Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Biking
Seventeen of the park's trail miles allow mountain bikes. Essentially, anywhere that hikers
go, a bike can get to, but generally on a parallel trail. Trails are for the most part hard-
packeddirt,butareregularlypockedwithobstacles:potholesofquicksand,python-sizetree
roots hidden under leaves, and more than a few spots of gravel. The shoreline routes are
off-limits,asit'stootemptingforbikerstowhipdownontothefragilesands.Bikecamping
is possible, though the park warns of porcupine damage to bikes overnight.
Camping
Here's the reason outdoor aficionados pilgrimage here regularly—there's no vehicular ac-
cess to campsites. The 17 sites (13 reservable, $17 for non-residents) are strictly walk-in
(a modestly strenuous hike to some, a serious pack to most, but it sure beats the traffic
death of Potawatomi and Peninsula; the shortest hike in is one-half mile, the longest
nearly four miles). Two sites on Europe Lake are waterside, so canoes can land and
camp; these are my favorite. The Lake Michigan side has plenty of lakeside sites. Winter
camping is outstanding here. As always, reserve early (888/947-2757,
wisconsinstate-
parks.reserveamerica.com
,
reservation fee $10).
WIS42hasperhapsthemostintriguinghistoryofanycountryroad.Notyouraveragefarm-
to-market remnant, it was hewn from a tundra-like wilderness in 1857 by starving millers
and fishers desperate when winter arrived earlier than expected and froze supply boats out
of the harbor.
On the way to Egg Harbor out of Sturgeon Bay, a great on-the-water side trip is along
Highway B. Eventually, it merges with Highway G around Horseshoe Bay and leads direc-
tly to Egg Harbor.
There'ssomethingofacontrived(officially,“revitalized”)feeltoEggHarbor,backonWIS
42. A couple of structures smacking of the early days are now redone with fresh facades.
Butthere'smorethanalittlenewdevelopment,includinganersatz-Victorianstripmallthat
could have been plunked down in any city suburb or fringe sprawl in America.
