There are plentiful picturesque shoreline photo opportunities for your dogs while visiting Door County. Green Bay, Sturgeon Bay, Lake Michigan all offer settings that are worthy of your lovely dog.
Washington Island Beaches
You'll be able to explore (on leash) all of Washington Island's shoreline with your dog. These beaches include:
- School House Beach is one of five beaches like it and is part of the Niagara Escarpment. A protected harbor area, and the Island's original shipping port.
- Jackson Harbor Ridges Beach is a State of Wisconsin Scientific Area characterized by sandy beach dunes, boreal forest, and meadow shoreline. This area has 9-acres of beach area in shallow waters, making for warm swimming throughout the summer.
- Percy Johnson Memorial Park Beach This is a sandy beach suitable for swimming and sunbathing. There are also outhouses at the park.
- Gislason Beach Located in the Detroit Harbor, Gislason Beach has a playground, picnic area, barbecues, and a small theatre that offers live performances through the summer. This beach is drug and alcohol-free.
- Sand Dune Beach is at the south end of Washington Island. This sand beach is an excellent place for family swimming. Be aware that the quality of swimming and water varies depending on the water levels.
Rock Island State Park
Rock Island, WI 54246
This 912-acre State Park is a car-free, bike-free Island in Lake Michigan, offering 10-miles of hiking trails and 5,000 feet of undeveloped beachfront, all of which you can explore with your pet on an 8-foot leash. Take the ferry from Washington Island (pets on leash are permitted onboard) to get to Rock Island. There are primitive campsites on Rock Island, but only sites A-E and 1-19 allow pets. Be aware that the water can be pretty cool here. After you swim, be sure to check out Pottawatomie Lighthouse, also known as the Rock Island Light. The lighthouse is in Rock Island State Park, on Rock Island in Door County, Wisconsin. Lit in 1836, it is the oldest light station in Wisconsin and on Lake Michigan.
Newport State Park
475 County Highway NP
Ellison Bay, WI 54210
Except for the beach area adjacent to parking lots 2 and 3 (the park's main beach area), you and your dog on an 8-foot leash are free to explore the more than 2,373-acres of this designated wilderness park along Lake Michigan, including over 38 miles of trails and 11 miles (with the exception already noted above) of lake shoreline. You're allowed on Europe Bay Beach, but the park rangers ask you to take care not to cross over to the beach that is part of Europe Bay Town Park, as pets are not permitted there. Protecting 11-miles of shoreline on Lake Michigan, Newport is Wisconsin's only wilderness-designated state park. In 2017, the International Dark-Sky Association named Newport a Dark-sky preserve.
Whitefish Dunes State Park
3275 Clark Lake Road
Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
There is a long, sandy beach in Whitefish Dunes State Park. In addition to swimming, visitors to the park can enjoy the trails, boardwalk, nature center, and picnic areas. The beach's facilities are accessible. Pets allowed on an 8-foot leash throughout its 865-acres, including the area of the beach designated pet-friendly, south of the third beach access.
Potawatomi State Park
3740 County PD
Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
Located near the shores of Sturgeon Bay, Potawatomi State Park's sprawling 1200-acres is a "must-see" in Door County. The park's landscape consists of a rolling terrain accented by steep slopes and limestone cliffs that tower above 2-miles of rocky shorelines. Explore this park with your dog on an 8-foot leash.
Know a beach we should include on this list? Let us know in the comments!