Door County Lighthouse Tours
Wisconsin's Door County peninsula juts out into Lake Michigan creating hundres of miles of freshwater coast. And along this scenic shoreline, you and your crew can discover many historic lighthouses that tell the stories of the area's past. Read on to learn about Door County's lighthouses and how to tour them.
Baileys Harbor Range Lights
Baileys Harbor Range Lights are located in Baileys Harbor and were built in 1869. These restored lighthouses are accessible year-round and offer self-guided tours outside.
Cana Island Lighthouse
Cana Island Lighthouse is located four miles northeast of Baileys Harbor, halfway between North Bay and Moonlight Bay. Built in 1869, the lighthouse stands 89 feet tall and still has an operating light. The lighthouse is listed on National Register of Historic Places. The grounds are open and guided tours are available from May through October.
Chambers Island Lighthouse
Located near Fish Creek, Chambers Island Lighthouse was built in 1888 and has been a 40-acre day park since 1976. The lighthouse is open to the public for tours when the caretaker is present. The caretaker's office is now a museum of island and Wisconsin lighthouse history.
Eagle Bluff Lighthouse
Located in Peninsula State Park, Eagle Bluff Lighthouse was built in 1868. Thousands of visitors have caught a glimpse of what life was like for the lighthouse keeper and his family at Eagle Bluff Lighthouse in the 19th century. It is open for guided tours May through October. The tours take place every half-hour.
Pottawatomie Lighthouse
Pottawatomie Lighthouse is located on the north end of Rock Island State Park. The light was established in 1836, rebuilt in 1858 and automated in 1956. It stands 41 feet tall. The original lantern was removed from the tower in the 1980s and a steel skeleton tower was built near the lighthouse that now holds the navigational aide light. In 1999, a replica lantern room was rebuilt on top of the lighthouse and a replica 4th Order Fresnal lens has also since been installed. The grounds are always open and tours inside the lighthouse and even up into the lantern room are available from Memorial Day weekend to Columbus Day weekend. Rock Island is only accessible by boat. The Rock Island Ferry “Karfi” makes regular trips from Washington Island.
The following Door County Lighthouses are not open to the public.
The Old Baileys Harbor Light is located east of Baileys Harbor on the North Point Island at the entrance to the harbor. The bird-cage style lighthouse was built in 1852 but only operated for 17 years and was taken out of service in 1869. The lighthouse is privately owned and not open for tours. The light structure can be seen at multiple locations along Baileys Harbor, including Anclam Park and Baileys Harbor Ridges Park beach, and a boat tour operating out of Baileys Harbor takes visitors past the remains of this one-time navigational aide.
Pilot Island Lighthouse marks the strait between Washington Island and the northern tip of the Door County peninsula and is located in the Death’s Door water passage near Washington Island. It was built in 1858, automated in 1962, and is still an active aide to navigation. This Wisconsin lighthouse and grounds are currently closed to public but can be viewed from shore at the Northport Ferry Dock (northern end of Hwy 42). Visitors aboard the Washington Island Ferry and Island Clipper can get a little closer look at the 3.5-acre island and lighthouse during the trip to Washington Island. For an up-close look, Shoreline Charters operates a boat tour out of Gills Rock that goes past the lighthouse for viewing and photography from mid-May to mid-October.
Also located near Washington Island in the Death’s Door water passage, the Plum Island Range Lights (Rear Range Light and Front Range Light) were built in 1895, automated in 1969, and remain active navigational aids to this day. The Plum Island grounds and lighthouse structures are currently closed to the public but can be viewed from shore at the Northport Ferry Dock (northern end of Hwy 42). Visitors aboard the Washington Island Ferry and Island Clipper can get a closer look at the Plum Island Rear Range Light during the trip to Washington Island and Shoreline Charters operates a boat tour out of Gills Rock that goes past both the Front and Rear Range Lights for viewing and photography from mid-May to mid-October.
Sherwood Point Lighthouse is located at the bayside entrance to Sturgeon Bay and is perched atop a bluff on Sherwood Point. It was built in 1883 and automated 100 years later in 1983, making it the last lighthouse to be automated on the Great Lakes. The lighthouse, which is still an active aide to navigation, and grounds are closed to the public, but the lighthouse can be seen from across the water at Olde Stone Quarry County Park and several boat tours operating out of Sturgeon Bay take visitors up close for viewing and photography from mid-May to mid-October.
One of two Wisconsin lighthouses that mark the entrance to the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal on Lake Michigan, the tall white Sturgeon Bay Canal Station Lighthouse was built in 1899, automated in 1972, and remains an active aide to navigation. This lighthouse is located on the grounds of an active US Coast Guard Station. While the lighthouse and grounds are not open to the public for tours, visitors may park in designated parking areas and are permitted to walk along the paved driveway past this lighthouse to the adjacent pier, which leads out to the red colored North Pierhead Light. Additionally, several boat tours operating out of Sturgeon Bay take visitors up close for a water-side view of this lighthouse from mid-May to mid-October.
The other lighthouse that marks the entrance to the Sturgeon Bay ship canal on Lake Michigan is the red colored North Pierhead Light. It was built at the end of a long breakwater pier in 1881 and remains an active aide to navigation. The lighthouse structure is not open to the public for tours, but visitors are permitted on the long pier that leads out to this light. A great spot for photography and fishing, the pier offers visitors scenic views of both lighthouses at this location and also provides sights of a variety of boats big and small headed into the Sturgeon Bay ship canal. Additionally, several boat tours operating out of Sturgeon Bay take visitors up close for a water-side view of this lighthouse from mid-May to mid-October.
Explore more of Door County by staying in one of these cabins and cottages on the peninsula!