Kangaroo Lake
Nature Preserve
The Kangaroo Lake Nature Preserve holds a special place in Land Trust history—it is our first preserve! Thanks to a bequest and help from The Nature Conservancy and others, the Land Trust made its first purchase ever here. With continued help from partnering organizations, the Kangaroo Lake Nature Preserve has grown to nearly 700 acres.
Situated primarily on the north side of the Kangaroo Lake causeway, the preserve contains a sampling of much of what Door County has to offer ecologically and scenically—lake shore, boreal forest, cedar swampland, upland hardwood forest, a creek and farmland. A hiking trail begins on top of a high ridge that was once the shoreline of ancient Lake Algonquin and descends 130 feet to where Peil Creek enters Kangaroo Lake. A temperature shift accompanies the descent, and many of the plant species found in the cooler, lower section are similar to those found in boreal forests located much farther north.
At the shore of Kangaroo Lake, lucky visitors may spot a white egret, great blue heron, bald eagle or osprey. Migrating warblers may be seen or heard in the spring and a look underfoot may disclose fossils in rocky, lakeside outcroppings.
Help us continue to protect Door County’s special places. Door County Land Trust nature preserves were established to protect fragile ecological resources and provide habitat for plants and wildlife. You can help maintain the health of the forest, meadows, and wetlands by respecting the nature preserves in the following ways:
Stay on the trails. Hiking off-trail disturbs vegetation and wildlife, and increases your chances of encountering poison-ivy, other natural hazards, or trespassing outside of preserve boundaries.
Clean your boots or shoes. You can reduce the spread of invasive plants by brushing your boots or shoes where a boot brush station is provided.
Pets are welcome. Please keep your pets on a leash at all times and pick up after your pets.
Collecting is not allowed. Collecting of any vegetation, wildlife, or other material is not allowed.
Leave no trace. Please carry out everything that you carry in, including garbage.
Some activities are not allowed. Horseback riding, ATVs, bicycles, snowmobiles and other motorized recreational equipment is not allowed on the preserves.
Camping in parking lots or on Land Trust protected properties is not allowed. Use of the nature preserves is allowed from dawn until dusk.
Fires are not allowed on Land Trust protected properties.
Wear brightly colored clothing during hunting seasons. Hunting, trapping, and fishing may be allowed at some Door County Land Trust nature preserves. For more detailed information about hunting on Door County Land Trust preserves, please visit our Hunting Program page.
- 257 protected acres
- 1.5-mile looped hiking trail over level-to-rocky terrain with inclines along the bluff
- Outstanding views from the shoreline at the north end of Kangaroo Lake
- Abundant wildlife including bald eagle, osprey, Caspian tern, dorcas copper butterfly and dwarf lake iris
- Impressive hardwood forest with mature stands of hemlock and white cedar; old fields; Niagara Escarpment outcrops and fossil remains
- Spring-fed Peil Creek
Door County Land Trust