GEO-DC Creating Interpretive Park In Ellison Bay

A new Ellison Bay park is being developed to draw attention to the Niagara Escarpment that runs through Door County and creates stunning natural landscapes, like these at Door Bluff Headlands. Photos by Rachel Lukas.

The Greater Escarpment Organization of Door County (GEO-DC) is  working to redevelop a site at 11876 Highway 42 in Ellison Bay into an interpretive park called “Escarpment Park.”

The park site – located on the east side of Hwy. 42 north of the Liberty Grove Historical Society – would serve as a launchpoint for tourists and residents to explore the area’s many naturally occurring escarpment sites.

“This natural marvel profoundly defines Door County. It is literally the land we walk on and a key reason many people are attracted to the area’s natural beauty,” said Nancy Goss, who chairs GEO-DC’s board.

Key escarpment sites include Door Bluff Headlands, Cave Point, Newport State Park, Potawatomi State Park, Peninsula State Park, and many county parks, town parks and nonprofit-owned nature areas. 

The park would include signs with information about geology, flora, fauna, local cultures, area economy and the environment. Other improvements to the approximate half-acre site would include an entry sign, gravel parking area and native landscaping. 

GEO-DC’s original plan was to build a brick-and-mortar museum, but the board pivoted when it considered how to best fulfill the organization’s mission and incorporate a spectacular view of the escarpment and Green Bay waters. 

Grant applications to help fund the site’s improvements are pending. Initial cleanup and clearing of  debris from the site to make way for the park was completed earlier this month. 

GEO-DC hopes to unveil the park in early summer 2024.