Visit Wisconsin's Maritime Trails

When in the northern part of the Door Peninsula, be sure to visit the Door County Maritime Museum at Gills Rock. The museum is open seasonally. Please call or visit their Web site for details. The newly remodeled facility features the fishing tug Hope built in 1930 by sturgeon Bay Boat Works (currently Palmer Johnson). Visitors can board the boat and view its last fishing trip in 1992. Along with the Hope is the remake of a net shed complete with fishing boxes, a net reel, and other traditional fishing supplies. The Museum also features new exhibits on shipwrecks and lifesaving including a lyle gun used to rescue mariners from shipwrecks. The Ted Berch model collection of 20 Great Lakes vessels including the Edmund Fitzgerald is also located in the lifesaving area. The Museum at Gills Rock also houses an area devoted to marine engines including those built at Kahlenberg Brothers of Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Other exhibit areas include ice fishing and navigation.