The next deluge of ice cave visitors to Apostle Islands National Lakeshore could be charged some cool cash to see the frozen natural wonders.
Park administrators are considering charging a $5 Special Recreation Permit fee for visitors 12 and older, to be collected at Meyers Beach, where ice cave explorers begin their trek to the caves across frozen Lake Superior near the shore.
Last season, an unprecedented 138,000 visitors flocked to the ice-draped caves and cliffs over the course of about 10 weeks. The caves were accessible for the first time in five years, and word of their beauty went viral on social media.
The only fee charged was $3 per car for parking. But the area was so crowded that most visitors parked on the highway or in temporary lots nearby, so the park collected only $47,000, "a fraction of what it actually cost to manage this event," according to a park news release.
People worked seven days a week taking phone calls and e-mails, directing traffic, plowing and shoveling snow and cleaning restrooms as well as rescuing visitors who hurt themselves on the ice and warming up visitors who hadn't dressed well for the cold. Other groups pitched in with services and cash, but that isn't sustainable in future years, park staff said.
Park officials believe that last year's publicity will mean regular throngs of tourists from now on, in years when it's safe to walk on the ice.
"We're getting phone calls and e-mails already," Ranger Myra Foster said Wednesday.
The $5 per person fee would help fund staff and infrastructure for future ice cave frenzies.
"Really, what we're looking for is cost recovery," Foster said.
The park will host two public hearings on the proposed fee:
• 10 a.m. to noon Oct. 22 at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center in Ashland, Wis.
• 4 to 6 p.m. Oct. 23 at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Headquarters, 415 Washington Av., Bayfield, Wis.
Pam Louwagie • 612-673-7102