The picturesque maritime city of Port Washington is nestled between its north and south bluffs at the mouth of Sauk Creek. Framed in view by a 19th-century main street, the Gothic bell tower and spire of St. Mary's Catholic Church rises over the city. A few blocks east of this postcard scene keelboats and yachts are berthed in the deepwater slips of Port Washington Marina awaiting the sunrise over Great Lake Michigan.
The central feature of Port Washington, its Lake Michigan harbor, is a series of parks, marinas, and breakwaters that are today predominantly used for recreation. Interconnected public walkways stretching from South Beach to North Beach bring walkers through every part of this historic harbor on a journey spanning 3-miles linear (6-miles out-and-back).
Along this route, walkers will encounter South Beach, an estuary and wildlife preserve, the new Coal Dock Park, Sauk Creek, Rotary Park, the historic inner harbor, the marina, the north pier breakwater and pierhead lighthouse, Veterans Memorial Park, and the North Beach.
