In pictures: Ice caves of Lake Superior
Crowds of people are flocking to northwestern Wisconsin to trek on a
frozen-over Lake Superior to reach dramatic ice caves accessible on foot
for the first time in several years, courtesy of the long frigid
winter. The ice caves on Superior's shoreline are carved out of
sandstone by waves from the lake and derive their name from the icy
freeze in winter that makes them glisten with hoar frost, icicles and
ice formations.Picture: REUTERS/Eric Miller
Reachable in warm weather by boat, the caves are accessible in winter
only by walking across ice when it is thick and stable enough. It has
been five years since the ice caves were last reachable in the winter,
officials said.Picture: REUTERS/Eric Miller
About 35,000 people have hiked over a mile across the ice in the Apostle
Islands National Lakeshore since officials declared the ice a 'low
risk' on January 15, park spokeswoman Julie Van Stappen said...Picture: REUTERS/Eric Miller
'We have never had this number of people coming,' she said. 'It has been
a bit overwhelming, but it has been great for the local community, and
they are gorgeous.'Picture: REUTERS/Eric Miller
Icicles and hoar frost form on the ceiling of an ice cavePicture: REUTERS/Eric Miller 
A cool autumn and early winter combined with polar vortexes helped lake
ice build up weeks earlier than normal, said George Leshkevich, a
researcher for the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.Picture: REUTERS/Eric Miller 
The Great Lakes in the last week reached its broadest ice coverage in 20
years at 88 percent, with Lake Superior at about 95 percent, according
to the research laboratoryPicture: REUTERS/Eric Miller
Van Stappen said the round-trip trek to the caves can take three hours
or more over a well-packed and slippery path with little cover to break
the sometimes fierce winds. Still, the number of visitors was expected
to surge over the three-day Presidents Day weekend, boosting tourist
activity in such towns as Bayfield, about 18 miles west of the caves.Picture: REUTERS/Eric Miller 
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