Frog Bay Tribal National Park (FBTNP), located in Gaa-Miskwaabikaang, Red Cliff in Wisconsin’s Bayfield County, is the first tribal national park in the United States. It’s a pristine, 180-acre property with a sandy beach and boardwalk trail. The park is situated on the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa reservation.
The park is home to a rare boreal forest ecotype, coastal wetlands, and an undeveloped sand beach, offering an unequaled wilderness experience on the Bayfield Peninsula. It encompasses 3/4 mile of Lake Superior shoreline and offers views of 5 of the Apostle Islands. FBTNP and the Frog Bay Conservation Management Area (CMA) protect 300 acres in total, consisting of a large tract of at-risk boreal forest, over a mile of riparian corridor, nearly 120 acres of wetlands and freshwater estuary habitat, and almost 4,000 feet of undeveloped Lake Superior shoreline.
The park was made possible through several efforts. The original 89-acre parcel of former Red Cliff Reservation land was successfully reacquired in 2012, and a second, 86-acre private parcel was acquired in 2017. This 175-acre area comprises FBTNP and permanently protects a large tract of at-risk boreal forest, the lower estuary and mouth of Frog Creek, and restored former reservation lands back to tribal ownership.
The park is managed by Red Cliff’s Treaty Natural Resources Division, who has carefully planned and installed the current infrastructure with respect to the sensitive habitats within the park1. Visitors can learn more about the ecology and cultural importance of the forest at Frog Bay through a series of interpretive signs located along the trail network. Visitors are reminded to enjoy Frog Bay with respect to the Red Cliff community and for the environment, and remember to “leave no trace” as they experience FBTNP.
