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Ellison Bluff County Park and State Natural Area is a popular diversion on the northern tip of Door County at Ellison Bay WI. It features an unforgettable viewing platform that cantilevers off the bluff and is an ideal sunset watching spot. There is also a 1 mile loop trail that is wide and paved with crushed stone. The park and natural area are free to visit. There is a parking lot, portable toilet, and interpretive signage at the end of the drive. The trail loops around the park starting and ending at the parking lot. Come here in the evening to enjoy a spectacular sunset.
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| Ellison Bluff State Natural Area in Door County WI |
Johan Eliason established Ellison Bay in 1865 on 8,000 acres of land along the shore and protected bay between two towering bluffs. He constructed a general store, post office, Luthern church, and dock and then advertised land purchasing opportunites in his native Denmark. This small Danish and Scandanavian immigrant community was known for producing wood products such as cedar posts and telegraph posts as well as for its fishing industry.
Ellison Bay Bluff County Park and state natural area sits atop the southwestern promontory overlooking Ellison Bay, it is properly considered to be located in the town of Liberty Grove. Though it is has been reffered to as Ellison Bluff since the founding of Ellison Bay.
Within the County Park you can find the 173 acre Ellison Bluff State Natural Area (Number 378) which was first designated in 2002 after a survey confirmed a thriving diversity of plantlife and ecosystem. The park and natural area inhabit the shoreline and 250 foot high bluff at the southwestern point overlooking Ellison Bay. The bluff here is a sheer limestone cliff that terminates in a talus slope. Talus are broken up boulders resting at the base of the bluff they eroded from. These fields of boulders are sometimes refered to as scree by mountaineers. Here, the seemingly unihabitable talus slope has been adopted by a thriving forest of Canada Yew, Maple, red pines, and white cedar. One Cedar found on the slope has been dated to 250 years.
The picturesque bluff, which is emblamatic of Door County scenery, is also known as the Niagara Escarpment, a rock formation that extends in an arc between upstate New York and into Wisconsin as far south as Eagle. The escarpement formed beneath an inland sea that once covered this whole region. Sediment built up in layers with the escarpment being capped off by durable limestone. The softer rock foundations have eroded away leaving the tall vertical bluffs and talus slopes along the shore of Green Bay.
The trail at Ellison Bluff is very easy and suitable for anyone who enjoys a walk in nature. The highlight of this trail is the overlook which cantilevers off the bluff to provide views of the escarpment. A 1 mile loop trail into the state natural area shows off a deep forest with a green floor bursting with the spring colors of white and pink trillium, yellow lady slipper orchids, and other wildflowers. The interior forest along the trail is a mix of cedar, birch, and sugar maple. The entire length of the trail is shaded and with its location atop the bluff jutting out into Green Bay picks up good breezes making this an ideal hike on a hot summer afternoon.
While the trail is brief it is a destination hike in Door County that is easy to get to, but nonetheless off the main circuit of tourist travel.
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| Ellison Bluff State Natural Area in Door County WI |
Ellison Bluff Trail
COUNTY: Door
COMMUNITIES: Ellison Bay
TOTAL MILES: 1.1
DIFFICULTY: Very Easy
Directions and Trail Map
Click Map Image to load the full interactive map.
If viewing on a mobile device, open the trail map above to load into Google Maps App by touching the expand rectangle in the upper right corner.
Address for your GPS: 2109 Ellison Bluff Rd Ellison Bay, WI 54210
| coordinates: 45.255882, -87.108125 |
| From Milwaukee | 3 Hours |
| From Madison | 4 Hours |
| From Green Bay | 1.5 Hours |
| From Wausau | 3 Hours |
| From Minneapolis | 6 Hours |
| From Chicago | 4.5 Hours |
Photos
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| Ellison Bluff State Natural Area in Door County WI |
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| Ellison Bluff State Natural Area in Door County WI |
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| Ellison Bluff State Natural Area in Door County WI |
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| Ellison Bluff State Natural Area in Door County WI |