In addition to fine campsites, join a fish boil at Rowley’s Bay Resort, go wine tasting at the many area vineyards or tour the Potawatomie Lighthouse on Rock Island.
to significantly cooler temperatures. It’s a chilly 62 degrees when I arrive along the pristine beaches of Whitefish Dunes State Park — perhaps ten or more degrees colder than the peninsu- la’s Green Bay side. The fine sand and bushy dune grass reminds me of a New England beach. “Lake Michigan is pretty much a nat-
tions from 100 BC to the late 1800s. Ca- noes found nearby in the lake date back 400-500 years, and maritime history includes 14 shipwrecks in and around Whitefish Bay. The cool morning mist has finally subsided as I head north along Highway 57 for about 15 miles, skirting Lake Michigan’s heavily treed shoreline, until
est Great Lakes dunescape in Wisconsin. “If you take a shovel and dig down, you would hit sand very quickly,” explains Rock. “The sand is actually a gift from the glaciers from 10,000 years ago.” The park’s largest dune, Old Baldy, elevates 93 feet above the lake level and can be reached
“Whether it’s lighthouses or shipbuilding,” explains Jon Gast, volunteer coordinator,” we’re trying to preserve maritime interest and tell that story because that’s what this peninsula is all about.”
ural air-conditioner since it’s a large body of water, and it takes a lot to cool it down or warm
I reach the Cana Island Light- house. I cross a causeway on foot to reach Cana Island
it up,” says Carolyn Rock, the park’s Natural Resource Educator. “In the
and climb the light- house’s 102-step circular stairwell to the top. The
springtime we’re definitely 15 to 20 degrees cooler. People come here and notice the temperature gauge in their cars dropping as they come down.” We hike along paths in what looks like a forested area. But in reality, we’re walking on rolling sand dunes covered with thin layers of three to six inches of topsoil. The park includes the 230-acre Whitefish Dunes Natural Area, the larg-
structure turned 145 years old in 2014, and its beacon has helped sailors maneuver around crippling reefs where many wood-hulled schooners lay wrecked. “In the old days, the lake was like a highway. The roads were very poor, yet trade was very high,” says lighthouse guide Dave Anderson. “There was a lot of lumber and other building materials
by climbing fewer than 100 steps to an observation platform. Alongside the pathways are replicas of Native American birch-bark wigwams with maple-sapling frames. Archeological digs in 1986 and 1992 revealed the park was once home to eight different occupa-
12 COAST TO COAST SUMMER 2014
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