Baileys Harbor Boreal Forest & Wetlands features a rocky shoreline and interior boreal and northern wet-mesic forests on the Lake Michigan side of Door County.  Access is readily available anywhere along several of the bordering roads; simply pull to the side, park, and walk into the site.  There are a total of five separate parcels to the site, though some are much smaller than others.

This site falls into a similar category for me as North Bay, one that I need to see again.  As the photos will atest, the weather was, shall we say, not good.  Drizzling, cloudy, windy, you name it.  Walking through the forest on old logging trails, the darkness added to the eire of mystery and spookiness.  Scattered around the forest floor were dwarf lake irises, a threatened species in Wisconsin and the United States as a whole.  Other areas were thick with ferns and yet others were a more open forest with numerous downed trees.  I feel that this site has a lot more to offer and look forward to the chance to visit it again soon.  Nearby is the Cana Island Lighthouse which provides nice panoramic views for a smalll fee, including a portion of the forest.  Here’s hoping the weather cooperates next time.

Dwarf Lake Iris

Forest

Shoreline

Fern Life

Forest

Shoreline

Lichens

Dwarf Lake Iris

More of my photos (and full-res) from Baileys Harbor Boreal Forest & Wetlands can be viewed here.

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