We're flying into Indianapolis on July 29, picking up Suzie's mom and driving up to Door County on July 30. We have a return flight on Monday, August 7.

I'm looking for suggestions on the Drive north to Door County - planning to stop at Wind Point and perhaps overnighting near there before arriving at Door County.

I've found a good site (Door County Maritime Museum) with information and a very general map showing the lighthouses of Door County.

But what's not clear is which lighthouses are open to the grounds and which can be climbed (if any). Are there any cruises around Door County?

For those who've been there, in what order would you see lighthouses and which ones would you skip (if any)?

Any recommendations on places to stay. We're inclined to stay at Comfort Inn kind of places, but if there's a nice B&B that you like, please let me know.

You can post here or email me at chidester@mindspring.com

Thanks.

John:

I'm planning a similar trip in late August so I too will be interested in the responses to your post. I just bought the book "A Travelers Guide to 116 Western Great Lakes Lighthouses" by Penrose and it seems to have a great deal of information regarding which lights are open to the public and how to find them. Also, I got a free book from the State of Wisconsin titled "Wisconsin 2000 Spring/Summer Event and Recreation Guide" and it has a couple of pages on Lighthouse Tours including companies that offer short cruises . It is available from the State of Wisconsin. You can order it online at www.travelwisconsin.com

Have a great trip. I hope you will post your experiences upon your return for me and others who are planning similar trips.

Larry

Thanks, Larry -- that trip planner they offer is great.

Wisconsin Lighthouses from Wisconsin/Illinois border going north on US94/Hwy41 before you get to Door County.

These trips involve drives of several miles off of US94/Hwy41:
Kenosha - Southport and North pier lights; Racine - North and South Breakwater lights and Wind Point;
Milwaukee - Breakwater light, Pierhead light, North Point Lighthouse;

In Milwaukee take Hwy 43 North (these lights are several miles off of hwy 43):
Port Washington - Breakwater Light and Old Port Washington Light(open for tours on Sundays);
Sheboygan - Breakwater light (no lantern room);

Take hwy 42 North at Manitowoc:
Manitowoc - North Breakwater Light and Manitowoc Maritime Museum
Two Rivers - North Pierhead light (removed from original site and moved atop a platform near local museum right off the highway after crossing the second river in Two Rivers.
Rawley Point Lighthouse - After the North pierhead light museum in Two Rivers: Instead of taking Hwy 42, take the turn to the right 22nd Street also County Road O. Take County Road O to Point Beach State Park. You will need to purchase a State Park Sticker. After doing this take the road to the left and then turn into the beach parking lot. You will need to walk South along the beach for a view of Rawley Point Lighthouse. You are not allowed on the grounds, but may take a picture from the dunes area. When leaving Point Beach State Park turn right on County Road O until you reach County V. Turn left on County V. County V will take you back to Hwy 42. Turn left on Hwy 42 and continue north.
Kewaunee - South Pierhead (short distance off the main hwy through town) There is a Lighthouse Store in Kewaunee on the left side of the road on the way out of town.
Algoma - North Pierhead light (red) viewable from hwy through town.

For Directions use any of the following:
Penrose "A Traveler's Guide to 116 Western Great Lakes Lighthouses"

Ken & Barb Wardius "Wisconsin Lighthouses A photographic Guide"

Delorme Mapping Company "Wisconsin Atlas & Gazetteer" (back road maps)

If you have questions about any of the above just send me an email.

Door County's 2000 Official Vacation Guidebook "Welcome to Door County" is available from the Door County Chamber of Commerce, 1015 Green Bay Road, P.O. Box 406, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235-0406. Phone (920) 743-4456; Internet: www.doorcountyvacations.com

Other sites:
http://www.door-county.com/index.html http://www.doorcountywisconsin.com/

Door County Maritime Museum: http://www.dcmm.org/index.html

Friends of Rock Island: http://www.wctc.net/~cmarlspc/

Story of the new Rock Island Lantern room: http://www.povertyisland.com/lighthouse/Default.htm

Publicly Accessible Lighthouses: Great Lakes:
http://WWW.CR.NPS.GOV/history/maritime/greatlt.html#Wisconsin



[This message has been edited by Suzanne Murphy (edited 07-10-2000).]

Door County Lighthouses:

Sherwood Point - near Sturgeon Bay, not open to the public, grounds open only during Lighthouse Walk in May, other times closed to public.

Canal Station - Sturgeon Bay, ground not open to public except for Lighthouse Walk in May. This one you can see from the road nearby or from across the canal.

Bailey Harbor Range Lights - viewable from road.

Old Baileys Harbor - on an island viewable from end of road.

Cana Island Lighthouse - near Bailey's Harbor, grounds open to public. This is run by the Door County Maritime Museum. Open 10-5 daily, grounds are open at other times.

Eagle Bluff Lighthouse - in Peninsula State Park near Fish Creek (State Park Sticker needed). This is a museum open to the public. Lantern room is closed to the public.

