Study Underway to Extend the Ahnapee Trail North

Peninsula Pulse file photo by Rachel Lukas.

The Door County Board of Supervisors accepted a $5,950 donation on Tuesday from the Friends of the Door County Parks for a preliminary study on extending the Ahnapee Trail north along Highways 42/57. 

The idea is to bring the trail closer to the intersection of County T, from which people can easily access Sturgeon Bay’s medical facilities, grocery stores and other services and retail opportunities, according to Wayne Spritka, Door County facilities and parks director; and Burke Pinney, parks manager. Both talked about the project during an episode of the Door County Pulse Podcast in early May. The study would identify the best route for the trail extension.

The Ahnapee State Trail spans from the city limits of Sturgeon Bay to the Door/Kewaunee county lines and continues into Kewaunee County toward Algoma, Kewaunee and the Luxemburg and Casco area. It follows the retired railroad line of Ahnapee and Western that moved freight and passengers in and out of Door County between 1894 and 1968. 

The Door County Park portion of the trail covers 12 miles or 144 acres, with restrooms and parking at the Sturgeon Bay trailhead on Neenah Avenue, at the Maplewood wayside on Highway 42 and at Forestville Dam County Park on Mill Road.