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Inside the Kangaroo Lake Preserve

Kangaroo Lake is one of the Door Peninsula’s embayment lakes. The Door County Land Trust preserve protects 700 acres on the north side of the lake. Photo by Julie Schartner.

The Door County Land Trust is celebrating 25 years of preserving Door County’s finest open spaces and wild places. Over the course of the summer and fall, this column will feature one of the special places the Land Trust is working to protect.

As the first of the series, we are featuring the Kangaroo Lake Nature Preserve – the site of the first property purchased by the Door County Land Trust in 1996 with the help of The Nature Conservancy, a bequest by Ida Bay of Sturgeon Bay, and others. Starting off as 60 acres, protected land at this preserve has now grown to over 700 acres.

The Kangaroo Lake Nature Preserve is situated primarily on the north side of the Kangaroo Lake causeway and is one of Door County’s crown jewels when it comes to scenic beauty and ecological importance. A 1.5-mile trail begins on old field land that was logged and farmed and is now being restored back to forest. The trail continues along to the shoreline where Peil Creek enters Kangaroo Lake, one of Door County’s many “embayment lakes.” Kangaroo Lake, as well as Europe and Clark Lake, were once part of larger Lake Algonquin. As ancient lake levels receded and sand depositions formed, these lakes were eventually “cut off” from the larger lake and became individual bodies of water.

Visitors are welcome to hike at the Kangaroo Lake Nature Preserve anytime. The Land Trust is offering two-hour “Explore the Door” guided hikes on Thursday, June 9 at 1 pm and Saturday, June 11 at 10 am. Pre-registration is required for “Explore the Door” hikes. Please call 920.746.1359 or email [email protected].

The Door County Land Trust is challenging people to visit all of the places featured in this column. People are encouraged to email [email protected] when they accomplish this feat to have their name entered into a drawing to win a copy of the Land Trust’s Guide to the Places We Protect due to be published this fall. For more information on the Land Trust and to download preserve trail maps, visit http://www.doorcountylandtrust.org.

Just the Facts: Kangaroo Lake Nature Preserve

Sharp-Lobed Hepatica is just one of the wildflowers found at the Kangaroo Lake Nature Preserve. Photo by Julie Schartner.

Acres protected: over 700
Miles of trails: 1.5
Size of Kangaroo Lake: 1,156 acres
Maximum depth: 12 feet

Directions: From County A, turn east on County Road E. Travel approximately 1 mile to the corner of County Road E and North Maple Road. Turn north on North Maple and park along the road. Trail begins at kiosk.

Highlights: Views from a bluff located 130 feet above the waters of Kangaroo Lake; Dutchman’s breeches, trout lily, spring beauty, trillium and a plethora of other wildflowers; fossils in the rocky, lakeside outcroppings that were at one time (420 million years ago or so) located near the equator under the Silurian Sea.

Partnering organizations: The Nature Conservancy, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Knowles Nelson State Stewardship Fund, Kangaroo Lake Association, Town of Baileys Harbor, Ducks Unlimited and many generous individuals.