Point Beach State Park
Explore a unique Wisconsin state forest in wintertime By Robert J Zimmer
Along the six mile stretch of wide sand beach here at Point Beach State Forest, an eerie series of towering ice formations reached to the pounding surf. Alien pinnacles and caves of ice, 15 feet tall in places, ever changing against the thundering waves and the howling gales of winter. Pointed spires and glass smooth domes of glistening clear ice ever
changing with each passing wave. The sun rose to the east, casting a soothing orange pink glow over the sparkling ice and the crashing surf.  Ribbons of blue gray clouds layered the rising sun, shadows over the turbulent seas. The beach was free of snowcover, drifts of sand instead piled along the shoreline. Deeper in the
forest, however, beyond the towering dunes of sand, the thick woodlands lay blanketed with a good 8 inches of fresh fallen snow. We ventured out onto the ever shifting ice shelf to take in the awesome spectacle of dawn over the churning seas of Lake Michigan before hitting the trails. Beneath our feet, the water swirled and thundered against the ice,
carving new tunnels and crevaces as it went. Holes in the ice erupted like geysers from the force of the water below. Out on the open water, the incoming waves broke with a thundering boom then moved through a sea of crumbled ice, a dense cover of small, rounded bergs rippling lazily with the motion of the large waves. Gulls patrolled the water's edge, keen eyes alert for any tasty morsel that might be churned up in the surf.
Farther out, beyond the pack ice, a large raft of ducks bobbed up and down on the waves, heavily concentrated over a mussel bed where they dove to the bottom to feed. The sun rose higher, through the shield of broken clouds, and burst out into the open sky.
We walked along the edge of the ice shelf, the rumbling of the waves and the soft chatter of the shifting pack ice music to our winter weary ears. It was nice to see open water again. As we reached the end of the beach,
we climbed to the top of the first series of dunes overlooking the lake, and followed this towering sand dune back to the main visitor center building. On one side of the dune, open water, sandy beach and towering ice caves; on the other side, a dense evergreen forest of white cedar, hemlock, pine and maple blanketed in winter white, ready to be explored. A nice thermos of hot chocolate and we were on our way.
Point Beach State Forest is located along the Lake Michigan shoreline in
northern Manitowoc County, five miles north of Two Rivers on County Highway O. The public use areas of the park are open daily year round from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. There are public roads that travel throughout other areas of the park that can be explored anytime. A Wisconsin State Parks vehicle sticker is required to enter the public use areas and can be purchased onsite.
Point Beach State Forest is a multiple use wilderness area offering a wide
variety of outdoor sports and recreation opportunities such as camping, hiking, swimming, birdwatching, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, mountain biking and interpretive outdoor education programs.
Point Beach State Forest includes 2,900 acres of forested land, bordered on the east by some six miles of sand ridged beach along the lake. Lying just north of the city of Two Rivers, the state forest offers all
of the natural beauty and assets of a wilderness area with the convenience of urban facilities. The sandy shore of Lake Michigan is the major attraction for visitors to Point Beach year round. It is fascinating to walk, look and indulge in some aimless beachcombing. Since the lake does not freeze in winter, the wind, waves and water act together to create some breathtaking displays of sculpted ice and sand during the cold months of the year. A nature center at the northernmost picnic area
features exhibits on local geology, native plants and animals, and is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day for summer visitors.
A major feature of Point Beach State Forest is Rawley Point and the lighthouse operated by the U.S. Coast Guard. The lighthouse is located just south of the park office. It is the largest and brightest lighthouse on the Great Lakes, boasting a 2 million candlepower light. Located atop a tower that rises 113 feet above the surface of the lake, the lighthouse is
visible for 19 miles and operates from a half hour before sunset to a half hour after sunrise. The light was established in 1853 to warn ships of the dangerous waters just off Rawley Point here. The present light dates from 1894 and is a favorite attraction for artists and photographers from across the Midwest. No tours of the lighthouse are available, however.
