Egg Harbor Makes Offer on Part of Alpine Shoreline

The breakwater at Alpine, (under water this summer) is included in a purchase by the Village of Egg Harbor to expand its public beach. Photo by Myles Dannhausen Jr.

Another beach expansion for Egg Harbor may be on the way. The village has made an offer to buy one acre of the Alpine Resort property to accomplish several village goals. 

Administrator Ryan Heise could not disclose the value of the offer since it is still in negotiation. However, Heise said the village has applied for a Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund grant that could fund half of the purchase price. 

Heise said the buying the parcel would allow the village to move the existing wastewater lift station from the middle of the beach parcel to the landward side of the new Alpine parcel. A new station would be built with expanded capacity. Heise said the existing station is maxed out on peak summer weekends. 

The purchase would expand the beach to the existing Alpine beach and breakwall. For generations that small pier and beach was the de facto Egg Harbor Beach until the village expanded and renovated the park by purchasing an adjacent property for $1.6 million in 2007,

The beach expansion would allow the village to add much-needed parking, and could potentially serve as a trailhead for the proposed public multi-use path between the village and Horseshoe Bay Farms. Planning for that path is underway and is being spearheaded by the Door County Parks Department. 

The future of the Alpine property remains uncertain. It was put on the market in 2018 for $15 million, and unconfirmed rumors have swirled of offers on the property. The Bertschinger family has operated the resort since it was built by Paul and John Bertschinger in 1921. The resort opened in 1922.