A grant from Destination Door County is making it even more possible for you to see a park dedicated to the Niagara Escarpment soon. In October, the Greater Escarpment Organization of Door County (GEO-DC) announced plans to create an interpretive park rather than building a museum on its site along State Highway 42 in Ellison Bay. The organization purchased the property in 2017 and had initially planned to turn a vacant home into a proposed Niagara Escarpment Discovery Center. A failed building inspection and a pandemic later, GEO-DC reversed course and created a vision for the park, including informational signage covering the escarpment’s geology, flora, fauna, local cultures, area economy, and environment. Five months later, GEO-DC received $15,000 from Destination Door County’s Community Investment Fund to help fund some of the interpretative signage in the works. Board Member Maryanne O’Dowd says there has been renewed enthusiasm for the project since they decided to shift gears towards a park.

O’Dowd says they continue to fundraise for the project, and they are still waiting to hear back on a few grant applications that could help them break ground on the park project later this year. The Friends of Peninsula State Park, the Door County Bookmobile, the City of Sturgeon Bay, the Sturgeon Bay Historical Society, and the County of Door were among the other entities to share approximately $376,000 in grant funding from Destination Door County.