The $3.5 million Eagle Tower at Peninsula State Park offers up views and accessibility to all.
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The Lister family of Peoria, Ill. — from left, Jared, Eirlys, Stratton and Amy, along with Pamela Edwards, far right — reach the top of Eagle Tower at Peninsula State Park over the Memorial Day weekend.
The 850-foot-long ramp of Eagle Tower winds through the forest canopy at Peninsula State Park, making it one of the few fully accessible observation towers in the country.
The 850-foot-long ramp of Eagle Tower winds through the forest canopy at Peninsula State Park, making it one of the few fully accessible observation towers in the country.
Visitors walk atop the viewing deck of Eagle Tower at Peninsula State Park in Fish Creek.
Friends of Peninsula State Park contributed $750,000 toward the $3.5 million project.
This rendering shows the unique design of Eagle Tower, which opened this year at Peninsula State Park in Door County.
Door County lighthouses and range lights
Door County lighthouses and range lights
Mark Smith, a volunteer with the Door County Maritime Museum, drives a tractor pulling a wagon filled with tourists on their way to the Cana Island Light Station. Located near Bailey's Harbor in Door County, the 200-yard causeway is flooded with about three feet of water, making it difficult for travelers to walk to the island. The trip take about two minutes, but is a bumpy ride.
Door County lighthouses and range lights
Cross roads in Door County near Bailey's Harbor.
Door County lighthouses and range lights
Passengers crossing the causeway on their way to Cana Island ride in a wagon being towed by a tractor. This has been the preferred method of getting to the island for the past four years due to high water levels on Lake Michigan.
Door County lighthouses and range lights
A wagon filled with tourists and being towed by a tractor makes its way to Cana Island in Door County.
Door County lighthouses and range lights
The view from the outdoor deck on the Cana Island lighthouse near Bailey's Harbor.
Door County lighthouses and range lights
Matt Paulson, assistant manager at Cana Island Light Station, takes in the view from the outdoor deck of the lighthouse.
Door County lighthouses and range lights
The lighthouse on Door County's Cana Island was first lit in 1870. Today it is powered by an electric light but still uses the original Fresnel lens.
Door County lighthouses and range lights
The keeper's quarters on Cana Island is next in line for a major renovation in the last phase of a four-phase project on the island that began in 2010.
Door County lighthouses and range lights
The pantry of the keeper's quarters at the Cana Island Light Station in Door County.
Door County lighthouses and range lights
The kitchen of the keeper's quarters at the Cana Island Light Station, which began operations in Door County in 1870.
Door County lighthouses and range lights
The log book at the Cana Island Light Station recorded the events and minutiae on the island.
Door County lighthouses and range lights
The Cana Island keeper's quarters is a two story structure near Bailey's Harbor.
Door County lighthouses and range lights
The tractor that pulls tourists to Cana Island through three feet of water waits idling before crossing the causeway.
Door County lighthouses and range lights
Mark Smith offers up some of the history of the Cana Island Light Station before pulling his guests across the causeway.
Sherwood Point
The last manned lighthouse on the Great Lakes, Sherwood Point was established in 1883 and automated in 1983. It is only open to the public during the Lighthouse Walk, held the second weekend in June. The rest of the year, the facility is operated as a rest-and-recuperation area for active members of the U.S. military on a rental basis.
Door County lighthouses and range lights
The Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay tells the story of the peninsula's maritime history and culture.
North Pierhead Light
The North Pierhead Light on the Lake Michigan side of the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal was built in 1882, renovated in 1903 and automated in 1972. The elevated walkway allows for maintenance workers to avoid getting wet from waves that crash into the break wall.
Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Station Light Tower
The Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Station Light Tower, left, was built in 1899 and automated in 1972.
Baileys Harbor
The old Baileys Harbor lighthouse is commonly referred to as the "bird cage." The lighthouse was built on an island near Baileys Harbor in 1852 and removed from service in 1869 when the Baileys Harbor Range Lights were built. The light is now privately owned.
Bailey's Harbor range light
It appears to be a schoolhouse but in reality is one of two range lights near Bailey's Harbor. The range lights helped guide boats to the safety of Bailey's Harbor from 1869 to 1969 but were automated in 1923. When the upper and lower lights were parallel to each other, sailors knew they were in safe water. In 1993, the Ridges Sanctuary restored both range lights. The grounds of the range light structures are open to the public, but the structures themselves are not.
Door County lighthouses and range lights
One of two range lights that for 100 years helped guide boats safely into Bailey's Harbor.
Door County lighthouses and range lights
The top of the more inland range light at Bailey's Harbor.
Door County lighthouses and range lights
This range light owned by Ridges Sanctuary is adjacent to a road but for 100 years helped guide boats into nearby Bailey's Harbor.
Door County lighthouses and range lights
Some of the 73 interior stairs of the rear range light, seen here in 2017, on Plum Island allow access to the top of the tower on the southwest side of the island.
Plum Island
The rear range light stands out on Plum Island and is seen herein 2017 from the Washington Island Ferry as it departs Northport Pier off the tip of the Door County Peninsula.
Door County lighthouses and range lights
John Lauber, an architectural historian and historic preservation planner checks out the light and Fresnel lens of the rear range light on Plum Island in 2017. The light is used in concert with the front range light 1,650-feet away and allows sailors to coordinate their position through the Death's Door Passage. The range lights have been used since 1897.
Door County lighthouses and range lights
The Eagle Bluff Lighthouse is located in Peninsula State Park and built in 1868. Three keepers manned the light until 1926, when the navigational mechanism was automated.
Door County lighthouses and range lights
The Eagle Bluff Lighthouse in Peninsula State Park can be toured.
Eagle Bluff
A 1,000-pound anchor rests before the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse in Door County's Peninsula State Park.
Barry Adams covers regional news for the Wisconsin State Journal. Send him ideas for On Wisconsin at 608-252-6148 or by email at badams@madison.com.
