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Lake Michigan, Unspoiled
Six miles of sandy beach. By itself, that’s a selling point, but combine that with a nationally recognized natural area, a photogenic lighthouse, nature center and the Ice Age Trail, and it may become your new favorite place.
Point Beach takes you back in time to the undeveloped shoreline of mighty Lake Michigan. Much of the southern half of the state forest is Point Beach Ridges State Natural Area, a National Natural Landmark.
This area includes 11 parallel alternating ridges and swales – like giant ripples beneath the trees and undergrowth that represent the varying shorelines over the last 8,000 years. The low-lying dunes that now back the beach are home to some rare – even unique – plant species.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
As you enter the park, pass the Rawley Point Lighthouse (see it and learn more on page 60) and follow the park road to the Point Beach Nature Center at the north end of the park. You can find out how the glaciers of the Ice Age shaped this place and learn all about the park’s ecological wonders.
Other exhibits tell the stories of tragic shipwrecks. Nearly two dozen known wrecks lie off the coast from Point Beach, and about five of these are in shallow water and may be visible to kayakers and snorkelers – depending on the shifting sands under the waves.
If you want to make it more than a day trip, 127 shaded campsites lie a minute’s walk from the beach, all with picnic tables and fire rings. Seventy sites provide electricity, and the camp has flush toilets and showers.
Hikers have options, from a short self-guided nature path to a 6-mile out-and-back trek along the Ridges Trail. The Point Beach segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail comes into the park from the northwest, follows the Ridge Trail, and rounds a marshy area before coming out on the beach on its way to Two Rivers. Bikers will enjoy the crushed-limestone Rawley Point Trail, which runs almost 6 miles through the park to the city.
And if you prefer a more developed beach, with concessions, a tented stage for live music and parking right at the edge of the sand, there’s always Two Rivers’ Neshotah Park, just south of the state forest. What’s not to love?
90 miles from Milwaukee to Two Rivers
Before your morning hike or swim, fuel up with a hearty breakfast at Cozy B’s Family Diner, or come back for lunch (before 2 p.m.) for a tuna melt or a Philly cheesesteak and tots.
On the banks of the East Twin River, the historic Rogers Street Fishing Village and Great Lakes Coast Guard Museum features six historic buildings, including a relocated 1886 lighthouse and a 1936 fishing tug. The Fishing Village is on the National Register of Historic Places. Displays include artifacts from area shipwrecks.
Operated by a fourth-generation commercial fishing family, Susie-Q Fish Co. sells locally caught whitefish and some perch, as well as great smoked fish and other seafood.
