You will not have to look as hard for a parking spot near Eagle Tower in the near future after the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources approved a new variance for Peninsula State Park. The news comes more than a year and a half after the variance was initially proposed to help alleviate congestion near the landmark.

The variance allows for up to 100 additional spaces to be added near Eagle Tower and the nearby Eagle Terrace and Eagle Panorama. New and improved trails will also be added to allow visitors to reach the attractions efficiently and safely. In its approval, the DNR cites the “unprecedented crowds” that have visited Eagle Tower since it was constructed in 2021. Illegal parking and significant pedestrian traffic forced the DNR to look into ways to manage the increased visitation.

After the first round of public comment last year, DNR Planner Yoyi Steele told Door County Daily News that feedback on the variance was mixed, with people trying to balance welcoming more visitors while taking into account the landscape around the tower that would need to be altered. The mixed reaction continued through a second comment period held earlier this spring, during which the DNR received 31 of its 84 total comments on the variance.

Commenters also gave the DNR additional ideas to consider, including car limits, a National Park–style reservation system, encouraging more multi-use trail access to the park, and adding smaller parking lots in other areas of the park.

No additional information about the project, including the timeline for the project, is available online and Park Superintendent Eric Hyde could not be reached for comment.

The DNR has also approved a variance that will replace a nearly 80-year-old storage facility with a new and larger one, as well as construct a new shelter with restroom facilities and additional storage.