Winter Recreation
Winter is certainly a quieter time of the year on the Door Peninsula, but many people find it an attractive time of the year for a number of reasons.
Cross-country skiing is a quiet way to connect to nature, and Door County's four mainland state parks and Crossroads at Big Creek in Sturgeon Bay (near the intersection of County Highway TT and State Hwy. 42-57) offer miles of groomed trails.
In addition to the state parks, the Ridges Sanctuary near Baileys Harbor, Winter Park near Kewaunee and the Ahnapee State Trail connecting Sturgeon Bay with Algoma and Casco offer winter recreation opportunities. An extensive snowmobile network of trails is also maintained.
There's more than cross country skiing at the state parks:
Newport State Park at the far north end of the Door Peninsula is Wisconsin's only formally designated wilderness park and offers remote campsites for extra-hardy winter backpackers. The fairway at Peninsula State Park golf course's 17th hole (photo - opposite) has been a favored sledding spot for generations of Door County residents and visitors. It's a challenging, steep downhill run for sleds and tubes. The park's Tennison Bay campground is partially plowed and has electrical hookups, pit toilets and a winter water supply. The nearby White Cedar Nature Center offers year-round programs for all ages and is open most winter Saturdays.
Crashing Lake Michigan waves create dramatic ice sculptures on the rugged shore of 865-acre Whitefish Dunes State Park, south of Jacksonport. Established in 1967, the park contains scenic Cave Point County Park and also has frontage on Clark Lake. Its pine-topped sand dunes and 250-yard beach make it one of Wisconsin's busiest day-use parks in summer and the attractions carry over into winter. Two miles of cross country ski trail is set aside for visitors with snowshoes or who just want a leisurely hike.
Whitefish Dunes' interpretive nature center has extensive displays on the ecology and human history of the region.
Potawatomi State Park, near Sturgeon Bay, doesn't go into hibernation when winter sets in. Like Peninsula Park, snowmobilers can rev their machines through miles of scenery and there are eight miles set aside for hiking and snowshoeing. There's even a small sledding hill near the campground shelter and there are provisions for winter camping.
Both Potawatomi and Peninsula parks feature a 75-foot tower where you can see as far as 16 miles over frozen Green Bay.
Some of the parks also offer an evening each winter of cross country skiing by candlelight.
Visitors to all the parks are required to buy either daily or annual vehicle passes and there are additional charges for some trail passes.
The winter calendar has many special dates ranging from a busy holiday season to wacky observances like the parades in Jacksonport and Egg Harbor on Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, respectively. Remember, Jacksonport's Polar Bear Plunge on Jan. 1 and Fish Creek's Winter Festival in February. Sturgeon Bay also conducts its Fire & Ice ice sculpting event in February.
Then, again, a quiet winter weekend mixed in with some dining, shopping and scenery isn't too bad, either.
