With flowery springs, stunning summers and picturesque autumns, Sturgeon Bay is a perfect place to base your biking vacation.  If you find yourself in Sturgeon Bay and in need of biking equipment, visit DC Bikes/Latitude 45. Whether you're an enthusiastic biker with hundreds of miles under your belt, or you just want to take the kids for a leisurely ride to release some of their pent up energy, we've got a trail for you.

• Sturgeon Bay's Potawatomi State Park provides easy 2, 6 and 8 mile (approximate) bike trails for getting the kids tired out. With approximately 10 miles of blacktop roads, even the youngest biker can experience what the park has to offer; everything from rolling hills to scenic bluff overlooks, winding wooded lanes to a tower that is 225' above Sawyer Harbor, all specialize in jaw-dropping scenery.  While the Potawatomi Camp Store stocks groceries, supplies and recreational rentals, don't forget about the opportunity that our local grocer's deli departments can come up with for a impromptu picnic: try Econo Foods or Pick'N'Save for fresh produce, trail snacks and meals-to-go.  And most local family eateries will pack you picnic sandwiches with an advance call: try the delicacies at Galley Café, Scaturo's Restaurant & Bakery, or Bluefront Café.  At the entrance to the park, you will find resources for trail maps and parking along the shore on South Norway Road.

• For those of you with a more adventurous spirit (and can cover more miles, approximately 30), make the lighthouses of Sturgeon Bay, your destination. By beginning just outside of the Southern end of Potawatomi Park, you can coast through the park on your way.  At the Northern end of Duluth Avenue is a small parking lot with access to the State park down a short access path.  Once inside the park and at an official road you will want to turn left on South Norway Road.  As you coast through the park, watch for deer and chipmunks whom you are likely to surprise in among the birch and pines of the park.  By exiting through the entrance of the park you can take a right on County Highway PD. Rolling through corners you will want to turn left on Park Drive and follow its curve to the right.  At the next intersection, you will turn left on Hainesville Road.  While it may seem this route leads you off the beaten path, you will pass the well-known Idlewild Golf Club.  When arriving at the junction with County Highway M, turning left leads out to Sherwood Point.  Turn left on a small road right before the log-cabin styled, "Fishing Hole" bar.  This road will bring you into the parking lot of the Sherwood Point Lighthouse.  Please be respectful of the guests staying at the lighthouse; Sherwood Point is a Coast Guard officer's retreat.
After viewing the scenic vista that the Bay of Green Bay provides return to County Highway M and travel all the way past Hainesville Road to County Highway C.  By turning left on C, you will head into Sturgeon Bay. (Please be careful on County Highway C, as occasionally it is heavily traveled) Midway down C is a quaint farmer's stand in a utility building on the left side of the road.  This is always a good resource for fresh vegetables, if your bike can handle the extra load.
As you approach Sturgeon Bay you will turn right on Duluth and left on Maple Street.  Maple Street is home to the Old Rugged Cross in the block after Joliet Ave.  Access the Michigan Street Bridge by taking a left on Madison Street at the stop light. Please use the pedestrian paths at the right side of the bridge, as only motorized vehicles are allowed on the bridge bed.  With many local restaurants in the vicinity, this is a great time to take in the luncheon cuisine of Sturgeon Bay.  On Madison Avenue you will have passed the Galley Café and Sonny's Pizzeria.  On the north side of the bridge, Michigan Street crosses Third Avenue which is the home to restaurants like the Inn at Cedar Crossing, Kick Coffee and Bluefront Café, among others.
Following Third Avenue to the East, you will continue on this road when it turns into Memorial Drive.  Memorial Drive has one of the best views of the Westside marinas of the Sturgeon Bay Yacht Club and Quarterdeck Marina.  By taking a left on South 18th Place after going under a portion of the State Hwy 42/57 bridge, you can access Utah Street and be well on your way to the US Coast Guard Station Lighthouse and the North Pierhead Lighthouse. With a right on Cove Road and a left on Canal Road, you will soon see the signs for the canal overlook trail.  With an even trail bed and scenic views of Sturgeon Bay's man-made canal, why not climb the short hill and ride the trail?
At the end of the trail you will find both the Coast Guard light and on the end of the breakwall, the North Pierhead light.
With your lighthouse viewing urge satisfied, head back towards town the same way you came, except instead of turning on South 18th Place turn left on the trail that is just before the highway and cross the Bay View bridge.  The other side of the bridge you will want to take the footpath  down the hill to Tacoma Beach Road and turn to the right.  Follow Tacoma Beach Road through on Oxford Ave.  Following Oxford, you will cross the highway and take a right on Neenah and following its curve left onto Maple Street.  The Madison/Maple intersection you come to will give you access to convenience stores such as Hol'N'One Mobil, and restaurants such as Sonny's Pizzeria, Greystone Castle and Scaturo's Restaurant and Bakery.  Follow Maple Street beyond Madison and you will take a right on Joliet Ave., follow a right curve onto Hudson Ave and then a left curve onto County Highway C for a block before turning left on Duluth Avenue.  Coasting down the rolling hills of Duluth will be a relief to know that the parking lot you left you car in is at the end of the road, past Cliff Dwellers Resort, where you just might want to check in for the night after your day's exertion.

