Hermit and Oak Island on our way to view the historic Raspberry Lighthouse. You have the possibility to get off at Raspberry and tour the lighthouse. After, it’s a quick ride over to the Devils Island sea caves! Kayaking or sightseeing Devils Island is a premium opportunity; they are the most stunning sea caves in the archipelago. Pillar after pillar, room after room you can kayak through the million year old sand stone. On our return route, we will do an inter-island tour where you can lay your eyes on almost all the islands. A stop at the historic Manitou Fish Camp will enchant you with fisherman stories from a century ago.
Our beach shop is located on Madeline Island, but departures can be from Madeline Island or Bayfield. We offer morning and afternoon departures for our tours, although these are dependent on weather and availability of boats. We have a 4 person minimum on all of our tours and a maximum of 6, plus the captain. All of our boat and kayak tours use tandem inflatable sea kayaks for the excursion, so you will be paired up and explore together! You bring your snacks, food/beverages (please no glass), personal items and we will provide an amazing time!
Prices exclude WI state sales tax, a 3% National Park surcharge fee, and captain/guide gratuity.
Please read the disclaimers and important information below specific to our boat and kayak tours before booking your reservation. We also have general boat tour FAQs.
What Will Happen After You Register
After you send in your registration, our email system will receive your information. We will then be in communication with you through email to confirm your tour type and date. Our confirmation process includes an invoice for a 50% deposit to reserve your spot on our calendar. We will send instructions on how to pay your deposit and complete the client info section of our registration form, which provides us with physical information for each individual on the tour. This information is critical for us to ensure safety on all of our tours. Once we have received your deposit, we will send you a confirmation document with information about tour time, date, and remaining payment. The day before your tour, we will call to officially confirm the time of your tour and touch base regarding the weather on your departure date. Service on the island is spotty. If you will not be in service in the afternoon-evening of that day, please give us a call so we can be aware and confirm when you will be in service or feel free to stop in at our shop when you arrive on the island.
Weight Disclaimer
All kayaks have weight limitations due to their structure, kayaker safety concerns, and the longevity of the kayak in question. We have outlined below the various weight and size limitations for our kayaks due to their product specifications:
On our boat and kayak tours we use inflatable kayaks. For our inflatable tandem kayaks (Advanced Elements Straitedge 2) the weight limit is 500 lbs for the combined weight of two people, with a cockpit width of 35 inches. If you make a paid reservation over the phone, we will inform you of this weight limit. It is very important to be honest and not to exceed this weight limit. If you show up for your reservation and you are over the weight limitations, you will be unable to kayak.
Please also keep in mind that you will have to be able to lift yourself in and out of the kayak to exit and enter the powerboat in open water. If you are unable to do so, the situation becomes dangerous for both you and the captain.
Please make sure you do not exceed any of our limitations that are specified above. This is for your safety and for the longevity and structural integrity of our kayaks. Damage done to any kayaks due to the misuse or exceeding any limits explained will be at your expense.
Once again, it is VERY important to BE HONEST with your weight. This is for life jacket fit and weight displacement on the boat and kayaks, not to mention the safety of you, the others on the tour and your guides/captains.