The Washington Island Ferry Line out of Northport goes past Plum Island and Pilot Island on its way to and from Washington Island. From Washington Island take the Karfi Ferry to Rock Island and hike 1 1/2 miles to Pottawatomie Lighthouse. You might see Jim Johnston working on restoring this lighthouse. You can climb this lighthouse and go into the newly restored lantern room.

Chambers Island. There are about 4 or more cruises planned throughout the summer to Chambers Island. This lighthouse should be open to the public when one takes the cruise. It is a 1 1/2 hike to the lighthouse. You may call (920)743-5958 for scheduling information.

Door County Maritime Museum - in Sturgeon Bay and in a smaller museum in Gills Rock. These are very good museums.




[This message has been edited by Suzanne Murphy (edited 07-10-2000).]

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Suzanne!!

(Are you available as a guide?)

That's funny you say that because my local Lighthouse Gift Store and Harbour Lights dealer asked me that question! I have made numerous trips to the above listed lighthouses. If you would like any more specific directions, ideas on places to eat in Door County, or would like to know other interesting sites in Door County besides lighthouses (yes there are places other than lighthouses that are interesting), let me know. I was trying to keep the above posts brief.

There are many good places to stay in Door County. The web sites listed above will let you search for some. I usually stay in the Fish Creek/Ephraim/Sister Bay area. That way you are halfway up the peninsula and can drive up or down the peninsula as needed. Many people new to Door County stay in Sturgeon Bay which makes for a long drive every day. I am also familiar with some difficult to find "nice but economical" places to stay and eat. (There are no fast food chains north of Sturgeon Bay) The Green Bay (Green Bay of Lake Michigan) side of the peninsula is the most popular side to stay on. This is the side with many small villages with beautiful scenic harbors.

I will warn you ahead of time that the Lake Michigan water level is 2 to 3 below normal level, so some of the harbors have very low water levels. What this means though, is that you can venture out much farther along the rocky shores that are usually under water for bluff viewing and lighthouse photo taking. I also found some very nice fossils in rocks due to low water levels.

Have a great trip!


[This message has been edited by Suzanne Murphy (edited 07-11-2000).]

John,
Have you arranged to meet up with JJ and paddle out to Rock Island for the deluxe tour and a couple hours of work on the light?
Dave

John-

About Sherwood Point, you can figure out how to get there by looking at a roadmap (that's what we did) and when you get close, signs start to point your way there. You end up at an area where there is a road on your left (with a bar there too) and you go down the road and BAM! Sherwood Point is right there. And after guiding you there with many a sign, they inform you to not trespass I guess the many signs along tyhe roaqd were too good to be true, huh? I stood by the sign that they had there and took pictures (until my dad got out of the car and went with me to the water, can ya guess what happened next??) Anyways, the road turns and I think that there is a parking area on the other side and I'm sure that you could probably get it from the other side. BTW, I LOVE its fog signal building! Looks very cool!
Also, if you end up in Sturgeon Bay, if you head towards the shipyard, there should be at least one ship there: the Edward L. Ryerson. When we were in Sturgeon Bay in September last year, my dad went over to the guard booth, and since there was only activity in the graving dock, the guard there allowed us to go inside to get a bit closer to the Ryerson (not right next to it, but you don't see fences in the foreground!
And the Door County Maritime Museum is a great museum. They just recently installed a real working periscope.
AND the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc has the submarine USS Cobia, and the whole museum is great.
And the neighborhood around North Point Lighthouse in Milwaukee is called the "Gold Coast." Houses like you wouldn't believe! Large, old, AND beautiful! Frankly, it almost puts Grosse Point Farms and places like that near where you grew up (you know what I'm talking about, I'm sure) to shame almost!
And at Sturgeon Bay, you can also walk out on the pier, but can't completely make it to the pierhead light, because the pier splits and the light is offset to the left. Also from thge pier, you can see the entire Canal Light and Coast guard Station there. Also, near the Door County Maritime Museum, there are tugboat docks and Sturgeon Bay's 2nd Coast guard Station. the CG Vessel Mobile Bay is stationed there.
feel free to ask me for anymore information, we've gone all the way up (except for the island lights...). Oh, and I almost forgot. When we went to the old Kenosha (Southport) light in September, we were able to climb it. We had wet paint, so no banister! And you go up into the lantern room.

Jakers

Another great informational book about Door County is "Exploring Door County" by Craig Charles, published by NorthWord Press in 1999. It has information on cities, towns, villages, County Parks, State Parks, beaches, hiking trails, biking trails, canoe and kayak routes, islands, lighthouses, map of Rock Island, etc. I ordered a copy online at Barnes & Noble, since my local store did not have it.

I also highly recommend exploring Peninsula State Park and stopping to see Whitefish Dunes State Park, and Cave Point County Park.

