Great Water Inn - Bayfield, WI

10/23/2026

Autumn is a time of transitions, including the art at the inn! A warm and grateful thanks to artist Joe Groshek, whose work has hung throughout the inn since we opened our doors. My personal favorite is “Tree of Life” (in the Siskiwit suite, posing cheerfully with Joe below).

As we bid farewell to these pieces, which feel like old friends, a shoutout to Joe’s story:

Growing up on a farm in Central Wisconsin, Joe became connected with the natural world at an early age. Those early connections have expanded and molded his attitude and appreciation toward Nature ever since.

Using the natural world as inspiration, Joe employs a variety of media, whether drawn to something he has experienced in nature or prompted by visual ideas of nature that he can shape through interpretation.

Joe believes in seeking AWE every day. An artful mind helps him to be aware and to notice the sometimes-fleeting beauty around us.

Joe previously served on the board of directors for the Chequamegon Bay Arts Council (CBAC), which awards annual Arts Initiative and Artistic Development grants and scholarships. If you’re interested in helping to support this mission, learn more at cbayarts.org.

Thanks, Joe!

09/15/2026

Less than a block away from the GWI!

You don't even have to leave town to find a quiet, secluded space in the heart of Bayfield.

📸

09/05/2026

Find our coffee mugs here …

The Washburn Area Chamber of Commerce is participating in this year’s Poetry Trail, and you can find us at Stop #24!

To participate, pick up an entry form at participating locations. Use the map and enjoy 25 poems. Write the poem title on the line corresponding to the map order. Drop off completed entries (at least 21 poem titles) at the Bayfield Chamber and Visitor Bureau by 5 p.m. on September 30, 2026. Prizes will be awarded!

08/29/2026

View of Lake Superior on February 16, 2014, when the lake nearly froze over. The ice lingered late on the Great Lakes that year. The first ocean-going vessel didn't finish the full transit of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system until May 7. The previous record for latest arrival, set in 1959, was May 3.

While it wasn't great for shipping, it was a boon for northwestern Wisconsin communities. The sea caves of the shoreline of Lake Superior and the Apostle Islands were accessible by a hike over the Lake Superior ice for the first time in years. More than 130,000 people took advantage of the rare opportunity and visited the caves. The ice didn't break up until late April.

What are your memories? Post your photos of the sea caves from 2014.

Enjoy. Jim.

08/29/2026

We get to collaborate with the coolest people. 🙌🙌🙌 Kara Hakanson is a Bayfield resident with magical skills ranging from photography to filmmaking to comedic improv to writing and performing a heartwarming one-woman show. We just got our hands on her debut book, a 35mm film photographic journey along Lake Superior’s south shore. It’ll be making its own migration through GWI’s rooms, starting with Gitchigami.

If you’re in the neighborhood, you can grab one from Apostle Islands Booksellers and Bayfield Winery and Blue Ox C***r in Bayfield, or from Wren, Cornucopia Coffee and Sweet Shoppe and Ehlers General Store in Cornucopia.

For you locals, it’s available to check out from the Vaughn, Washburn, and Bayfield Libraries! 📚

We’re so lucky to have Kara’s framed photographs in the Gitchigami and Siskiwit rooms, all for sale. 📷💫

AND did you know she makes these sweet little bookmarks and postcards? Available in our “Closet Store” and Apostle Islands Books. A great gift for your favorite pen pal. ✍️

And ok but her calendars! Yet another way to take a big lake story home (and mark the date for your next trip to Bayfield, obviously). 🌊

08/28/2026

A long-range weather forecaster thinks Wisconsin is set up for a great fall colors season in 2026.

08/28/2026

Volunteering for the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore can create once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Cynthia Howk spent the summer of 1986 on Outer Island as part of the Volunteers in the Parks program (VIP) of the National Park Service. She documented her experiences on Outer Island in a series of le...

08/28/2026

08/26/2026

Have you been to Artists Squared Studios and Gallery in Washburn? It’s a hidden gem, inspired by the idea of “Art to the Power of Two.” Partners in both life and art, J.R. Lince-Hopkins and Susan Lince have curated a space that contains multitudes. Their work ranges from J.R.’s precise renderings of the effects of “lake light” to Susan’s intuitive multi-media mappings of inner journeys and poems.

About their art in their own words: 🙌💫

“With time-of-the-first-awareness eyes, I now paint landscapes, skyscapes, and lakescapes to record our grand and changing environment. As increasing weather extremes and the onset of climate induced changes occur in our world, many artists like me are documenting these events for future generations to ponder.”
- J.R.

“As a lover of art and nature, two mantras have followed me through my adult years to remind me of how grateful I am for all the wonderful things there are to see in this life: “The more you look, the more you see,” and “Beauty and ugliness exist side by side” (words written by my wise daughter when she was about eight). I have produced art, studied art, taught art, collected art, and married an artist. But well before I had mantras to raise my awareness, art was there for me when I was very young, as a spontaneous and intuitive process –drawing, painting, doing collage, and designing.”
- Susan

Guests in our Siskiwit suite can spend time with J.R.’s stunning “Across the Chequamegon Bay,” an original oil painting of a bright, “lake light” storm, and work by both artists is scattered throughout the inn. One of our personal favorites is Susan’s “Islands” piece in the Gitchigami apartment.

The next time you head to Bayfield, we recommend you stop off at Artists Squared.🌿

https://artistssquaredgallery.com/ ✨✨✨

406 W Bayfield St, Washburn, WI 54891