Find the Light at 30th Spring Lighthouse Festival

Official Government Lighthouse Flag raising at Peninsula State Park’s Eagle Lighthouse.

Lighthouses may be the most recognizable symbols of Door County. Eleven dot the shoreline of the county, and three more stand guard for our neighbors to the south in Kewaunee County. They’re iconic and mysterious, and for more than a century, they have sparked the curiosity of nearly everyone who lays eyes on them. 

This weekend offers rare opportunities to feed that curiosity during the 30th Door County Spring Lighthouse Festival. 

This fundraising weekend includes air, land, boat and adventure tours that provide access to all 11 of the treasured lighthouses of Door County and three to the south. Many of the tour excursions are part of the Lighthouse Festival weekends only, providing visitors with exclusive access to structures that are not typically open to the public: Chambers Island, Plum Island and Sherwood Point. And there are tours for all levels of activity and accessibility. 

Boat tours depart from a variety of locations around the peninsula, including Fish Creek, Gills Rock, Baileys Harbor and Sturgeon Bay.

Some tours are already sold out, but opportunities remain for many others, such as the schooner cruise aboard the Edith M. Becker. 

Participants will board a 19th-century tall ship to sail the shoreline and get a waterfront view of Eagle Bluff Lighthouse while learning about local lore and history with the crew of Sail Door County. 

You can also feed your curiosity through a tour with Fish Creek Scenic Boat Tours to Chambers Island to hike and explore the Chambers Island Lighthouse with expert docents. The more adventurous can kayak to the Cana Island Lighthouse with Door County Adventure Center or take a bay-to-lake sightseeing cruise with Shoreline Scenic Boat Tours through the Sturgeon Bay ship canal. Learn Door County history, see stunning waterfront homes and get an up-close view of the Sturgeon Bay Pierhead lighthouse. 

These are just a few of the many rare opportunities available to lighthouse lovers this weekend. Learn more at dcmm.org, and get tickets at doorcountytickets.com.