Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Stockton Island Quarry Road

Stockton Island’s quarry roads date to the 1890s when Italian stonecutters carved brownstone for Chicago’s mansions and New York’s finest buildings from these Lake Superior cliffs. The main quarry road runs three miles from the ferry dock to the massive open pit where you can still see drill marks in the rock face and rusted steam equipment abandoned when the operation folded in 1897. Side spurs lead to smaller quarries and the tombolo connecting Presque Isle Point, where shipwreck timbers still wash ashore from Superior’s November gales.

Easy terrain suitable for any vehicle that can fit on the Apostle Islands Cruise Service ferry — call ahead for vehicle transport reservations, available May through October. The roads are maintained gravel with minimal elevation gain, but prepare for Lake Superior weather that can turn violent without warning. No permits needed beyond ferry passage, primitive camping available at designated sites. What makes this special isn’t technical challenge but the surreal experience of driving historic industrial roads on a wilderness island surrounded by the world’s largest freshwater sea.