Door County Wisconsin Guide

Mark's Guide to Door County Wisconsin

Door County Lighthouses

Door County has over 250 miles of shoreline with over 40 islands. Early shipping dictated the need for lighthouses on the Door County shoreline. There are 10 lighthouses and range lights in Door County today. Not all are operational and none are still manned. Six can be driven to or close to. Four require a boat trip to visit or to see up close. These four are on islands around Door County.

The first lighthouse in Door County was the Pottawatomie Lighthouse on Rock Island. Construction was started in 1836. The Pottawatomic Lighthouse was not only the first lighthouse in Door County, but the first in Wisconsin and the first on Lake Michigan. The lighthouse is now part of Rock Island State Park and can be visited by boat or by taking the ferry from Washington Island to Rock Island.

Sherwood Point Lighthouse was built in 1883. It was the last lighthouse in the Great Lakes to be automated in 1983. The lighthouse is located on the Sherwood Point Bluff, west of Sturgeon Bay. The lighthouse is now located on private Coast Guard grounds and is closed to the public except for the Lighthouse Walk weekend. The Fourth Order Fresnel lens was removed in 2002 and is currently on display at the Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay. The two main structures are the Lighthouse and the Bell Tower. The Bell Tower was constructed in 1892 to house the 600 pound bronze fog bell.

Canal Station Lighthouse is located at the mouth of the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal east of Sturgeon Bay. The Canal Station Lighthouse was built in 1899. It was automated in 1972 and is located on an operating Coast Guard station. It is closed to the public except for the Lighthouse Walk weekend. You can follow the signs to the Coast Guard station off highway 57/42 just after you cross the new canal bridge heading north. There is a parking lot next to the station. You then can walk along the edge of the Coast Guard station property down to the water. The Canal Station Lighthouse was modified several times to it’s current structure. The last modification was completed in 1903. There is also a red steel fog signal and pier head light located at the end of a sea wall. There is a steel elevated walkway out to the fog signal building. You can walk to the end of the sea wall, but you cannot get to the fog signal building.

The Eagle Bluff Lighthouse is located in Peninsula State Park between Fish Creek and Ephraim on the Green Bay side of Door County. Built in 1868 and was automated in 1926. It is one of the most visited of the Door County lighthouses. In 1960 the Door County Historical Society selected the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse to restore. This restoration was one of if not the first lighthouse restoration in the country. The Door County Historical Society still maintains and manages the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse. The Eagle Bluff Lighthouse is open for tours daily during the summer and weekends during the Spring and Fall. There is a fee for the tour, but you can walk the grounds for no cost. A Wisconsin State Park admission sticker is required to get into the Peninsula State Park

The Cana Island Lighthouse is the most recognized of the Door County lighthouses. Build in 1869 and it was automated in 1944. It is still an active navigation aid. The light now operates automatically from dusk to dawn. The Cana Island Lighthouse is located North of Baileys Harbor off Highway Q. There are signs showing the way to the lighthouse. Just be aware there is very little parking at the end of the road. You will need to walk across a rock causeway to get to the lighthouse grounds. If the lake is high, there could be water on the causeway. There is an admission charge to access the grounds. The grounds are open daily in the summer.

The Baileys Harbor Range Lights are located just North of Baileys Harbor were built in 1869. There operation is simple. To follow a safe entry into Baileys Harbor you line up the upper and lower Range Lights. In 1969 they were decommissioned and another single tower was built with a light to guide sailors into Baileys Harbor. They are only open for inspection during the annual Lighthouse Walk. The Baileys Harbor Range Lights replaced the old Baileys Harbor Lighthouse that was built in 1852. It was used until the Baileys Harbor Range Lights were built. That lighthouse still stands, but is on private land and is getting harder to see due to tree growth.

There are three other Door County lighthouses located on islands that require a boat to get to. The Chambers Island Lighthouse is located on Chambers Island. Built in 1858 and then automated in 1961. It is open to the public, but the only way to get to Chambers Island is by either private boat or by charter boat. The lighthouse is owned by the Town of Gibraltar after the Coast Guard turned over ownership in 1976. The Pilot Island Lighthouse on Pilot Island is anther lighthouse only reachable by boat. It was built in 1858 and then automated in 1962. You can sometimes see the lighthouse from the Washington Island Ferry. The Plum Island Range Lights on Plum Island were built in 1895 and automated in 1969. They too are only accessible by boat or from the Washington Island Ferry.

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