Door County - The Official Visitor Guide 2008 - (Page 13) Visiting Our Door County Lighthouses Door County’s 300 miles of shoreline, much of it rocky, gave need for lighthouses so that sailors of the 19th and early 20th centuries could safely navigate the lake and bay waters around the Door Peninsula & surrounding islands. bAIlEys hArbOr rANGE lIGhT © JON JArOsh Lighthouse map can be found on www.doorcounty.com/maps-directions The annual Door County Lighthouse Walk is the weekend of May 17 &18, 2008. For more information on the Walk, contact the Door County Maritime Museum at 920-743-5958 or www.dcmm.org Visit www.doorcounty.com/outdoor/lighthouses.aspx for more information on each of our 10 lighthouses. W hether you are a first time visitor to the Door County Peninsula or a seasoned veteran, the striking beauty of Door County’s most notorious landmarks still harkens back to a simpler time, a time when waterway traffic ruled the Great Lakes and brought the Peninsula its first true visitors. The prevalence of lighthouses on the Door Peninsula is directly related to its unique geography and use of the Lake Michigan and Green Bay shipping lanes. The passage through and around the “Door” was often treacherous due to weather, shoals/reefs, and fog, so a number of lighthouses around the Peninsula were built to aid navigation into harbors, through dangerous straits (i.e. Death’s Door), and away from shoals. No visit to the area is complete without taking in at least one of these beacons, and preferably more depending on your length of stay. Visitors are not able to get to some of the structures up close due to their locations on the surrounding islands around the county, but water views are always pos- sible through tours provided by local captains as well as the Washington Island Ferry Line. An exception to this rule is the recently refurbished Pottawatomie Light on Rock Island, which is open to visitors during the summer season. With the second largest concentration of lighthouses for any county in the US, Door County visitors have the opportunity to visit and tour the interior and exterior of three beacons during the summer/autumn tourist season. The two most visited beacons are Eagle Bluff Lighthouse located in Peninsula State Park between Fish Creek and Ephraim, and the Cana Island Lighthouse located just north of Baileys Harbor. The third lighthouse open for visitors, mentioned above, is Pottawatomie Light on Rock Island. Each beacon offers visitors as unique a visit as the reason it was initially constructed. But if you have to choose only one, Cana Island Lighthouse is truly Door County’s “mustsee” icon. Cana’s tower will be open daily for the first time in history for the 2008 season. Note: parking is limited and there is a bit of a walk but don’t be surprised if this location becomes a stop on every one of your visits to beautiful Door Cana Island Lighthouse County! A great way to immerse yourself in Door County’s lighthouse history is to participate in the annual Door County Lighthouse Walk, which takes place in May. Now in its 15th year, this self-guided, countywide tour of 6 mainland lighthouses draws thousands of lighthouse aficionados to the county. Boat tours to and around the island lighthouses are also available…many of which are only available during this annual event. For more information on the Walk, contact the Door County Maritime Museum at 920-743-5958 or www.dcmm.org. – Brian Kelsey D o o r C o u n t y. c o m 13 http://www.doorcounty.com/maps-directions http://www.dcmm.org http://www.doorcounty.com/outdoor/lighthouses.aspx http://www.dcmm.org http://www.doorcounty.com
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