Kohler-Andrae State Park, WI to Point Beach State Forest, WI

May 31, 2025

Day 3 - Saturday

I woke at 5 a.m. as it was light outside. I checked the temperature and it was 46 F. / 8 C. I fell back asleep and woke again at 6 a.m. and eventually got up at 6:45 a.m.

We packed all our gear then moved to the shower block to eat our breakfast bars and get ready to leave.

Leaving the campsite at 8 a.m. we decided to at least visit the beach to see what it was like. It was cold and windy but I'm sure without the wind and a more appropriate temperature one could spend an enjoyable day here.

So setting off with full finger gloves, 2 t-shirts, a jacket and tights was not what I envisioned this tour would be.

And this morning the wind was from the north, so we started out into the wind.

We arrived in Sheboygan at 9:15 a.m. our first stop was the piers where we rode out on the south pier for a view across the channel to the Sheboygan Breakwater Lighthouse.

Notice in the photos, none of the clothes have come off yet.

Sheboygan Breakwater Lighthouse

Sheboygan's North Point Lighthouse built on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan commenced operation in 1839.

By the late 1850's, after being threatened by erosion, the lighthouse was replaced in 1860.

Harbor improvements were begun in 1852 with the construction of parallel piers and in 1873 a lighthouse was constructed on the north pierhead.

On August 29, the lighthouse at North Point was discontinued, and its fifth-order Fresnel lens was placed in the new tower on the pier.

At some point, the lantern room was removed from Sheboygan Breakwater Lighthouse.

US Coast Guard Station Sheboygan. Across the channel on the north side.

We run into our old friend, The Lake Michigan Circle Tour.

As our early breakfast didn't fill us up, we rode around town looking for a dinner. Eventually we found an eatery on Main Street called Field to Fork. We ran into some motorcyclists outside and they highly recommended the place so we headed inside and found a seat at the counter. I ordered the omelet and Cameron got a burger. The food is sourced from local farms and was excellent and while there, the waiter was kind enough to charge my phone behind the counter.

The north pier where the Sheboygan Breakwater Lighthouse is located looked a bit dangerous to venture out on and in the interests of time we didn't walk or bike out.

We arrived in Manitowoc at 1:30 p.m. and stopped at the Cedar Crest Ice Cream Parlor and as it had warmed up and was nice outside we also ate our lunch at the tables outside and while enjoying an ice cream. This was a complete turnaround from this mornings temperatures.

Next we headed to the south pier for a view of the Manitowoc North Breakwater Lighthouse. We got there in time to get a distant view of the S.S. Badger ferry leaving as we had heard it's horn while eating lunch.

SS Badger steaming towards Ludington, MI.

Welcome to Wisconsin sign on US Hwy 10, WI which routes across Lake Michigan on the S.S. Badger car ferry.

Manitowoc was to have been our final cycling destination on our lower Lake Michigan tour two years ago, however the S.S. Badger was out of commission due to a damaged pier.

We stopped briefly at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum for the lighthouse stamp noting that I will need to re-visit the museum when we cycle around the upper half of Lake Michigan. That tour will either start here or in Ludington, MI depending on what direction we take around the upper portion of the lake.

We then proceeded to cycle up to Lake Street where the old Keepers Duplex House still stands. I neglected to get a photo back towards the lake but the keepers had a good view of the Manitowoc Breakwater Lighthouse from their front windows.

Manitowoc Breakwater Lighthouse Keepers Duplex House.

Before we left Manitowoc, we rode out on north pier and were surprised find that the lighthouse was open. I had heard it was privately owned.

We were able to tour through all the rooms and up into the lantern room.

Manitowoc Breakwater Lighthouse. This was as far as we took the bikes. I like to get a photo of myself and the bike in front of the lighthouses but some days when I look at the obstacles to do this I choose the sensible approach. We walked the rest of the way.

Manitowoc Breakwater Lighthouse

The original Manitowoc lighthouse measuring thirty feet tall was built from brick and painted white, entering service in 1839.

Improvements to the Manitowoc harbor began in 1867 with twin piers constructed and in 1873 a pierhead light on the outer end of the north pier to commenced operation.

