Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights
Before you come barreling into town, know that the sights around here are mostly south of
town coming from Cave Point County Park just northeast of Whitefish Dunes State Park.
South of town along WIS 57 at the southern end of Kangaroo Lake are the undiscovered
gems of Lyle-Harter-Matter Sanctuary and Meridian County Parks, which sandwich
the highway and feature rough undeveloped trails past Niagara Escarpment rocks and one
of the largest dunes in the county.
Ifyou'rereally looking toescape the crowds, even onachaotic mid-July day,youcould
head north a few miles on WIS 57, then west on Highway E two miles or so to a spur trail.
This will lead you toward Kangaroo Lake, a state wildlife area that's best explored on a
canoetrip.Somehow,thenorthernhalfofthislakehasescapeddevelopment. Thewetmes-
ic open areas here are rare in Wisconsin and harbor a staggering list of threatened species,
particularly the Hines emerald dragonfly. Kangaroo Lake is one of only two breeding areas
in the country for this species.
CALMER NEAR THE LAKE
Jacksonport,DoorCounty,isonthe45thparallel,exactlyhalfwaybetweentheequat-
or and the North Pole, but don't let that fool you—the peninsula's climate is far
more temperate than in other northerly Wisconsin areas. The ferocious waters of
LakeMichigan,legendaryfortheirunpredictabilityandfuror,canalsoamelioratethe
weather, keeping things cool in the dog days and taking the bite out of winter's Al-
bertaClippers.(EarlyweatheraccountsfromDoorCountypointoutthatthenorthern
tip is generally a few degrees warmer than the southern end, though the bayside vs.
lakeside difference is more important climatically.) This in part explains the rather
one-sided habitation of the Door; most of the residents live on the western, or bay,
side. With Lake Michigan in a huff, blowing fog, spray, and mist, Green Bay, in the
lee of 15 miles of limestone windblock, remains sedate (if a bit cloudy).
Another oddity exists. Anyone visiting the vicinity of one of the Great Lakes will
soon learn of “lake-effect” snow, which is exactly as it seems. The waters can dump
much more snow on the littoral edges than even a few miles inland, especially for
thoseontheeasternshores.LookingatamapofDoorCounty,surroundedbyallthat
water, and you'd think it'd snow like crazy here, but it doesn't. Green Bay is not ac-
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