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Hiking and trails in Door County

Door County is a limestone peninsula with Green Bay on one side and Lake Michigan on the other, which means most walks end at water.

The state parks carry the long trail systems; the county parks and preserves are smaller, quieter, and often closer to where you are staying.

These are the places in the DoorCountyGo app with hiking or trail walking — check conditions before heading out, especially in spring when trails can be wet.

Cave Point County Park
Sturgeon Bay

Lake Michigan shore park known for limestone cliffs, wave-cut caves, scenic overlooks, and short trail segments that deliver big views quickly.
Hours, map and directions in the app →
Ellison Bluff County Park
Ellison Bay

174 acres of shoreline park along the Niagara Escarpment, where limestone cliffs drop more than 100 feet to the water below and a stairway leads to a viewing platform with wide Green Bay views.
Hours, map and directions in the app →
Newport State Park
Ellison Bay

Wisconsin's only designated wilderness state park, covering 2,373 acres at the northern tip of Door County with 11 miles of undeveloped Lake Michigan shoreline and 30 miles of trails.
Hours, map and directions in the app →
Potawatomi State Park
Sturgeon Bay

1,200 acres of limestone shoreline and forested bluffs just west of Sturgeon Bay, with a 75-foot observation tower built in 1931 and one endpoint of the 1,200-mile Ice Age National Scenic Trail.
Hours, map and directions in the app →
Ahnapee State Trail
Sturgeon Bay

A 48-mile crushed-limestone rail-trail running south from Sturgeon Bay through farmland, pine woods, prairie and wetland toward the county line, crossing the Ahnapee and Kewaunee rivers.
Hours, map and directions in the app →
Bjorklunden
Baileys Harbor

A 425-acre Lake Michigan estate belonging to Lawrence University, with a handcrafted Norwegian stave-style chapel, open shoreline grounds, and hiking trails accessible to visitors through the summer.
Hours, map and directions in the app →
Kangaroo Lake
Baileys Harbor

Door County's largest inland lake, jointly protected by The Nature Conservancy and the Door County Land Trust, with birding, shoreline hiking, and non-motorized paddling access through 700 acres of lake shore, boreal forest, and cedar swampland.
Hours, map and directions in the app →
Kangaroo Lake Nature Area
Baileys Harbor

A Door County Land Trust preserve on the shore of Kangaroo Lake — wetlands, sedge meadow, and a short easy trail through habitat that supports one of the state's largest breeding populations of the endangered Hine's emerald dragonfly.
Hours, map and directions in the app →
Lautenbach Woods Nature Preserve
Egg Harbor

A 160-acre Door County Land Trust property on the Niagara Escarpment, featuring an 1.1-mile loop trail through old-growth northern hardwood forest.
Hours, map and directions in the app →
Legacy Nature Preserve at Clay Banks
Sturgeon Bay

A 91-acre Door County Land Trust preserve on Lake Michigan's western shore, featuring more than half a mile of undeveloped shoreline and dramatic red clay bluffs — Ice Age beach remnants that give the Clay Banks area its name.
Hours, map and directions in the app →
Meridian County Park
Baileys Harbor

A 155-acre Door County Parks property designated as a State Natural Area, featuring a mile-long ridge of forested sand dunes rising 50–60 feet above the surrounding terrain — an unusual geological feature for inland Door County.
Hours, map and directions in the app →
Mink River Estuary
Ellison Bay

A 2,031-acre Nature Conservancy preserve where the Mink River meets Lake Michigan — one of the better-preserved freshwater estuaries in the Great Lakes, with kayaking routes, birding trails, and habitat for rare dragonfly species found almost nowhere else.
Hours, map and directions in the app →
Mountain Park and Lookout Tower
Washington Island

A historic observation tower standing near Washington Island's highest point, accessible by climbing 186 steps to a platform with 360-degree views across the island, Lake Michigan, Rock Island State Park, and on clear days, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Hours, map and directions in the app →
Peninsula State Park
Fish Creek

Nearly 3,800 acres of forested bluffs and Green Bay shoreline with a sandy beach at Nicolet Bay, a restored 1868 lighthouse, and more trail miles than most visitors cover in a day.
Hours, map and directions in the app →
Pottawatomie Lighthouse
Washington Island

Wisconsin's first lighthouse (1836), on Rock Island — reached only by taking the Washington Island Ferry, then the passenger-only Karfi ferry to Rock Island, then a 1.25-mile hike from the dock.
Hours, map and directions in the app →
Ridges Sanctuary
Baileys Harbor

A 1,700-acre nature preserve shaped by glacially formed ridges and swales, home to 29 native orchid species and accessible via boardwalk trails — one of the more ecologically significant stops in northern Door County.
Hours, map and directions in the app →
Rock Island State Park
Washington Island

Wisconsin's most remote state park — reachable only by two ferry crossings (mainland to Washington Island, then Jackson Harbor to Rock Island). Car-free island with miles of hiking trails, swimming beaches, and a historic Icelandic boathouse.
Hours, map and directions in the app →
Toft Point State Natural Area
Baileys Harbor

A 743-acre old-growth natural area where boreal forest has grown largely undisturbed for centuries, with dolomite shoreline cliffs and more than two miles of Lake Michigan frontage reached by primitive trail.
Hours, map and directions in the app →
Whitefish Dunes State Park
Sturgeon Bay

Lake Michigan shoreline park centered on Old Baldy — Wisconsin's tallest sand dune — with a swimming beach, nature center, and shoreline trails that run noticeably quieter than the bay side of the county.
Hours, map and directions in the app →