Superior ice caves expected to remain open all weekend

Ice caves
Visitors explored one of the many ice caves at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore on Feb. 4, 2013.
Derek Montgomery | For MPR News 2013

Despite a forecast of warming weather, the ice caves along Wisconsin's Apostle Islands National Lakeshore are expected to be open through the weekend, the National Park Service said Thursday.

Park service rangers reopened the caves to visitors on Saturday, closed them temporarily Tuesday evening due to weather conditions and then reopened them Thursday morning as wind chills were forecast to hit minus 30 degrees.

Temperatures are predicted to rise into the 30s this weekend with 40 degree highs early next week.

"This will cause melting of some of the ice on the cliffs and puddles to form on the ice" but "warm temperatures alone will not force us to close the ice caves," the park service said in a Thursday Facebook post.

Rangers seem more concerned with wind conditions. "Fairly low winds for the next few days should allow the ice caves to remain open at least through the weekend. When high winds occur, they threaten the stability of the ice pack on the lake and could necessitate the closing of the ice caves," the park service said.

Despite slippery conditions and a new fee, 11,200 people took in the caves last weekend.

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