Kangaroo Lake Nature Preserve

Kangaroo Lake Nature Preserve holds a special place in DCLT history — it is our first preserve. Thanks to a bequest and partnerships with The Nature Conservancy and others, the Land Trust made its very first land purchase here. With continued help from partnering organizations, the preserve has grown to nearly 700 acres.

Situated primarily on the north side of the Kangaroo Lake causeway, the preserve contains a remarkable sampling of Door County’s ecological range — lake shore, boreal forest, cedar swampland, upland hardwood forest, a creek, and old farmland.

Trails

A 1.5-mile looped trail begins atop a high ridge that was once the shoreline of ancient Lake Algonquin and descends 130 feet to where Peil Creek enters Kangaroo Lake. The descent brings a noticeable temperature shift — and plant communities more typical of boreal forests found much farther north. Level-to-rocky terrain with inclines along the bluff.

Wildlife

At the shore of Kangaroo Lake, watch for white egrets, great blue herons, bald eagles, and ospreys. Migrating warblers pass through in spring. Caspian terns fish the open water. The rare dwarf lake iris blooms along the lakeshore edges, and the dorcas copper butterfly — a species of conservation concern — has been documented here.

Natural Features

Rocky lakeside outcroppings contain fossils — remnants of the ancient sea floor that once covered this region. The high ridge at the trailhead is a tangible record of Lake Algonquin, a glacial predecessor to Lake Michigan whose shoreline stood far above today’s water level. Spring-fed Peil Creek threads through the lower preserve, keeping the lakeshore cold and productive year-round.