STURGEON BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A chance to see part of Door County’s maritime history is approaching. The 30th Spring Lighthouse Festival kicks off on Friday.
For more than 140 years, the Sturgeon Bay North Pierhead Light has provided safe passage to boats heading from Lake Michigan and into the shipping channel to the west.
Door County Maritime Museum Deputy Director Sam Perlman says this red building is one of the most photographed on the Great Lakes.
“For sure. You seen thousands and thousands of beautiful images of that.”
The site is part of the spring lighthouse festival.
“We have a number of different tours, and, together, all of those tours reach all 11 of the lighthouses that surround the Door Peninsula,” said Perlman.
Plus three to the south — including the Kewaunee Pierhead Lighthouse, the Algoma Pierhead Lighthouse and the Grassy Island Range Lights on the Fox River in Green Bay.
“You can go by air, by trolley, by van, by boat. Really any way. And there’s all levels of accessibility,” said Perlman.
On the waters of Green Bay, sits Sherwood Point Lighthouse. Community engagement manager Paige Funkhouser says this year’s event features something new.
“Sherwood Point Lighthouse, which is owned and operated by the U.S. Coast Guard and is typically closed to the public, will be open Saturday and Sunday, meaning you can get inside of it and go explore the actual house,” said Funkhouser. “And then on Friday, you can come and see the grounds.”
Meanwhile, part of the Lake Michigan shoreline continues to compliment the big red beacon nearby.
“There is such an amazing romance about lighthouses. They are unique structures because they are beautiful structures but also incredibly functional structures,” said Perlman.
The Door County Lighthouse Festival runs Friday through Sunday.
