Due to the popularity of the Lighthouse Festival each June and the positive response to the two previous Fall Lighthouse Festivals, the Door County Maritime Museum, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, is again offering some of its most popular tours Columbus Day weekend. Reservations are now being taken for these fantastic lighthouse adventures that will take place October 7-8. To order tickets please call (920)743-5958.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7
BOAT EXCURSIONS:
LAKESHORE LIGHTHOUSE CRUISE
Departs Baileys Harbor Municipal Dock at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 7.
Cost: $49.50 per person. Capacity: 22 per tour.
Only on the tours from Baileys Harbor will visitors have a waterside look at the Baileys Harbor Range Lights, the Old “Bird Cage” Lighthouse in Baileys Harbor and the majestic Cana Island Lighthouse. Additionally, many shipwrecks lie underneath the waters of this cruise; visitors may even see one from the boat.
PLUM ISLAND TOUR
Departs Gills Rock Dock at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 7.
Cost: $79 per person. Capacity: 14 per tour.
This 5-hour tour is a very rare offering as the US Fish and Wildlife Service must grant permission for the tour. The Friends of Plum and Pilot Island accompany visitors on the walking tours over the island landscape and up the stairs of the lights. The walking tour covers more than 2 miles round-trip and requires good footwear. Shorts are not recommended and there is no vending available on the island, but for the adventurer this rugged excursion is one to write home about. (FOPPI requires a signed waiver that will be sent to visitors at the time reservations are made and must be brought completely filled out to the dock.)
SAIL DOOR COUNTY SCHOONER CRUISE
Departs from Sister Bay Marina at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 7.
Cost: $65 per person. Capacity: 23 per tour.
Set sail into yesteryear on a 19th century tall ship to Peninsula State Park’s Eagle Bluff Lighthouse. Join the crew in hoisting the halyard or sit back and enjoy the trip on a 65-foot schooner, the Edith M. Becker, on a 2½-hour sailing adventure with views of the rocky shore, islands, caves and majestic bluffs. Hear the cannon sound as they strike sail at the end of the cruise. This trip is a bit longer and more focused on local lore than the typical schooner cruise.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8
LAND-BASED TOUR:
NATURALIST-NARRATED TOUR
Departs Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay at 9 a.m. on Sunday, October 8.
Cost: $77.50 per person. Capacity: 22 per tour.
Narration about the local history and natural environment of Door County and its lighthouses makes the time fly on this amazing five-hour tour which includes stops at the Sturgeon Bay Canal Station and North Pierhead, Eagle Bluff Lighthouse, the Ridges Range Lights and Cana Island Lighthouse. A freshly made box lunch will be enjoyed at picturesque Cana Island.
BOAT EXCURSION:
CHAMBERS ISLAND TOUR
Departs the Fish Creek dock aboard the Quo Vadis at 9 am and 11:30 am on Sunday, October 8.
Cost: $68 per person. Capacity: 50 per tour.
Lighthouse enthusiasts should take advantage of this rare opportunity to traverse the private lands of Chambers Island. Access to the lighthouse will require a 3-mile, round-trip, docent-led hike across the island from the marina featuring some interesting stops along the way. A lighthouse caretaker will meet the tours at the lighthouse where you will be able to soak up the amazing view and climb to the top of the lantern room platform. Good hiking shoes are recommended and participants should be in good enough shape to handle the hike.
Submitted by Mary E. Stephenson, Special Events Coordinator/Educational Specialist, Door County Maritime Museum & Lighthouse Preservation Society, August 30, 2017
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U.S. Lighthouse Society News is produced by the U.S. Lighthouse Society to support lighthouse preservation, history, education and research. Please join the U.S. Lighthouse Society if you are not already a member. If you have items of interest to the lighthouse community and its supporters, please email them to candace@uslhs.org.
Candace was the US Lighthouse Society historian from 2016 until she passed away in August 2018. For 30 years, her work involved lighthouse history. She worked with the National Park Service and the Council of American Maritime Museums. She was a noted author and was considered the most knowledgable person on lighthouse information at the National Archives. Books by Candace Clifford include: Women who Kept the Lights: a History of Thirty-eight Female Lighthouse Keepers , Mind the Light Katie, and Maine Lighthouses, Documentation of their Past.