Wisconsin’s Most Beloved State Park Features Dramatic Limestone Bluffs Along Green Bay Shores

Peninsula State Park, Wisconsin

Peninsula State Park is Wisconsin’s most popular camping spot for good reason.

This Door County gem packs eight miles of Green Bay shoreline, a 75-foot observation tower, and historical lighthouses into one stunning package.

Cyclists love the Sunset Bike Trail, while hikers tackle rocky bluffs for killer water views.

With a summer theater, golf course, and sandy beach, it’s basically the Swiss Army knife of state parks.

Trek the 2.5-mile Eagle Trail along its limestone cliffs

You’ll get an incredible workout on this moderately difficult loop that follows the Niagara Escarpment, the same rock formation that creates Niagara Falls.

The trail boasts 150-foot cliffs with stunning views of Green Bay. Descending 200 feet, the steep sections and stone steps require careful navigation.

You’ll pass abandoned quarry sites from the early 1900s where workers harvested limestone for Door County construction projects.

The bluff base is 10–15 degrees cooler, giving enough moisture for mosses and ferns to thrive. In spring, capture trillium and hepatica in bloom.

Climb Eagle Tower (at 253 feet) above Green Bay

The 60-foot tower sits atop the Niagara Escarpment, providing sweeping views of Michigan’s shoreline and Ephraim village.

The top platform sits 250 feet above water level, letting you see into Michigan’s Garden Peninsula on clear days.

Rebuilt in 2021, you can reach the top via 100 steps or an 850-foot accessible canopy walkway with a gentle 5% slope.

Explore a cave that formed 428 million years ago

Peninsula State Park contains the Eagle Cave, a 41-foot-long formation carved into the Niagara Escarpment at 150 feet above bay level.

Trails reveal glimpses of ancient reef structures formed when this region lay under a shallow tropical sea 400 million years ago.

The park sits atop this limestone ridge and you’ll see tiny springs emerging at the base where groundwater hits impermeable rock layers.

The dolomite limestone, rich in magnesium, has a distinctive buff color that changes throughout the day as the sunlight shifts.

Drop by the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse from 1868

Built from Cream City brick shipped from Milwaukee for $12,000, this historic beacon has guided vessels through the narrow Strawberry Channel.

Today, the Door County Historical Society runs the lighthouse as a museum. The summer kitchen and brick outhouse remain on the property.

William Duclon’s (who served as keeper from 1883 to 1918) youngest son Walter later contributed personal stories and artifacts for the 1960s restoration.

A fifth-order Fresnel lens sits in the lantern room. The light maintains its distinctive signal pattern (one second on, six seconds off) every night of the year.

Ride the 5.1-mile Sunset Bike Trail

This scenic route provides a safe alternative to Shore Road for cyclists. The entire 9.5-mile network takes about an hour to bike.

The trail takes you past limestone bluffs and dense cedar forests, ideal for hybrid and mountain bikes, but not road bikes with narrow tires.

The trail, named in the 1920s for its cool shade on hot days, is also groomed for cross-country skiing in winter. The trail is accessible from multiple entry points, with the main trailhead near the Fish Creek entrance.

Eleven exercise stations line the route. You can rent bikes at the park office: $15 half-day, $25 full-day, with mountain and hybrid options.

Play a round at the golf course dating back to 1917

Founded as a six-hole course in 1917, the golf course was expanded to eighteen holes in 1931 and has been managed by Peninsula Golf Associates.

The course offers amazing views of Eagle Harbor and Ephraim Village as you navigate fairways lined with white cedar, oak, beech, and maple trees.

The course operated with “sand and oil” greens during its first decade until proper grass greens were established in the 1930s.

One memorable hole has a 69-yard drive down a 50-foot cliff. The course is par 71, spanning 6,304 yards, with a rating of 69.8 and a slope of 123.

Green fees range from $45 to $78 depending on season and time.

Paddle along eight miles of shoreline beneath towering bluffs

Water lovers flock to Peninsula State Park for outstanding paddling along the protected shoreline that hugs the high bluffs of the Niagara Escarpment.

The stretch between Eagle Bluff Lighthouse and Sven’s Bluff delivers the most dramatic cliff views with limestone walls rising directly from water.

Ambitious paddlers can journey 1.5 miles from Nicolet Beach to Horseshoe Island, with Eagle Harbor offering protection from strong winds.

Rent kayaks at Nicolet Beach (May through September) at $20 per hour or $60 for a full day. For the calmest water, paddle before 10:00 AM.

Guided tours run twice daily in summer (9 to 2 PM) for $45 per person.

Learn about local ecosystems at the White Cedar Nature Center

The educational heart of Peninsula State Park resides in this 1939 building featuring mounted animals, historic logging photos, and a large park diorama.

The nature center opens daily from 10 AM to 4 PM from Memorial Day through Labor Day, with weekend hours during spring and fall.

The building exemplifies Civilian Conservation Corps architecture with hand-hewn logs and a native stone fireplace to warm your soul.

Book one of 468 campsites across five distinct campgrounds

Welcker’s Point offers 81 non-electric sites in a heavily wooded setting on the northern peninsula. Many sites have stunning Green Bay water views.

Tennessee Bay offers large sites for RVs up to 42 feet, with three group camping areas that can host up to 50 people each.

Reservations can be made up to 11 months in advance online. Campgrounds are open year-round, with select Tennessee Bay sites plowed in winter.

Rates range from $20 to $35 per night (depending on location).

Watch professional theater performances under towering pines

Discover Northern Sky Theater, a professional summer venue within the park that presents original musical comedies Monday through Saturday nights.

Formerly American Folklore Theatre, the company maintains its tradition of bench seating on a natural hillside that creates stadium-style viewing.

The company has produced over 60 original shows since 1970, making it one of the Midwest’s longest-running outdoor theaters.

Tickets range from $25 to $35. Shows begin at 8:30 PM during peak season, letting you enjoy the sunset over Green Bay before performances.

Take your boat to Horseshoe Island for secluded hiking

Horseshoe Island officially joined Peninsula State Park in 1927. French explorer Jean Nicolet landed here during his regional explorations.

The 38-acre island sits 1.5 miles offshore from Nicolet Beach, accessible by a 20–30 minute paddle in calm conditions.

The secluded island has fascinating stone foundations from 1890s Folda family buildings, and old-growth cedar trees over 200 years old.

A designated anchorage on the eastern shore provides safe mooring while exploring on foot. The only facility is a basic pit toilet.

You’ll also find a hiking trail that loops the island perimeter, covering about one mile and taking roughly 45 minutes to finish at ease.

Experience the park transformed by winter snow and ice

Winter brings plenty of recreational opportunities.

Since 1972, the annual Winter Candlelight Ski event illuminates a one-mile loop with hundreds of candles for magical nighttime skiing each January.

The park maintains 16 miles of cross-country ski trails. The Sunset Trail ski loop is groomed for both skate skiing and traditional diagonal stride.

The varied terrain also creates excellent sledding and tubing spots. Ice fishing shanties on the frozen bay appear to target whitefish, northern pike, and walleye.

Just rent cross-country ski equipment at the park headquarters for $20 per day.

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