The public use portion of the state forest offers some 11 miles of trails for
year round use. Ski trails are maintained and groomed for winter use and vary from mostly flat land to moderately hilly. Some amenities are available most weekends throughout winter. Trail marking and grooming has always rated high at Point Beach and, of course, the scenery is breathtaking within the hemlock cedar forest and the Lake Michigan shoreline. The self guided Beech Tree Nature Trail loops .75 miles through the forest near the nature center. We started the morning from
the main building on snowshoe and followed the short initial trail loop before heading out on the main trails that lead deep into the heart of the state forest. The longest loop, at 3.1 miles, provides a beautiful journey through the winter woodlands. This trail, the Red Pine Trail, is also open to mountain biking in summer.
Beneath the pine and hemlock stands, red squirrels chattered noisily as we snowshoed alongside the groomed ski trail. As the trail swept east
towards the beach, snowcover quickly vanished, and we had to remove our snowshoes to cross several large, bare areas of the forest to reach the next deep snow. The sand ridges along the shore formed a protective barrier for the forested hollows, and deep in these hollows, the snow cover was at its finest. Off trail seemed to provide better snow than following the ski trail, so we took our chances and went off on our own, following the patterns of the deepest snow as the land rose and fell
among the sand dunes.
Snowshoeing and sand, a combination I never would have dreamed. Just over the tallest ridge, the crash of the surf could be heard and the shattering of ice as the waves swept the dense pack of small bergs into the sheer vertical wall of the ice shelf. The sun sparkled through the evergreen boughs of hemlock and pine overhead and a constant parade of gulls drifted lazily downshore along with the brisk winds.
The waters off Point Beach State Forest are known as a major graveyard for shipping. Before the Rawley Point lighthouse was erected, at least 26 vessels were stranded or sunk in the shallow waters off the point, including the Vernon, which sank in heavy seas in 1887 and took at least 36 passengers and crew down with her. To this day, pieces of the old wrecks still occasionally wash up along this long stretch of smooth sand beach. You never know what the wind and waves will bring in.
After our morning snowshoe hike along the dunes, we rode into town to stop for a quick fast food lunch before heading out on skis to explore the inland areas of the state forest. The clouds thickened while we were gone, and with them came a wave of lake effect snow that we watched roll in low over the water and explode with a fury over the dunes. Broken sunshine glistened in the falling snow, and at times it seemed as though millions of sparkling diamonds were tumbling from the sky above.
As the snowburst subsided, we booted up and got ready to hit the trails. The fresh snow had only piled up half an inch, but the softness and lightness of the large flakes created a wonderful wintry scene that seemed clean and new. The groomed trail led from the parking lot northwest out into the largely undisturbed forest. Public use at Point Beach is confined to just a small portion of the state forest's 2,900 acres, and the farther
back you travel, the less likely to encounter any other visitors. This really is a huge wilderness area.
As we travelled deeper into the forest, the crashing surf faded away and the soft breath of the wind above rustled through the towering hemlocks overhead. A second burst of snow swept in from the lake on the northeast winds, and soon the forest was swirling with quarter sized flakes of the whitest snow I'd ever seen. We followed the trail as it
narrowed then widened through a particularly dense stand of conifers, then out into a small clearing where the beauty of the falling snow was even more breathtaking. Here in the clearing, a small herd of five white tailed deer stood and watched silently as we glided by along the trail. Wildlife is abundant at Point Beach State Forest, and you are likely to see many deer along the roads and trails, as well as red fox, gray fox,
raccoons, coyotes, ground squirrels, red squirrels, hawks, eagles and many species of birds year round.
Returning to the parking lot, we reminisced of a long day of nearly 10 miles of exploring Point Beach State Forest by snowshoe and ski. The wind and the waves continued to buffet the shoreline dunes, a relentless process that has helped shape this land for thousands of years and to create the unique forest and shoreline habitats found here. Despite the
heavy bursts of snow, the sand beach still lay bare, drifts of sand snaking and rippling towards the forest edge.
What a sight! Open water, bare sand and drifting snow all within eyesight of each other, all part of what makes Point Beach State Forest a unique and beautiful outdoor destination.
For more information, contact Point Beach State Forest at 9400 County O, Two Rivers, WI 54241, or call 920/794 7480.
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