This is a nicely maintained trail running between Manitowoc and Denmark WI. It is about 14 miles…read moreand is crushed limestone. This is an excellent trail for hiking, biking, skiing, and snowmobiling. It's obvious that the trail is well maintained as there are piles of freshly cut brush along the edges. I like to start at Rockwood Rd near Manitowoc and walk north from there.. the trail passes farms, fields, and woods. You will see all kinds of birds and other wildlife on a hike. This will become one of my favorite hikes.

This is a very pleasant 14 mile bike and walking trail that I really enjoy using. Wide and well…read moremaintained hard pack gravel makes for an easy ride. The trail is mostly straight and has minimal elevation change (less than 50 feet over the entire 14.25 miles). While the views may not be stunning, they are quite bucolic. Rolling fields with grazing cows, lush farmland, wooden bridges over deep ravines contains bubbling brooks. There are small parking areas along the trail allowing for various start points. The main trail head is in Denmark and the other end is on Rockwood Road (near Big Apple (bar and grill). I recommend starting at Rockwood, packing a picnic, and taking a break at the Denmark trail head pavilion (which has restrooms).

I'm putting in an update since it has been 4 years since my last review of the Ridges, and will…read morealso post under the Ridges Nature Center as it seems more are reviewing this area under that listing in Yelp. Please do see my older reviews too. This is a lovely natural area with easy boardwalk and flat packed dirt trails. There are many swales with frogs and turtles and tons of wildflowers including so many dwarf irises! It's great seeing those doing so well here. 7 years ago they were excited about one small patch, and now they're everywhere! We even saw some wild orchids. This is a great spot for an easy, relaxing walk in a beautiful setting. Entry is $5 per person and parking is easy during non-peak times.

There is a $5 entrance fee. They have beautiful gardens around the office. We hiked the ridges &…read moreswales and out to the range lights. It was well worth the $5 per person entrance fee. They have a very nice trail system! Bring bug spray though!

Beautiful walking trail along Lake Michigan. I love the beautiful sunrises over the lake in the…read moremorning. You can walk for hours and not tire of the view. I'm sure I'll wear out more than one pair of shoes on this trail.

Beautiful 6 mile trail from the Wisconsin Maritime Museum to Two Rivers. Bike, walk, run,…read morerollerblade; nicely paved and well maintained. The lake is the main attraction, but gardens, sculptures, and waysides beckon. Highly recommend. It continues on as Rawley Point Trail to Point Beach State Park.

Awesome area for a walk alongside Lake Michigan. Free parking, picnic tables and indoor bathrooms…read moreare available for use. Nice sandy beach but you are a brave soul to go into the lake unless it's crazy hot, chilly water! Nice walk out to the lighthouse and views of the city from the shoreline. Worth the stop.

A small, lakeside park just north of the marina. there is an ample parking lot and a very nice…read morebathroom facility at the north end. A couple of picnic spots and a small but nice beach area. The real attraction here is the walk on the north Manitowoc jetty. On your way to the lighthouse you will come upon a water impoundment that can be rife with shore birds. A little further on is the Paws and Play dog park. Beyond is the walk to the lighthouse. If it is windy and the surf is up you might skip the lighthouse walk because you'll get wet or worse. All in all a nice area to spend a couple of hours. Bring your binoculars and snacks. On a sunny day this can be a great day in the making. On a cold, rainy day, not so much. People in Manitowoc are usually friendly. Take the time to chat, you might make a new friend.

My two-star experience is based on the fact that we were looking for a hiking trail and we ended up…read morehiking on a very steep hill. Some sections are extremely inclined. We tried to get to the beach but it didn't feel safe to try to walk all the way down. No other trails were located in te area.

Door Bluff Headlands was an unexpected find during my visit to Door County. It's off the beaten…read morepath, with just a small turnaround/parking area, a portable toilet and some trails. The trails take you along the bluffs overlooking the water, and meander inland. There isn't signage and I'll admit that I ended up taking a bit longer of a hike that I planned on because I lost track of where I was. Because of it's location and amenities, you're not likely to encounter a lot of other people on your hike (but the ones I did were friendly). There was some fog on the day I visited, which gave the trail and view of the lake a mysterious air, and I joked that it looked like I'd found the edge of the map as the view just disappeared a short way out into the water. Per a handwritten sign on one of the trees, the park is also home to the highest point in Door County!