Jake - I really like Sherwood Point also. I was able to get a shot of the light on the bluff from below, but it would be better from out on the water on a boat. It can also be seen in the distance across Sturgeon Bay from the quarry. I have always been there during the lighthouse walk when the grounds are open. I don't know how insistant they are when they say the grounds are not open to the public. I usually recommend not trespassing especially when property is posted as such. I wouldn't want to get in trouble with the Coast Guard.

Another way to see all the lighthouses are by airplane. There is a business at the airport south of Sturgeon Bay (one passes the airport on the way to Sherwood point) that gives scenic rides of Door County including lighthouses. Bill Younger mentioned in May that he took a plane tour of the Door County lights. Here is a web page for scenic airplane rides: www.orionflightservices.com

My son and I really enjoyed the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc and the submarine tour. My son is 17 now, but he was about 14 when we went to this museum. We have toured several submarines and ships.

We also visited the Nuclear Power Plant north of Two Rivers.

Everytime I go to Door County I return to the lighthouses and try to explore something new.

John, I just got back from Door county this past sunday, I have a fairly detailed map I am going to mail you. I called the coast guard @ Sturgeon canal (regional HQ)and asked if I could take pictures of Sherwood point light from the yard, they said it normaly wasn't a problem and to go ahead and take pictures. I printed this list from the web pages (because it has a bunch of useful phone numbers) http://www.travelwisconsin.com/tour/DoorCounty.shtml
Cana Island is quite accessible, you could drive a semi out to it without a problem

and here is a picture of Sherwood


[This message has been edited by Mark Wagner (edited 07-23-2000).]

Mark - Did the Coast Guard let you walk around Sherwood Point and take pictures? Were you able to go down the stairs to the lake?

Do the Coast Guard let you walk on the property in Sturgeon Bay Canal Station also?

Here I have been honoring their request to stay off the property all this time! Thats what I get for being too nice.

Actually since I am usually at the lighthouse walk it didn't bother me too much. But when I have been in Door County in Sept/Oct it would have been nice to get a few more photos!

Suzanne, with regards to Sherwood point I just called the coast guard before I went over, to ask permission to take pictures from the sides of the property and explained to them that I wasn't looking for a tour of the house or anything else just some pictures from edge of the yard.
And no to Sturgeon bay canal I stayed within the allowed area, there is foot traffic allowed to the north pier

My visit to the Wisconsin Tourism site paid off with the arrival of two books of information on Friday - pretty fast. Still awaiting more detailed information on other things I checked at the site.

Both books feature lighthouses prominently.

All of your contributions above are great. This may be the best-planned vacation we've ever taken.

I'm still looking for places to stay. I imagine we'll spend a night in the Milwaukee area on the way up the coast and looking for suggestions in Door County. Any suggestions here would be appreciated.

What kind of shopping does one find in Door County? Antiques? Crafts? Etc? (I imagine it's all there, but is there any specialty kind of stores?

Regarding the picture of the walkway to Cana Island...in 1996 after a visit to area lighthouses, we wanted to visit Cana Island lighthouse, but the water levels were 6-8
inches deep, covering the roadway...
what roadway in 1996!
What a difference 4 years make!

John, there are plenty of antique and craft places (old barns) along the way in door county a few road side farm stands with fresh local cherrys and other fruit,
I don't know if you are interested, but we took the kids to a place called "The Farm" near Institute, on 57 about a 1/2 from the 42/57 split all the locals can tell how to get there. My kids had a blast. It if kind like a petting zoo/farm the main area is a barn yard with baby goats, piglets, baby chicks, a turkey, kittens and other stuff for the kids to hold pet and play with, and some other exibits and displays on life on a farm back in the old days.
The door county Maritime museum is a must, it is right next to the draw bridge in town (not on the bypass route bridge) you can't miss it. They also have boat tours on an old Chicago fire boat that leave from the museum (I forgot to get a picture of the boat, it was pretty neat)
Did they send you the Door county fun map 2000 ? If not let me know and I'll mail it to you

Door County is the home and workshop of many artists which sell their artwork in various shops. There are also many shops advertising antiques along hwy 42. Egg Harbor, Fish Creek, Ephraim, Sister Bay, Ellison Bay are filled with shops. In Fish Creek there is a shop with lighthouse stuff and also the Door County Stencil Company which have beautiful stenciled clothing mostly for women. The shops are a mix of tourist stuff but heavier on the artisan stuff, very unique items.

Check out these sites:
http://www.DoorCountyNavigator.com/
http://www.doorcountywi.com/
http://www.doorcountymagazine.com/default.htm

The summer 2000 issue of Door County Magazine has an article on Pottawatomie Lighthouse and on the state parks in Door County.

Oh yes, if you get a chance, buy some chocolate covered dried cherries --- mmmm wonderful treat! I usually stop at one of the farm markets on the way home and purchase 10 lbs of frozen cherries. They start to thaw on the way home and then I divide them up in smaller containers in the freezer. But they are tart cherries, not sweet cherries.