Michigan Marvels: Grand Island's ice caves reveal brutal beauty

Munising — Along the eastern shore of Lake Superior's Grand Island, giant icicles drip from the cliffs like fangs, a fitting reminder that winter in the Upper Peninsula has a bite.

While it can be brutal here, it's also beautiful. And the cold is the price of admission to see the ice caves of Grand Island.

"I think the ice formations are fantastic from a photographic perspective," said professional photographer Ian Plant of Victoria, Minnesota, on a recent visit to the caves. "I love the textures and the shapes and the colors, especially when the ice is backlit. It can be really beautiful and enchanting."

The mammoth-size icicles form from water that seeps over and through the sandstone, dripping down and freezing. Inside the caves, the constant drip, drip, drip is reminiscent of a gentle summer rain, each droplet of runoff helping form temporary stalactites. The color of the ice ranges from clear to yellow to blue, and is ever-evolving.

"It's remarkable how beautiful and intricate these formations can be. You're kind of being transported into another world, an unexpected world that you just wouldn't expect to find somewhere here in the U.S.," Plant said.

Scott Kusmirek, owner of Lake Superior Ice Cave Tours, noted this season is the first time "we've been able to get out here in about three years." Kusmirek, who founded the company about eight years ago, uses snowmobiles towing sleds to chauffeur hearty tourists out to the ice caves.

The ice formations happen every year, he explains, but there's not always ice safe enough to make the crossing from the mainland in Munising to Grand Island.

"We're running on six to eight inches minimum of ice," he said. "We really take a lot of time to make sure our route here is safe. We use spuds, drones, every technology that we have, and we check the ice on a daily basis."

Up to 1 1/2 miles of these unique formations stretch the east side of Grand Island. Visitors can explore these on their own before being picked up and taken back. 

Grand Island is not the only place in the Upper Peninsula with ice cave formations, but it is a favorite of many.

"We get a lot of people from all over the country, and pretty much all over the world," Kusmirek said. "And I think the only other place that you can really experience anything close to this would be the Apostle Islands, and that's you know, a lot farther away from the mainland. And very rarely does it freeze to where the ice is thick enough to get out there to experience those caves."

How long the ice will be safe enough here to make the crossing this season is anyone's guess. But Kusmirek suggests people don't hesitate. The weather can change quickly and break up the lake ice in a short amount of time. But Kusmirek is hopeful the lake ice would be thick enough for visitors to cross until April. 

"It's all based on how cold the weather is, and we've had a pretty cold winter this year, and it's running pretty late into March," he said.

Those wanting to visit can check out /www.lakesuperioricecavetours.com for updated ice information and to book a tour.