TOWN OF GIBRALTAR, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – High atop the new 60-foot-tall Eagle Tower at Peninsula State Park, shades of green, orange, even some blue combine to create stunning seasonal scenery.
“Most of the trees that we’re going to see are maples or beech, but there is a mix of ironwood and some basswood, as well as some hemlock and other evergreens,” said assistant park superintendent Jennifer Birkholz.
Birkholz said about 10,000 people visited the park over the weekend, mainly to check out the new tower.
“I don’t think we have to advertise any more for the Eagle Tower. I think it’s been pretty well done.”
The wooden and steel structure features an 850-foot-long accessible boardwalk which winds through the trees before connecting to the platform across the road.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources deemed the original tower unsafe in 2015. It was taken down a year later. The new $3.5 million project is a partnership between local and state legislators, the DNR and the friends of Peninsula State Park, which donated $750,000 to the effort.
Club president Chris Holicek tells FOX 11 the site is a success.
“People that cannot do the stairs are using the ramp, and we’re getting just a lot of good feedback and gratitude and thank yous from people who say this is so great because I wanted to do this and I wasn’t able to, or it’s so much easier.”
Emily and Joe Gorzelitz visited Monday from Appleton. They said they were impressed.
“It’s good to get out in the morning, see the scenery,” Emily Gorzelitz said. “We’ve never been to Door County, so it’s really beautiful to see from up here.”
“It’s really nice,” Joe Gorzelitz said when asked about the fall colors. “It’s definitely fall. You get a good view of it from up here.”
Park officials say the tower is a popular place, so visiting during the week is the best way to enjoy the experience.
