Due to unexpected logistical issues, Apple Island Tours have been cancelled for Sunday, June 15, 2025. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. If you have purchased advance tickets as a GWBHS member and will not be able to attend the tours due to the cancellation, you will be refunded.
About Apple Island Tours
Apple Island Tours is an annual event during the second weekend in June by Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society (GWBHS), in partnership with West Bloomfield School District, City of Orchard Lake Village, and West Bloomfield Parks. Tours begin at Orchard Lake Museum and include outdoor exhibits, volunteer island docents, presenter Mi-kwan-dahn (Mike) Jewell, bus and boat transportation, and a self-guided island tour.
Apple Island, officially known as Marjorie Ward Strong Woodland Sanctuary, is a 37-acre island in the center of Orchard Lake. It is currently uninhabited by people and is kept as a nature preserve with several archaeological sites by West Bloomfield School District. The public can visit the island during the annual Apple Island Tours.
Thank you to our 2025 Apple Island Tours sponsors!
Silver sponsors:
Family of Suzanne Bentley Hadley
Apple Island Champions:
Natures Beauty Inc.
Mind the Gap! Fundraiser Donors:
Anonymous, Benjamin Blumenstein, Hannah Dagg, Carol Fink, Margaret Gregory, Rob
Gregory, Carol Hack, Charles Packer, Michael Patton, Pat Steele
Community Partners
2019 Apple Island Tours poster
2019 Apple Island National Register of Historic Places Celebration Program
The Michigan Society of Professional Surveyors explained the history of surveying during the 2017 Apple Island Tours on Civic Center TV.
2015 Apple Island Tours presenters
2014 Civic Center TV coverage of Apple Island Tours
2024 Apple Island Tours event images