New York Times says popular ice caves under threat

If you haven't checked out the ice caves north of here along the shores of Lake Superior, there are two reasons you might want to get on that.

Firstly, the New York Times just outed the popular destination to its readers in a list of 52 places in the world to visit (we're No. 10!), meaning there's a good chance it will be much, much more popular this year.

That's likely good news for local tourism types.

It's also a feather in the cap of local photographer Dan Grisdale, whose stunning photo of the caves is featured in the article.

"The whole area past pancake is our favourite spot to go. Lots of different shorelines and a guaranteed place to get good pictures," said Grisdale, whose work can be viewed on his Facebook Page (if you're looking for more of his ice caves photos, check out this article on SooToday).

But here's the bad news: The New York Times also notes that the existence of the picturesque caves is threatened by climate change.

So there's even more reason to get there soon. If you want to go, the Times suggests waiting until February.

Ellen VanLaar, a local artist who lives close to the caves, says the lake isn't yet sufficiently frozen to allow for proper (or safe) ice cave exploration.

"Caves need time to build along lake edges where splashing occurs. When the lake solidly freezes, then it's time to view the caves without risk. Guides are helpful for the inexperienced who may not understand rivers and water depth factors," VanLaar told SooToday. "Some of the bays are frozen but the larger formations are usually on the big lake open areas that freeze later and have over-hanging cliffs."