With over 300 miles of shoreline there are plenty of places to launch your kayak in Door County, whether chasing smallmouth bass or just out for a fun time paddling on our beautiful Green Bay or Lake Michigan.  

I will not have space to list all the launches, but this should get you started. I suggest you do some exploring and take advantage of Google Maps. One of the best places, and there are dozens of these up and down the peninsula, are roads that dead-end at the water.  The key to any of these launch points is making sure your vehicle is off the road when you park. 

Throughout the county there are many public and private boat launches that if you are using a kayak trailer you can launch by just paying the fee. I have used the launches in Ellison Bay along with both  North Bay and Moonlight Bay on the lake side. For Sturgeon Bay, I have used the launch at Sunset Park and on a couple occasions if I have the kayak on my vehicle, I have launched at the beach.  Launching at beaches can be good spots but would be best on weekdays or before the crowds show up on weekends. Other good beaches to launch are Otumba Park in Sturgeon Bay, Murphy Park south of Egg Harbor on County B and public beaches in most communities. As you would  expect both Potawatomi and Peninsula State Parks have kayak specific launches. 

For the more secluded Rowley’s Bay and Mink River on the lake side, there is a kayak launch next to the fishing pier near the Rowley’s Bay Resort. To kayak out from Cave Point, an amazing location, there is a launch just north at Schauer Park. With all your Door County kayaking do pay attention to the wind and especially at Cave Point, which can have some of the biggest waves in the county when the wind is coming off the lake. I also should note that there are nice kayak launches at the three inland lakes, Europe, Kangaroo and Clark.

There’s beautiful scenery and plenty of water birds to view when paddling from any launch point in Door County.  You might even get lucky and spot an eagle soaring over the water or above the trees.   For smallmouth bass anglers, many of the launches I mentioned will put you onto some good spots to catch and ideally release smallies.  

It is the perfect time of the year to get out in your kayak and enjoy Door County! As always, if you have any kayak or kayak fishing questions email me at kayakfishingwisconsin@gmail.com