MINNEAPOLIS — A kayak ride on Lake Superior that ended in the deaths of four Wisconsin family members would have been difficult even for experienced paddlers, officials say.

Bob Krumenaker, superintendent of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis for a story published Sunday that it was a sobering reminder of the vastness and danger of the largest of the Great Lakes.

The family from Loyal, Wisconsin, set out in an open-top tandem kayak Thursday for a 4-mile paddle across open water. But their kayak capsized after the wind picked up.

Eric Fryman, 39, and his three children, Kyra, 9, Annaliese, 5, and Jansen, 3, were found dead in the frigid water. Only his wife, the children’s mother, Cari Mews-Fryman, 29, survived. All of them wore life jackets. Coast Guard officials said hypothermia was probably a major factor in the deaths.