The Nature of Peninsula

• Nature Links
• Lake Michigan Links
• Educational Signs

Peninsula's rich natural legacy includes Wisconsin's largest protected tract of the Niagara Escarpment, eight miles of shoreline, and several rare species, including the Dwarf Lake Iris (Iris lacustris). Peninsula has two State Natural Areas, the White Cedar Forest and the Beech Maple Forest. The State Natural Areas Council set both areas aside because they possess unique attributes of native plant communities, typical of the way things looked before Europeans settled here.

Know what poison ivy looks like. Leaves of three, let it be. Stay on the trails and roads. And tell your kids, "Don't pet the dogs!"

Visitors can also learn much about park history and ecology at the White Cedar Nature Center.

Nature Links

Learn more about these features by visiting the following links:

Environmental Education for Kids (EEK!)
Peninsula's Key Ecosystems
Peninsula Seasons
Peninsula's Wildlife

Lake Michigan Links

Naturalist Kathleen Harris suggests these web sites to learn more about Peninsula State Park and the adjoining waters of Lake Michigan.

• Underwater archaeologists from the State Historical Society have investigated many shipwrecks in Door County [exit DNR], including some near Peninsula State Park.
• The Detroit District of the US Corps of Engineers [exit DNR] publishes interesting reports about lake levels and Great Lakes Hydrology.
• The Center for Great Lakes Environmental Eduation [exit DNR] site is developed for students and educators, so it is understandable, no easy task when it comes to articulating the complexities of our Great Lakes.

Educational Signs

Seven historical wayside signs reveal stories about key park features. All are accessible by car.

• Shorelines and Sedge Meadows: Weborg Point and the White Cedar Forest. Shore Road, near Weborg Point.


Visitors learn about Peninsula history by viewing an historical wayside sign.
DNR Photo

• Privilege in the Park: Camp Meenahga 1916-1948. Shore Road, Skyline parking lot, Lot 3.
• Island Overlook: Who was Sven? Skyline Road, Sven's Bluff overlook.
• Island Paradise: Horseshoe Island. Shore Road, near Lighthouse.
• Life on the Ledge: The Niagara Escarpment. Near Eagle Tower.
• A State Park System is Formed: Peninsula Takes the Lead. Eagle Panorama.
• A Road Less Traveled: Eagle Terrace, CCC. Eagle Trail trailhead, at Terrace.

Sentinel Trail and the White Cedar Nature Trail both feature series of educational signs.

For more information, ask Kathleen Harris, (920) 854-5976.