• If both tours don't have enough pedal power for you – and you're willing to have scenic vistas be your biking companion, try Door and Kewaunee County's Ahnapee Trail. Approximately 50K, this trip takes you through Eastern Southern Door.  With farmland dotted by cows, wooded dales and scenic shoreline only a poet could describe, the Ahnapee Trail, County Highway J and Lake Michigan Drive provide a route not crowded by people.
With convenient parking lots at Cherry Blossom Park (just off Highway 42/57and South Lansing Ave.) and at the Ahnapee parking lot which is just 1.3 miles from Highway 42/57 on Neenah Avenue South of the industrial park.  The Ahnapee Trail follows the extinct path of the railroad line that used to supply Door County as well as export fruit crops and quarried limestone out of Door County. (Part of the train bridge that provided a way across the Bay of Sturgeon Bay, can still be found at Bay View Park, located between Applebee's and Bridgeport Waterfront Resort.)
Following the train bed south, the trail crosses County Highway S and O.  In between are marshlands, farmlands, pastures and woodlands.  With a fairly flat trail and fine gravel composing the trail bed, this leg of the loop is very relaxing.  After entering Maplewood and carefully crossing Highway 42, the trail continues on to Forestville following the Ahnapee River into town.  Restrooms and additional parking is located along the trail just north of Forestville in Forestville Dam County Park.  By continuing to follow the Ahnapee Trail you can proceed on to Algoma and Kewaunee, if you were so inclined for the entirety of the 30 mile trail.  But, by heading east on County Highway J, you can reach the Lakeshore.  Robert LaSalle County Park is located at the end of County J in its junction with County U.  Restrooms and more parking are available in upper LaSalle.  By taking a quick flight of steep stairs down a hill to lower LaSalle, you can access the perfect picnic place in a large grassy field, complete with fire pits for heating your lunch.  One more short flight of stairs brings you to the Lake Michigan shore where you can cool you weary feet by wading.  Although a mostly sand beach, you will want to watch for rocks with your bare feet!
After your refreshing and renewing stop at LaSalle Park you will want to take County Highway U north.  When U forks take the eastern branch and follow South Lake Michigan Road north along the shore to bike along farm fields featuring a fantastic view.
At Hornspier Road the road with veer east again, merging this time with South Lake Michigan Drive.  Upon reaching the end of South Lake Michigan Drive visit the sand beach that is off through a parking lot to the right.  With a quick hike through small dunes, the beach is located just south of the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal.  From the canal's breakwall you can view the US Coast Guard Station Lighthouse on the other side of the canal.  With any luck a freighter, yacht or fishing charter will enter the canal for you to see just how very wide the canal actually is.
After brushing the sand off or your shoes and hopping back on your bike, you will want to head west on Lake Lane, back towards Sturgeon Bay.  Notice the temperature change as you bike towards inland.  This is definitely a tour in which being prepared with layers of clothes is necessary.  Take a right on Shiloh Road and a left on Leeward to access the parking lots on Neenah or Lansing.  Finishing out a long bike tour with a large meal at our famous dining establishments or just pouring yourself between the sheets at a lodging accommodation completes out your energetic day.