The view was definitely worth the trip! Directions from the previous review are spot on. After you…read moreturn on Knowles Creek Rd from CTH F follow that until you see the lake on your right. Immediately after the lake you will see a little driveway on your left that leads to a campsite. After that you are looking for the 3rd road on the left(road number 2781. It is marked with a small vertical wooden sign that is somewhat hidden by weeds but pretty easy to spot). I'm not sure the exact distance, but it was a few minute drive past the campsite till you reach the 3rd road on the left. Take a left on road 2781 and follow it until you come to a fork in the road where road number 2349B splits off to the right(there is a large mud hole at the start of this trail). At this point you will need to abandon your vehicle and begin hiking. Hike down the road 2349B until you come to another fork in the roadway. When you reach this fork take the trail that goes up hill (this trail goes off to the left and has a few broken off trees at the start of it). From there its a short hike up hill until you reach one of the most beautiful views in the northwoods! The total hike round trip is right around 2 miles. Shoes that can get muddy and bug spray are also definitely a must for this hike! I made the driving portion of this trip in my all wheel drive BMW X1. It made the trip ok, however driving down road 2781 was a bit of a nail biter as there are some bigger stones in the roadway and a few larger mud holes that a 2 wheel drive vehicle may not have made it through. That being said road 2781 is definitely definitely more of an offload trail with 2 tire tracks that you drive on and no place to turn around until you get to the fork for road 2349B. I would recommend a 4 wheel drive truck or suv for this journey, or just parking on the side of Knowles Creek Rd and hiking from there. Doing this would only about another mile to the hike. Also you may be able to drive down road 2349B if you have a Wrangler or similar vehicle. I also recommend stopping at the lake you pass on Knowles Creek Rd and getting some beautiful pictures! There is a small campsite that you can turn off into if it isn't occupied and spend a little time taking in the beauty of the lake.

YES. After many hours of searching to no end...on multiple days...we have finally discovered this…read moreproudly hidden gem, so titled The Big Rock. Hopefully this review will lead you right to the site and save you all the hours of endless exploration, but this is mostly serving as a note-to-self...to help me find this place in the future :-) Soooo starting from downtown Lakewood, WI: Head north on F until you hit Knowles Creek Rd, turn left. Continue on Knowles Creek until there comes a fork in the road. At the fork, follow Knowles Creek to the left and do NOT continue straight/right-ish onto McCaslin Tower Rd. Continue on Knowles Creek, where you should see a sort of lake on the right and then a campsite further down on the left. After these two "markers", look for the 2nd trail on the left with one of those mini-snowmobile stop signs. The correct trail should be numbered 2781. Follow this trail (in the car is still fine, but watch for huge puddles/deep mud) until you can literally drive no further. You should then see a sort of pathway at the end on the left that is somewhat upward sloping at first. At this point, abandon your vehicle and begin walking up the clearing (there is typically a puddle or mud of some sort at the start of this path). Walk for a bit (1/2 mile?) and keep your eyes out for an uphill path on the left side of where you are walking (in my experience, there has been a partially fallen tree trunk marking the base of this hill). Follow the path up this hillside to the top, at which point, you have reached The Big Rock! The total walking time is minimal and, round-trip, clocks in at around 2 miles. You'll know when you've reached your destination because the view is breathtaking! Now supposedly, this is a geocaching site (I have included the URL in my creation of this business listing), so there are instructions and coordinates on how to reach the place on that as well. In my two trips to The Big Rock, I have yet to discover where the cache is located...we searched for quite a while on both occasions and were unable to find the box. So good luck to all future enthusiasts with that endeavor; as for me, I'll be lounging on that huge rock over there enjoying the view :)

I love this park! It has a 1.5-mile nature trail along the river with all kinds of wildlife. There…read moreis a kayak launch and a small picnic area with a Pavillion. I plan to do some fishing by the railroad tressel on the lower end of the park.

