Visit The top of the Door Peninsula

Located about 40 miles north of Sturgeon Bay, Gills Rock is the last village in Door County, located at the top of the Peninsula. if you want to get to Washington Island or Rock Island, you will need to come through here first. Both of the ferries leave from this community.
 
Just like all of Door County, you can enjoy beautiful views of the water, the tree covered roads, sprawling open fields and awesome parks.
 
The tip of the peninsula is the meeting point of Lake Michigan and the waters of Green Bay. This convergance is called "Deaths Door". It has that name, because when the warm waters of the bay mix with the cool waters of the Lake, strong currents are produced. Many ships have have made distress calls and actually sunk as a result of this.
 

See the Vistas from Gills Rock

One of the favorite roads in Door County is Northport Road. This road is at the end of HWY 42. It goes right up to the edge of Lake Michigan, where the car ferry leaves to Washington Island. What makes this road so great is the canopy of trees and mild hills and dips that encompass the 3 mile snakey road. It really is a very nice drive.

* Be be aware that when it is not very busy, people enjoy driving very fast down this road, so drive with caution.  Not only that, but there are a lot of deer in this area that like to cross the road as they please. That being said, as long as you drive the speed limit (or slower) this is one of THE best roads in all of Door County!

While in gills rock, visit the Maritime Museum where you can see photos of old shipwrecks, fishing equipment, commercial fishing operations, and other information about this area. The museum is open daily from Memorial Day through mid October.

If you like to go fishing, there is a boat launch in Hegehog Harbor. There are also charter boats that supply fishing equipment and guided tours for trout and salmon.

Boat Launches & Inland Lakes:


Hedgehog Harbor
Garret Bay . This launch is no longer in existence. The dock
has been pulled out and the water level is below the end of what used to be a launch.

NEWPORT STATE PARK
 
This Park is located in the township of Liberty Grove
Between Ellison Bay and Gills Rock off CTY NP
SIZE: 2400 acres
Newport is a very wilderness area with over 175 different species of
birds and wildlife from deer to wild turkeys. In the 1800's the
park area was the site of a logging town named Newport. In 1966 the
state purchased the land and made it a park.
If you like canoeing, take advantage of the 1.5 miles of Europe lake
shoreline.