Sturgeon Bay

Sturgeon Bay is the largest city in Wisconsin's Door County. The city is at the bottom of the Sturgeon Bay and contains an abundance of maritime activity and scenic landscape in the immediate area. As the county's biggest city, many festivals and events are held here throughout the year, attracting tourism across the area.

Understand

Prior to the area being founded in 1851, Sturgeon Bay was inhabited by the Ho-Chunk and Menominee. The nearby ship canal is a heavy proponent of the development of the city, and the city grew to having two shipyards (one of which is still in operation to this day), with a population in 2020 just slightly below 10,000 people.

Get in

By plane

By car

The most popular way of getting around from town to town, Sturgeon Bay is served by two state highways (WIS 42 and WIS 57) and numerous county highways that connect the area to other nearby communities and villages. WIS 42 comes in from Manitowoc to the south and ends at Northport further north in Door County while serving bayshore villages. WIS 57 connects Green Bay to Sturgeon Bay as an expressway and connects the city with other lakeside villages as a generic two-lane road before ending at WIS 42 in Sister Bay.

Get around

Downtown Sturgeon Bay

By car

Streets on the west side going north/south are generally named after cities and those going east/west are named after tree types. Across the bay, they are numbered and named after states respectively. In terms of driving, the main route through the city center is Business WIS 42/57, the original alignment of WIS 42/57 through Sturgeon Bay before being rerouted in 1978.

WIS 42/57 Business Route

Business WIS 42/57 follows Green Bay Road northeast of the half interchange before turning north on the west side as Madison Avenue before turning northeast and crossing the Sturgeon Bay Bridge to enter the main downtown district as Michigan St. At 3rd Avenue, the route turns left onto 3rd Ave before turning northeast onto Jefferson Ave, curving north onto 8th Street, and finally northeast again as Egg Harbor Road where it keeps the name until rejoining WIS 42/57 on the northeast side of the city.

On foot

Many streets, especially those in the downtown, will have sidewalks on both sides of the streets. The Ice Age Trail generally follows Madison Avenue and the walkway along the bay of Sturgeon Bay at Bay View Park. South of here, it picks up the Ahnapee State Trail all the way to Algoma.

Crossings of the Sturgeon Bay

The city is home to three drawbridges, all of which are maintained by the state of Wisconsin. The newest bridge is the Oregon-Maple Street Bridge (2008) which carries the business routes over the bay alongside the historic 1931 Sturgeon Bay Bridge (or the Michigan Street Bridge, or simply Steel Bridge). The 1978 Bay View Bridge carries WIS 42/57 over the Sturgeon Bay, built as a bypass of Sturgeon Bay for long-distance travel. Previously there was a swing bridge built in 1884 and removed in 1970 known as the Ahnapee & Western Railroad Bridge; this bridge largely fell into disuse and was removed beginning in 1960 after a Swedish vessel collided with an important lift mechanism on the Sturgeon Bay Bridge, that caused minor physical damage but disconnected the east side of the city from the west.

See

Sturgeon Bay North Pierhead Lighthouse
  • 🌍 Canal Lighthouses, 2499 S Lake Michigan Dr. There are two lighthouses here, the tall Canal Light, and the picturesque North Pierhead Light. You can only access the grounds on the lower level breakwall on the east side of the city, but you can get a bigger view at the natural preserve at 2499 S Lake Michigan Dr. (updated Nov 2024)
  • 🌍 Door County Maritime Museum, 120 N Madison Ave, ☏ +1 920-743-5958. 10AM-5PM. Contains the Jim Kress Lighthouse Tower (the tallest building in Sturgeon Bay at 11 floors), and several exhibits related to the Maritime history of the Great Lakes along the shores of Door County. There is also a seasonal museum site up in Gills Rock at 12724 W Wisconsin Bay Rd called "Death's Door Maritime Museum". (updated Nov 2024)
  • 🌍 George K. Pinney County Park, 4879 Bay Shore Dr. Though mostly a turnoff and a boat launching place, this county park is by an old quarry and is at the mouth of the Sturgeon Bay with excellent views of both Green and Sturgeon Bays. The Peshtigo Reef Lighthouse (9.2 miles away) can be seen on a clear day. (updated Nov 2024)
  • 🌍 Miller Art Museum, 107 S 4th Ave, ☏ +1 920-746-0707. M 10AM-7PM, Tu-Sa 10AM-5PM, closed on Sundays. Art Museum in downtown Sturgeon Bay (updated Nov 2024)
  • 🌍 Door County Historical Museum, 18 N 4th Ave. Tu-Sa 10AM-4:30PM, closed Su M. Historical museum detailing the history of Door County and Sturgeon Bay (updated Nov 2024)