The keeper of the 1839 Manitowoc Lighthouse was responsible for both lights until Manitowoc Lighthouse was discontinued in 1877.

In 1895 a 400 foot breakwater was built off the northern pier at an angle of 45°. and a fog signal building was built with an enclosed lantern at its gable end.

The discontinued old brick lighthouse was also razed in 1895.

The Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad launched a railroad car ferry service between Manitowoc and Ludington in 1897 using the Pere Marquette, the first steel car ferry. In 1900, the ferry transported 27,000 railroad cars across Lake Michigan. The S.S. Badger, which has been converted to carry automobiles and passengers, is the last of the fourteen railcar ferries that served this route.

In 1918, the old fog signal building was removed from the breakwater and the current steel lighthouse was constructed atop a concrete basement and commenced operation on December 13, 1919.

The old keepers redbrick triplex is still standing at the corner of Chicago Street and North Lake Street and was sold in 1938.

The lighthouse was automated in 1971, and the fifth-order Fresnel lens was removed in 2002 and placed on display at the nearby Wisconsin Maritime Museum.

Mariners Trail from Manitowoc to Two Rivers along side Hwy 42.

It was past 3:30 p.m. by the time we left the lighthouse, time had definitely slipped away today.

There was a nice trail to Two Rivers keeping us off busy Hwy 42. As we cycled along, we saw nice rest areas planted with flowers and plants with park benches over looking the lake, but you have to believe me because I didn't take any photos.

We arrived at Two Rivers around 4:30 p.m. finding the lighthouse had closed at 4 p.m.. As mentioned I hadn't managed our time well today and not noticed the earlier closing time of the lighthouse.

Never the less, we were able to walk the grounds and get some photos. I will write to them for the stamp and plan on returning here on my next tour when I cycle around the upper half of Lake Michigan.

Two Rivers Lighthouse

In April 1852 work began on an constructing a lighthouse at Two Rivers. Twin Rivers Lighthouse was discontinued that August, 1859 due to low shipping volume.

In 1871 construction of twin piers commenced, and by 1878, they had been extended 1,200 feet into Lake Michigan.

A pierhead lighthouse was built and first lit on October 25, 1886.

The lighthouse was deactivated in 1969 and replaced with a modern beacon. In 1975, the upper portion of the wooden lighthouse was moved onto the grounds of the Historic Rogers Street Fishing Village.

The wooden walkway surrounding the lighthouse is not original.

Before leaving Two Rivers we stopped for groceries. It wasn't another Piggly Wiggly, although there was one across town. Today we patronized the Pick 'n Save, which turned out to be part of the Kroger stores chain and I was able to get a few discounts with my card.

We rode the last few miles to Point Beach State Forest which involved some trail riding and Sandy Bay Road.

Arriving at 5:30 p.m., they didn't have sites for the night but their cyclist overflow policy was for us to camp at the playground. The young girl at the office couldn't figure out how to charge us so she quickly made a decision that as we didn't have a site camping was free. Never to turn down a free campsite we rode on in. But not before stopping at the Rawley Point Lighthouse which is on the same grounds as the park.

Rawley Point Lighthouse. This was taken from the selfie stand they had in place.

Rawley Point (Twin River) Lighthouse

Construction for a lighthouse begun March 3, 1873 and the tower was finished and lit on December 7, 1874.

By 1892, the tower was deteriorating due to faulty bricks and banding was installed to stabilize. However the tower continued to crumble, so in 1894 it was decided to replace the old brick tower with the metal tower from the Chicago River Light Station. This work was completed on November 20, 1894. The 113 foot tower is the tallest land-based lighthouse on the Great Lakes. In 1895, the old brick tower was removed and alterations were made to the keepers house. The light was changed to electricity in 1930 and automated in 1979.

The keepers’ dwelling at Rawley Point is currently used as a rental cottage for Coast Guard personnel.

Our site turned out to be quite close to the shower block so we decided to set up there to cook our dinner, clean up and charge our devices.

Later I walked to the beach to take a look around.

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Today's ride: 55 miles (89 km)
Total: 123 miles (198 km)

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