Category: Outdoor
Getting outside in Door County is a must! While you can always explore a trail or lake shore on your own, the calendar is dotted with guided hikes, wildlife tours, bird watching treks, and cross-country skiing meetups. Find a group bicycle ride, a naturalist session, or paddleboard tour and explore Door County’s natural wonders.
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Fish Kill Caused by Manure Runoff
Manure runoff from the Wild Rose Dairy in Vernon County has impacted a trout stream in west central Wisconsin. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources staff continues to monitor the stream quality of Otter Creek, located north of the Village of La Farge. Department fisheries biologists report a kill of more than 1,100 fish, including brook […]
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Door to Nature: Playing Possum
An automobile trip at this time of year, no matter how short it may be, does not begin without thinking, “Watch out for deer!” We drive a little more slowly in certain areas so as not to end up with “grilled venison.” As downright impossible as it is at times to avoid automobile-animal collisions, simply […]
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Strawberry Creek Salmon Run Has Far-Reaching Benefits
When Chinook salmon make their last run in the fall from Lake Michigan up little Strawberry Creek in Sturgeon Bay to spawn and die, they are doing much more than completing their life cycle. The annual migration to Strawberry Creek means another generation of Chinook will be raised and stocked the following year. The fish […]
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DNR Trying to Re-establish Spotted Musky
Efforts to establish a self-sustaining population of spotted musky in Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan waters got a boost this fall when 7,000 musky fingerling averaging 17 inches were stocked into the Fox River, several Green Bay tributaries, Lake Winnebago and three inland lakes. The fingerlings were raised for a year in cool water ponds at Wild […]
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Wisconsin Nature Notes: Top Five Fun Fall Migrations in Wisconsin
by Caleb Klima, Wisconsin Conservation Practitioner Many of us consider home to be just one location, a place where we share precious memories with those we love. For many animals however, one location will not do. Instead, some need two homes, one for the summer and one for the winter. Many species are following their […]
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Door to Nature: Plain, Honest and Upright Sunflower
United States history tells us that a symposium was established in the 1890s for the purpose of choosing the most suitable blossom to become our national flower. Two recommendations that rated highly in the study were the cardinal flower and the columbine. The sunflower was also included on the list. What do you suppose ever […]
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Celebrate Astronomy Day in Sturgeon Bay Oct. 14
At the Astronomy Campus on the grounds of Crossroads at Big Creek Preserve, the partial solar eclipse last August inspired hundreds of Door County residents to gaze at our nearest star. For many, this awesome event stimulated or renewed an interest in astronomy. The Door Peninsula Astronomical Society, an organization dedicated to promoting the science […]
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Lessons Learned During the 2017 Golf Season
It might be easy to sum up your golf season. Me? Not so much. For me, golf happens on Mondays in January, Wednesdays in April, even Sundays in November. Could you sum up your entire senior year of college? See, it’s not easy! I didn’t shoot my best score this year. I didn’t make that […]
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Getting In Tune at Ephraim Wetlands Preserve
The plan was to go on Charlotte Lukes’ mushroom hike at Three Springs the morning of the last Saturday in September, but I had forgotten about the lengthy Highway 57 detour, and not having planned for the extra time that would take, I arrived at the filled Three Springs parking area at 9:12 am, with […]
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Several years ago I photographed a paper birch tree adorned by a stone fence in northern Door County. Even the interestingly marked Holstein cows contained by the several-hundred-foot monstrous structure added beauty to the total picture. You might imagine my surprise the following summer when I returned with some friends, eager to see the picturesque […]
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Middle Schoolers Continue Archaeological Dig at Crossroads
As long as Crossroads at Big Creek can find funding, the Fall Archaeological Dig will be a rite of passage for area middle school students. Thanks to this annual activity, Crossroads has located and registered Native American archaeological sites spanning 2,000 years of occupation on the three Crossroads properties. During the past four years, students […]
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Maritime Museum Offers Free Children’s Admission Special
The Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay is offering free admission to children 12 and under with an accompanying paid adult Oct. 15, 22 and 29. The museum offers this opportunity to encourage children to embrace their maritime history and enjoy the interactive exhibits that make learning fun. Children can expect to find interactive, […]
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Historical Society Presents ‘Peninsula State Park in Postcards’ Oct. 7
The Door County Historical Society will host its Saturday afternoon yesteryear programming “Peninsula State Park in Postcards,” presented by Richard Lauder on Oct. 7, 2 pm in the Vignes Schoolhouse at the Heritage Village at 2041 Michigan St. in Sturgeon Bay. Officially established in 1910, Peninsula State Park is an ever-changing location on the Door […]
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Pumpkin Patch, Cider Pressing & More Weekend Plans
This weekend is all about autumn on the Door Peninsula! Egg Harbor hosts Pumpkin Patch Festival, though celebrations of all kinds dot the peninsula on this wonderful October weekend. Friday, October 6 Twilight Tours, Tunes & Tales Experience Eagle Bluff Lighthouse by the glow of lanterns at twilight during this annual celebration of tales, lore, […]
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Door to Nature: Living Fossils
The farthest thing from my mind was a “living fossil” when a friend called me with a strange request many years ago. Robert Marcellus, principal clarinetist with the Cleveland Orchestra at the time and also a member of the Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra, called me seeking the whereabouts of some rather thick, robust scouring rushes. […]
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Eye On the Night Sky: The Colors of the Universe
by Mike Egan, Door Peninsula Astronomical Society Our expectation of what we will see through a telescope sometimes doesn’t square with our actual experience, and disappointment results. So it was with my first telescope experience. A novice, I bought a rather inexpensive Newtonian and set it up on the roof of an apartment house in […]
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Eagle Bluff Lighthouse Hosts Autumn Twilight Tours
Delight in the tales of lighthouse keepers through story, song and poetry at the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse for Twilight Tours, Tunes & Tales on the fall evenings of Sept. 29-30 and Oct. 6-7. On these special evenings a friendly glow will shine on the path leading to the keeper’s house, the same warm glow that […]
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4-H Horse, Pony Ride Takes Place Oct. 8
The annual 2017 Door County 4-H Horse and Pony Fall Trail Ride takes place Oct. 8 at Mary and Phil Bley’s farm at 6832 County Road T in Egg Harbor. Registration begins at 9 am and the ride starts at 10 am. The ride is open to anyone who wants to join in the fun, […]
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County Parks Director Presents on History, Future of Park System
The Door County Historical Society will host its Saturday afternoon yesteryear program “Door County Parks,” presented by Erik Aleson on Sept. 30 at 2 pm in the Collins Learning Center adjacent to the Heritage Village at 2041 Michigan Street in Sturgeon Bay. What has 992 acres, 12 miles of state trail that was a railroad, […]
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DNR Releases Eagle Tower Design Concepts
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) released the three design concepts for Eagle Tower this week, just before a fundraiser for its reconstruction. Depending on the concept design chosen by the DNR, the Sept. 30 fundraiser featuring a live and silent auction of wood from Eagle Tower may be the final effort in raising funds […]