No need to wait to see Door County lighthouses

Q. I am a lover of lighthouses and I have heard about an annual tour in Wisconsin, but that's as much as I know about it. Somebody told me they thought it is in Door County. Do you know where such a tour takes place, the dates and any other details? Thank you so much.

A. There is such a tour in Door County, Wis., and next year's event is scheduled for May 17 and 18.

However, if you don't want to wait until next spring, the Door County Maritime Museum and Lighthouse Preservation Society in Sturgeon Bay, the organization that sponsors the annual lighthouse walk, encourages anyone who is interested in the Door County beacons to take a tour on their own.

Starting at the Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay, you can visit the Sherwood Point light, the last manned lighthouse on the Great Lakes and now used by the Coast Guard. Then cross the peninsula to visit the Canal Station light, one of two working lighthouses in Door County and an active Coast Guard station.

Head north to Baileys Harbor and visit Range Lights. Sailors entering the well-protected harbor of Baileys Harbor knew they were headed toward safe water when one light lined up over the other. Nearby is the Old Baileys Harbor Light, abandoned in 1869 when the U.S. Lighthouse Board decided to build Range Lights rather than repair Old Baileys. Boat tours out of Baileys Harbor provide excellent views.

Next is Cana Island Light, the other of Door County's two working lighthouses. The island is connected to the mainland by a rocky causeway, so bring your thick-soled walking shoes. A free shuttle bus takes visitors from the Baileys Harbor Town Hall to the light.

Eagle Bluff light in Peninsula State Park was restored by the Door County Historical Society with furnishings used by keepers prior to when it was automated in 1926.

There are four more lighthouses in Door County, some of them a challenge to reach. There is Plum Island at the northern tip of the peninsula; Pilot Island, said to have witnessed the most shipwrecks of any light on the Great Lakes; Pottawatomie, north of Washington Island and accessible by ferry from Jackson Harbor (allow a full day for this one); and Chambers Island, which you can view only from the mainland.

You will find Door County rich in quaint inns and good restaurants, if you can tear yourself away from the lighthouses. Information is available by calling (800) 527-3529 or on the Web at www.doorcounty.com.