Bayfield Historic Walking Tours

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Bayfield, WI
Bayfield Historic Walking Tours

Explore downtown Bayfield in the late 1800s and learn about the spirit and vision of Bayfield’s early settlers. Now offering a Strange & Supernatural Tour too!

Guided walking tours run multiple times per week, June through October.

05/19/2026

Spring takes a long time to fully arrive in Bayfield. Sometimes it feels painfully slow. But at least it's not like 1876, when the bay was still full of ice into the month of June. Yikes! ❄ From the diary of early Bayfield resident Nellie Tate:
May 18, 1876: Tug attempted to go to Ashland. Was prevented by ice.
May 20, 1876: The Groch came in. Reported seven boats between here and Duluth locked in ice.
May 27, 1876: Boats are still troubled with ice. Manistee came in from Duluth.
May 28, 1876: A very warm morning, but this afternoon the wind changed and the thermometer fell 26 degrees in 15 minutes.
May 29, 1876: Strong northeast winds, quite cold all day.
June 2 1876: A cold northeast rain. Bay full of ice. Tug attempted to go to Ashland, but came back.
June 3, 1876: Bob went to Ashland on horseback as tug could not get through ice.
June 6, 1876: Ice coming in again.
June 7, 1876: A cloudy, gloomy morning. This afternoon settled into cold rain, from the northeast, of course. Gardens are suffering from the cold. Bay FULL of icebergs and more coming.

Nellie Tate kept daily diaries for several years in the 1870s. Her diary entries provide fascinating insight into early life in the City of Bayfield, from the extraordinary to the mundane. Her house was the building on N 1st Street that was Crystalline Healing (before they moved to Rittenhouse Ave) and is now Qab Qab Pan-Asian Deli.

Diary excerpt from "Tales of Bayfield Pioneers" by Eleanor Knight. Published by Beedlow Media, 2008.
Photo courtesy of Bayfield Heritage Association.

04/16/2026

From the diary of early Bayfield resident Nellie Tate:
April 8, 1877: Ice is getting very poor indeed. Several broke through yesterday.
April 13, 1877: The ice broke up near La Pointe this afternoon and open water was to be seen nearly across the bay.
April 16, 1877: The birds sang as gaily as in May this morning. Andrew [her husband] is busy taking away storm sheds and working in the yard. 🐦🌷(It certainly feels that way today, April 16, 2026!!) 🌞
April 17, 1877: Slightly cloudy and windy. Ice broken up and water almost clear. Boat crossed from La Pointe this afternoon. Quite an eventful day.

Nellie Tate kept daily diaries for several years in the 1870s. Her diary entries provide fascinating insight into early life in the City of Bayfield, from the extraordinary to the mundane. Her house was the building on N 1st Street that was Crystalline Healing (before they moved to Rittenhouse Ave) and is now Qab Qab Pan-Asian Deli.

Diary excerpt from "Tales of Bayfield Pioneers" by Eleanor Knight.
Photo: The state of the bay as seen on April 13, 2026.

04/06/2026

April 5, 2026, and this is what we're seeing out the window 🙄. 1878 was a different type of spring, as we see from the diary of Bayfield resident Nellie Tate:

April 5, 1878: The first boat of the season, the Manistee, arrived today. A beautiful spring day. Andrew [her husband] making garden".

Hmmm- sounds nice! Nellie Tate kept daily diaries for several years in the 1870s. Her house was the building N 1st Street that was Crystalline Healing (before they moved to Rittenhouse Ave) and is now Qab Qab Pan-Asian Deli. She was known to have beautiful flower gardens. The variations in weather from year to year are fascinating. One year, she wrote that the harbor was iced out until June! Sorry everyone! 😬

Diary excerpt from "Tales of Bayfield Pioneers" by Eleanor Knight.

04/02/2026

It may be April 2nd but it still feels like winter in Bayfield, with an ice storm happening in real time and 6+ inches of snow in the forecast! 🥶 Apparently it was a wintery April in 1872 as well... excerpt from the 1872 diary of Bayfield resident Nellie Tate:
April 2, 1872: "William Knight came in and invited us sleighing [over the ice]. Quite a party went. We called on Mary Warren at La Pointe, made a fire, snowballed and had a nice time." ❄

Sounds fun but I could use some sunshine right about now! 😆

Photo shows a Bayfield woman (not Nellie Tate) and baby braving the Bayfield chill. 1898. Photo courtesy of Bayfield Heritage Association archives.

