Ice caves on Lake Superior recently reopened for visitors for the first time in 11 years, but they will have to close again for a winter storm.
The caves will close Tuesday, potentially for several days, while park rangers evaluate ice conditions, according to the National Park Service.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the area, from 6 p.m. Tuesday to noon Thursday. The service predicts 5 to 8 inches of snow for northern Bayfield County, where thousands of people have trekked to see the caves at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in recent days.
Visitors must walk 2 to 6 miles across frozen Lake Superior from the Meyers Beach parking lot to access the caves.
Since the turn of the century, the caves have been open to the public in 2004, 2008, 2009, 2014 and 2015. In 2014, the caves were open for two months when a record-breaking 138,000 people visited, according to the NPS. When the formation was open for nine days in 2015, more than 38,000 people visited.
Alex Chhith of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.
