Whitefish Dunes State Park

One the five State Parks in Door County, Whitefish Dunes is right on Lake Michigan and has trails for hikers and bikers… as well as a beach and nice rock formations along the shore.

View of the beach from the observation deck, right next to the visitor center.

Black Trail

The black trail starts right by the visitor center and is about 2.5 miles long. Please be aware that some of this trail is a bike trail, and a section of it is also the brown trail, make sure to follow the black signs to complete this lollipop trail.

As one would expect, the section shared with bikes is quite wide and flat, and while the rest of the loop is also mostly flat, some of it is single track and intermediate level because of the big rocks you have to navigate as you walk. There is a shortcut at some point, if you realize this is a bit too difficult for you.

On your way back, if you want to be closer to the lake, follow the brown trail to the visitor center. It doesn’t add much at all and gives you better views!

View of Lake Michigan from one of the lookout points on the Brown Trail.

Just north of the Brown Trail, if you keep walking along the coast, you will end up at Cave County Park, which has pretty spectacular views of the lake, particularly in the winter, with ice!

About a half hour’s drive north on the peninsula is Newport Start Park.

And to get a preview of Peninsula State Park in the winter (on the other side of the peninsula, along the Green Bay), click here!