Diary excerpt from "Tales of Bayfield Pioneers" by Eleanor Knight.

10/28/2025

Wow! This tour season closed out with a bang on October 18th, with an awesome special event in collaboration with Honest Dog Books and author Wendy Webb, on the most perfect Fall weather day of the season ! 🍂👻

We had back-to-back sold out walking tours exploring Bayfield and the fictional world of "Wharton" that Wendy Webb has spun throughout several of her gothic novels, inspired by our little community right here on the lake! We had folks traveling from several hours away to join this day-long event of walking tours, book signing, and author talk with Wendy! 📚

I had so much fun preparing this special tour, combining Wendy Webb's envisioned world of "Wharton" with Bayfield's history and true hauntings! If you haven't read any of her books yet, I would highly recommend Daughters of the Lake (international bestseller), and my personal favorite, The Stroke of Winter. I can't wait to see what she thinks of next!

My season of walking tours has wrapped up for the year, and it's time to switch gears as we slowly move into winter (which, in Bayfield, lasts over half the year 😁). Bayfield locals and visitors alike really showed up for my tours with enthusiastic participation all season long, and I couldn't be more grateful! I can't wait to start up the season again on Memorial Day weekend 2026!

Honest Dog Books

10/16/2025

There are a few spots left in the 12-2pm tour this Saturday the 18th! Our 3-5pm time slot is SOLD OUT!👻🍂📚 I'm so excited for this tour and the weather will be gorgeous!
P.S. Don't miss the 5-7pm reception with Wendy Webb at Honest Dog books as well! Joining the walking tour guarantees you a spot at the reception!

10/14/2025

Another gorgeous Fall day in Bayfield! 🍂 Here's a sneak peek of our route for the special event walking tour with author Wendy Webb THIS Saturday! If you're a fan of Wendy's spooky fiction set in Bayfield (known as "Wharton" in the novels) be sure to to sign up! 👻 There are a few spots left in the 12-2pm time slot on Saturday the 18th. The 3-5pm time slot is SOLD OUT!

09/23/2025

I am so excited for our haunted walking tour of "Wharton"/Bayfield on October 18th with author Wendy Webb, in collaboration with Honest Dog books! Our 3-5pm walking tour is SOLD OUT so we have added ANOTHER time slot, from 12-2pm! Signing up for the walking tour also ensures a spot at the 5-7pm reception/book signing/ reading with Wendy Webb at Honest Dog. Head over to my website to register for the tour! 👻

09/09/2025

I'm excited to announce that I'll be partnering with Honest Dog Books during their "Haunted Bayfield" event with author Wendy Webb on October 18th! 👻📚

As the “Queen of Northern Gothic”, regional author Wendy Webb has penned several novels set in “Wharton”, a fictional town based on Bayfield, WI! As the first part of the event, I will be leading a walking tour around Bayfield (Wharton!), visiting sites that are mentioned in her novels, such as "Harrison's House (Le Chateau Boutin), "LuAnn's" (Gruenke's), and many more!

If you're a fan of Wendy's spooky fiction, you'll love this fun 2-hour walking tour (and yes, Wendy will join us!). The tour is $25/person and you can register on my website (link in comments). The tour runs 3-5pm and afterwards there will be a reception and reading with Wendy at Honest Dog from 5-7pm!

Wendy's Bayfield/Wharton books include:
The Haunting of Brynn Wilder
Daughters of the Lake
The Keepers of Metsan Valo
The Stroke of Winter
The End of Temperance Dare

08/26/2025

One day I'll find the notebook where I wrote down the dates of these photos 😆 but for now, we can only guess! 💦
Log rolling is a classic northern Wisconsin summer game, harkening back to the era of the lumber industry, when thousands of logs would float in the bay, awaiting the sawmill. Check out the poster in the last photo... love these lines:
"World's Best Log Rollers to Compete... By Far the Largest Entry in the History of the Game" 😮
"Moving Pictures will be Taken of Contest"🎥

Photos courtesy of Bayfield Heritage Association

Address

Bayfield, WI
54814

Website

http://www.bayfieldhistoricwalkingtours.com/

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