CAVE POINT COUNTY PARK -DOOR COUNTY

 "Near water, but especially in water, our bodily senses -touch, pressure, temperature, motion, position, balance, weight, vibration- are truly alive."         BLIND MIND by Wallace Nichols

 After a spring-summer of exploring Wisconsin's inland lakes we're ready for our annual Lake Michigan "ocean" trip to Door County.
   Heading to Cave Point County Park -right next to Whitefish Dunes State Park, just south of Valmy & north of Sturgeon Bay.
   This is our third trip here. Its become one of the highlights of our Door County exploring & considering the droves of people, its a favorite place for many others.
   Besides the amount of people, it has what we like; clear water, it's free, & as a public park it keeps the Wisconsin attitude that allows recreation to thrive -adventure friendly, the option to explore at your own risk - "You want to jump off a cliff? Go ahead."

"No, no, NO!" -Saw this sign near
a lake in Illinois. Not the vibe
 we look for.😕

  People come to take in the rugged beauty of the cliffs & clear water, to scramble along the rocks, hike the trails, kayak the shoreline & cliff jump (or watch others jump) into that shockingly cold water. After working up the nerve, here's my experience with the jump: Absolutely invigorating! -you jump into the freezing water, feel the full force of it, climb out thinking you can't stand but a few seconds of it, then a warm -almost hot- sensation rushess over your whole body & you want to do it again 😆.
 
 THE IMMERSION FACTOR  
We were amazed at the nonstop flow of people visiting this park. Seemed the focal point was the cliff jumping. Fits with my

views on the longing we have to engage in creation -the less spectating the better & the more satisfying & permanent the memory.
   To each his own mode of exploring, but the "immersion factor" is what biases me towards my gig as a freediving/snorkeler/spearfisherman; taking that cliff jump, participation factor, & staying in it -lingering in a full immersion.
   On my last trip, diving amongst all those kayakers & shore explorers, I'd surface & feel the urge to yell out; "hey, you're missing out, the real show is below the surface!" -So many cliff caverns, rock formations, swimmable crevices & life forms that you don't know are there unless you slip below the surface.
   After a couple hrs I'm tired, hungry, & getting a lil' chilled, but deeply content & relaxed. Feel like I've journeyed far from home. My divinely imprinted need to explore satisfied. -Here's my Cave Point Gopro Youtube video:

 
   

  FINDING DOOR COUNTIES' CLEAREST WATER
   On our first visit to Door County we spent alot of time looking for the clearest water to explore & find fish for underwater spearfishing (our method for getting a fish dinner) -from the Green Bay side, north to Washington Island & down the eastern -Lake Michigan side.
  We sorted through alot of internet tips from other divers. Most diving info seems to focus on finding ship wrecks. Our interest is in fish & all things natural wonders.

   We learned that the east side of Door County is more clear than the Green Bay side (called green bay for a reason), but this east, "lakeside" clarity relies on a west wind. Was hard pressed to find other helpful ideas. The best tips on understanding & finding Door County clear water came from professional freshwater fish photographer Eric Engbretson (http://underwaterfishphotos). Here's some of what I learned from him:

• Very clear water is everywhere offshore in Door County. Its all about having the right wind to bring this clear water close to shore to dive in.
• On the Green Bay side a north or northeast wind is best. 
• As far as the Green Bay side goes, the theory is that dirty water from the Fox river flows into Green Bay -clouding Green Bay until near Little Sturgeon, where it becomes clear enough for diving & gets increasingly clear as you get to Gills Rock -top of the Door County pennisula.
• As water clarity improves as you travel north from Little Sturgeon, the fish variety drops! Variety is best in the murkier water. Up near the top of Door County you mostly see only smallmouth bass & gobies.
• But...as much as you think you have the formula down, it can still be very frustrating to consistently find Door Counties' clear water. "It all looks good on paper, but I still couldn't find clear water with any reliability. I found it maddening." -Eric Engbretson

   Lack of fish variety was quite noticeable to me on my 1st diving visit to Cave Point. I saw tons of gobies, some smallmouth bass, trout, schools of shad & one big carp -all fish I

Goby

can't shoot or don't want to.
  Cold water & the superb clarity has its impact on fish populations. Clearer is not always better for fish. For the last 20 yrs Zebra & Quagga mussels -(food vacuum cleaners) have further cleared the water & reduced fish populations.
   For these reasons I stopped carrying my speargun here & have just focused on the joy of exploring & taking pics.

    GETTING TO CAVE POINT
    GPS address for Cave Point is 3275 Clarks Lake Rd. Sturgeon Bay, Wis. 54235
   4 1/4 hrs from Chicago
   3 1/2 hrs from Madison
   2 1/2 from Milwaukee
   2 1/2 from Wausau
   1 hr from Green Bay

   One more note of interest
   Found a very cool, HUGE relief map of lake michigan in -of all places -a McDonalds- in, or near, Kewaunee, in Door County.
   On this map I saw that the deepest point in lake michigan is straight east & abit south from Cave Point. From here you can look out towards water that is nearly 1000 ft deep! Somehow adds to the mystique of this place.

   Gotta pass on this well done blog by Kenneth Casper called WISCONSIN EXPLORER -great hiking & overall info about Cave Point: https://wisconsin-explorer.blogspot.com