Hand / carry-in launch · Lake Superior · Wisconsin

Squaw Bay Access

Name: Squaw Bay Access
Address: Bayfield, WI, US
Telephone: 715-779-3397

A public hand / carry-in launch on Lake Superior in Bayfield, Bayfield County, Wisconsin. Managed by National Park Service.

Directions Call 715-779-3397 All Superior launches

The launch

What the agency lists

Launch type: Hand / carry-in launch — carry-in launch
Water: Lake Superior
Fee: Not published in the source — ask the manager
Managed by: National Park Service
Owner: Federal
Location: Bayfield, Bayfield County, Wisconsin
Coordinates: 46.8837° N, 91.0487° W

Before you launch

Lake Superior is big water

Pick the launch for the harbor you can get back into, not for the fish. Long stretches of Superior shore have no shelter, the water stays cold enough all season to make a capsize a survival problem, and fog and wind come up fast. File a float plan and watch the nearshore forecast for the whole day, not the morning.

Water temperature. The open lake sits in the high 30s to mid 40s most of the year. Cold-water immersion takes usable strength from your hands and arms in minutes — long before hypothermia is the issue.
Distance from help. On the north shore of the Keweenaw or east of Grand Marais you can be 30-plus miles from a Coast Guard station and out of cell coverage. A handheld VHF is not optional gear on this lake.
Sea state that builds faster than the forecast. A northeast blow across 200 miles of open water stacks steep, short-period waves in under two hours. The run home is always into it.

Read how to read a Great Lakes marine forecast and trailering and launching on big water. Pack the big-water safety kit.

From this launch

What to fish on Lake Superior

Our Superior fishing guides name spots at or near Bayfield:

Coho Salmon · May through July, with a second shot at maturing fish near the river mouths in September

Lake Superior Coho Salmon Fishing: North Shore & Spring Trolling

Chequamegon Bay and Bayfield: The Wisconsin end warms first and holds the earliest fish. Fish the bay in May, then work out toward Basswood and Madeline Island as the water climbs past 50 degrees.

Yellow Perch · January through March on the ice; June for open water

Yellow Perch on Lake Superior: Chequamegon Bay and the St. Louis River

Bayfield: North of the bay on the channel inside the Apostle Islands. The DNR calendar includes the water off the Bayfield marina in its January perch notes. More often a trout and whitefish town, but perch are part of the winter catch.

Brown Trout · April through early June, with a fall window in October and November near river mouths

Brown Trout Fishing on Lake Superior

Brown trout are a niche fish on Lake Superior, concentrated in the few places warm enough to suit them: Chequamegon Bay, the Duluth and Superior harbor entries, and the water off a handful of tributaries. Where they do exist they are catchable from shore and from a small boat in shallow water.

Chinook Salmon · Late June through August, with the best shot in July off the Minnesota North Shore

Chinook Salmon Fishing on Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the least productive chinook water on the chain and a king here is a bonus fish, not a plan. The Minnesota North Shore and the Apostle Islands produce them most reliably, usually as a by-catch of a coho and lake trout program run in the top 60 feet.

Lake Trout · May and June shallow, July through September deep, plus a strong fall shoal bite in October

Lake Trout Fishing on Lake Superior

Lake Superior holds the last great wild lake trout population in the world and you can catch them here without a hatchery truck in the story anywhere. Fish the reefs and shoals — Stannard Rock, the Apostles, the Keweenaw — and you can take fish shallow in spring and 100 to 200 feet down in August.

Lake Whitefish · January through March on the ice; late October and November on the shallow spawning reefs

Lake Whitefish Fishing on Lake Superior

Lake whitefish are the best winter fish on Lake Superior and the reason Keweenaw Bay fills with shanties in February. They school over deep flats in 40 to 90 feet, they will chase a jigging spoon, and they are the finest eating fish in fresh water.

Muskellunge Northern Pike Smallmouth Bass Steelhead Walleye

Superior by season

SpringShallow water is the only warm water there is SummerThe thermocline sets up and the lake gets vertical FallLake trout come up on the reefs to spawn WinterIce where the bays let it form, and nowhere else

Next ramp over

Nearest Superior launches

Bell Marina - Cornucopia Access3.1 mi · trailer ramp · WI
Bark Point Boat Landing6.6 mi · trailer ramp · WI
Bark Bay Slough Access7.6 mi · trailer ramp · WI
Little Sand Bay Access8.7 mi · trailer ramp · WI
Herbster Landing10 mi · hand / carry-in launch · WI
Onion River Access12 mi · hand / carry-in launch · WI

Straight-line distance, not a boating route.

Landmarks from the water

Lighthouses nearby

Sand Island Light9.8 mi

For the crew ashore

Beaches nearby

Siskiwit Bay Beach West3.2 mi

On shore nearby

Worth the stop

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore19 mi · park
Split Rock Lighthouse27 mi · lighthouse
Gooseberry Falls State Park27 mi · park

Source

Launch facts are from the Wisconsin DNR, Public Boat Access Sites, retrieved 2026-10-05. Ramps close for repairs, fees change and water levels move; confirm with National Park Service before you tow. Fishing rules are set by theWisconsin DNR.

Chart shoreline generalized from Natural Earth (public domain). Not for navigation. Something wrong or missing? Write to contact@greatamericanlakes.com.

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