Do

Looking north from Potawatomi State Park at the Sturgeon Bay
  • 🌍 Cave Point County Park, 5360 Schauer Rd. Popular county park known for the rocky coves along Lake Michigan. (updated Nov 2024)
  • 🌍 Ice Age Trail (Sturgeon Bay Segment). The Ice Age Trail ends in nearby Potawatomi State Park, and runs south using city streets and walking trails near Algoma. (updated Nov 2024)
  • 🌍 Peninsula State Park, 9462 Shore Rd, Fish Creek. Though a bit of a drive from Sturgeon Bay, the park is known for scenic vistas and bluffs along the Niagara Escarpment. Upper Peninsula shoreline is visible on a clear day. $13. (updated Nov 2024)
  • 🌍 Potawatomi State Park, 3740 Park Dr, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235. Scenic state park that is right outside of Sturgeon Bay with scenic views of the shoreline and the eastern terminus of the Ice Age Trail. $8 for WI Licensed Cars, $11 for out-of-state cars. (updated Nov 2024)
  • 🌍 Whitefish Dunes State Park, 3275 Clark Lake Rd. A state park covering numerous sand dunes and remnants of successive Native American villages. $8 for WI licensed cars, $11 for out-of-state cars. (updated Nov 2024)

Buy

Sturgeon Bay Bridge from the northeast
  • 🌍 3rd Avenue District. The main business district of Sturgeon Bay, several shops of many types can be found here. (updated Nov 2024)
  • 🌍 Madison Avenue District. The western side of Sturgeon Bay's main district also offers several shops and restaurants. (updated Nov 2024)

Eat

Drink

Though many of Door County's wineries are located further up north, there are some along WIS 42 outside of Sturgeon Bay, including:

  • 🌍 Door 44 Winery, 5464 Co Rd P, ☏ +1 920-388-4400. M-F 11AM-5PM, Sa Su 10AM-5PM. A winery overlooking WIS 42, 1.5 miles north of the WIS 42/WIS 57 central intersection. (updated Nov 2024)
  • 🌍 Door Peninsula Winery, 5806 WI-42, ☏ +1-800-551-5049. 9AM-5PM. Big winery in a former schoolhouse in Carlsville. Parking is mainly accessible via Carlsville Rd (CTH-I) (updated Nov 2024)

Sleep

The city also maintains several city parks, Otumba and Sunset of which are on the bay of Sturgeon Bay.

Sturgeon Bay

Nearby places

Most of these places are within a three mile drive from Sturgeon Bay's city limits.

Connect

Cell service is generally strong in the city limits, with there being several cellphone stores along the business route. However, services might be a bit spotty the further you are away from Sturgeon Bay and the two main highways.

Nearby communities

There are several smaller communities that are in close proximity to Sturgeon Bay, including:

  • 🌍 Carlsville — small unincorporated community along WIS 42 with some shops.
  • 🌍 Forestville — small village southwest of Sturgeon Bay also along WIS 42 in an agricultural part of Door County.
  • 🌍 Jacksonport — unincorporated community along WIS 57 on Lake Michigan
  • 🌍 Little Sturgeon — small unincorporated community to the west of Sturgeon Bay on County Road C.
  • 🌍 Valmy — small unincorporated community along WIS 57 that is the gateway to area parks.

Go next

  • There is more to Door County, especially north of Sturgeon Bay.
  • Green Bay has numerous sightseeing options, like the National Railway Museum and Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.
  • Manitowoc to the south is another maritime city along Lake Michigan, about 60 miles to the south.


Routes through Sturgeon Bay
Manitowoc ←  S  N  → END (in Northport)
Green Bay ←  S/W  N/E  → END (in Sister Bay)


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