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Wisconsin's northernmost landscape juts out into Lake Superior as the scenic archipelago known as the Apostle Islands. The national lakeshore includes 21 islands and 12 miles of mainland Lake Superior shoreline, featuring pristine stretches of sand beach, spectacular sea caves, remnant old-growth forests, resident bald eagles and black bears, and the largest collection of lighthouses anywhere in the National Park System.

Grand Portage National Monument was established to commemorate and preserve a premier site and route of the 18th century fur trade that led to pioneering international commerce and exploration in North America, as well as cultural contact between Ojibwe and other Native societies and the North West Company partners, clerks and canoe-men. The monument was also established to work with the Grand Portage Band of Minnesota Chippewa in preserving and interpreting the heritage and lifeways of the Ojibwe people.

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, authorized by Congress in 1966, is located approximately 50 miles southeast of Chicago, Illinois in the counties of Lake, Porter, and LaPorte in Northwest Indiana. The national lakeshore runs for nearly 25 miles along southern Lake Michigan, bordered by Michigan City, Indiana on the east, and Gary on the west. The park contains approximately 15,000 acres, 2,182 of which are located in Indiana Dunes State Park and managed by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources

Wolves and moose, the wild North Woods forest, everchanging weather and a cool climate, and the crystal clear waters and rugged shoreline of Lake Superior characterize Isle Royale National Park. This wilderness archipelago is 45 miles long and nine miles wide at it's widest point. The park encompasses a total area of 850 square miles including submerged lands which extends four and a half miles out into Lake Superior.

The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area is a narrow corridor of land on either side of the Mississippi River extending from Dayton, MN on the north boundary through the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and downstream to Hastings, MN.

Multicolored sandstone cliffs, beaches, sand dunes, waterfalls, inland lakes, wildlife and the forest of the Lake Superior shoreline beckon visitors to explore this 73,000+ acre park. Attractions include a lighthouse and former Coast Guard life-saving stations along with old farmsteads and former logging trails. The park is a four season recreational destination where hiking, camping, hunting, nature study, and winter activities abound. At its widest point the Lakeshore is only five miles and hugs the Superior shoreline for more than 40 miles. This was the first National Lakeshore and was authorized in 1966.

The St. Croix National Scenic Riverway consists of the Namekagon and St. Croix Rivers providing 252 miles of recreational opportunities. The Riverway is one of the intial rivers designated under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. The Lower St. Croix was added in 1972. The Riverway is a unique area with a diversity of habitat, which provides many opportunities for viewing wildlife.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore encompasses a 60 km (35 mi.) stretch of Lake Michigan's eastern coastline, as well as North and South Manitou Islands. The park was established primarily for its outstanding natural features, including forests, beaches, dune formations, and ancient glacial phenomena. The Lakeshore also contains many cultural features including a 1871 lighthouse, three former Life-Saving Service/Coast Guard Stations and an extensive rural historic farm district.

The park lies in the southern part of the Canadian Shield, representing some of the oldest exposed rock formations in the world. This bedrock has been shaped and carved by at least four periods of glaciation. The topography of the park is rugged and varied; rolling hills are interspersed between bogs, beaver ponds, swamps, islands, small lakes and four large lakes. In the years since the last glaciation, a thin layer of soil has been created which supports the boreal forest ecosystem, the "North Woods" of Voyageurs National Park.