It is a great family-friendly park that has a river for kayaking and fishing. There is a playground…read morefor kids and a 1.5 nature trail for hiking. I plan on spending a lot of time here!

This wildlife sanctuary is free to public. Many people come to this area to fish in the lake. Young…read moreand old enjoy their fishing day at the sanctuary lake with a lot of geese. The sanctuary has duck geese area, bird of pray, deer, wolf, and more. Many area is woodland cover very pleasant to walk. There is observation stations for the bird. The visit takes two hours to enjoy due to huge area. Parking is over the compound.

Dear Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary you cruel heartless monsters. This is Baby Buddy, our beloved…read morepet that was forcibly ripped out if my arms by the cunt Neveah that is employed at your bullshit facility. A tip was left with the DNR that we had this amazing beautiful boy. They said we had to relinquish him or they were going to forcibly take him from our home. So we called you, and you told us that he would be released to the wild once he was rehabilitated. That or if he was too domesticated he'd be made an "ambassador" used for learning and educational purposes. In less than 72 hours you had him sent to his death for no reason. He was full of love, and trust. He gave no symptoms of rabies. And you murdered him in cold blood. HIS NAME WAS BUDDY AND HE WAS SO LOVED! There's no raccoon habitat for rehabilitation. It's an act and a script you feed desperate pet owners to gain their trust and take their loved coons to be murdered. He wasn't wild. He wasn't aggressive. And he wasn't rabid. He was a good boy. He was happy in his home. He was supposed to live a long life. You cut that life short at 5 months old. He was perfect. And you murdered him! To the Management and Administration of Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary, ​I am writing to formally demand accountability and full transparency regarding the surrender and immediate euthanasia of our 5-month-old raccoon, Buddy. ​When we contacted your facility following communication with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, we were given clear assurances regarding his intake. We were explicitly told that Buddy would be evaluated for wild rehabilitation or, if found to be too habituated, retained as an educational ambassador. ​We entrusted him to your facility based directly on those representations. ​Instead, within less than 72 hours, Buddy was euthanized. He exhibited zero symptoms of illness, distress, or aggression, and was completely habituated and healthy. ​Given the stark contradiction between what your staff promised prior to intake and the outcome that immediately followed, I am demanding direct answers to the following questions: ​What specific diagnostic, behavioral, or medical criteria were used to authorize his immediate euthanasia within 72 hours? ​Why were options for educational placement or sanctuary transfer ruled out after explicit assurances were made that these were valid pathways? ​Is it standard policy at Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary to assure surrendering individuals of rehabilitation or ambassador placement when immediate euthanasia is the intended intake protocol? ​The public and community members who turn to your organization in good faith deserve truthful communication about the actual protocols applied to surrendered animals. ​I expect a formal written response detailing the internal intake records, staff notes, and justification for Buddy's outcome. ​Alexandra Balthazor

This island is definitely worth the ferry rides to get there. You can tour the lighthouse and hike…read morethe entire island. The lighthouse attendants are so friendly and knowledgeable. Very beautiful place to see.

Rock Island is, well, rocky. Make sure you have sturdy soled shoes or hiking boots because hiking…read morearound without them will sincerely tire out your feet. Unless you have your own boat access, you will take two boats to get there. The first is from the tip of the Door County peninsula to Washington Island, and the second is from Washington Island to Rock Island. Now, you may take your vehicle to Washington Island, but Rock Island is pedestrian traffic only. That is because there is nothing on it....it's uninhabited forest save for birds and some ground dwelling animals, like squirrels and chipmunks. You may hike around the island (it's large, but not huge, it doesn't take all day), and primitive camp. There are a few buildings you can visit and some you can even go in. Food and beverage is allowed, but you must bring it with you, and take all trash with you when you leave. Make sure to get back to the dock at one of the scheduled departure times, especially if you need to make the ferry back to the mainland. If you miss the last boat on either island, you're stuck until the following day. 6/2025