Schauer Park: The Best Free Kayak Launch in Door County

If you’re going to launch a kayak anywhere on the Lake Michigan side of Door County, Schauer Park is the answer. Free, public, real boat ramp, parking right there, and three miles north of Cave Point on the same shoreline. We’ve been launching tours from this ramp for 23 years and it’s still the best small-boat launch on the peninsula.

Here’s the case, plus the comparisons that prove it.

Where it actually is

Schauer Park is on the Lake Michigan side of Door County, on Highway 57 in Jacksonport, about three miles north of Cave Point County Park. The address is roughly across from our shop. GPS will get you there if you search “Schauer Park boat launch Jacksonport.”

The park itself is small (a few acres of grass, a pavilion, a pit toilet, picnic tables), but the boat ramp is the asset. Concrete ramp, 30 feet wide, descending into the bay at a gentle slope. There’s a small breakwater that takes the brunt of any northeast wind. Parking is on packed gravel, room for maybe 12 to 15 vehicles.

The ramp is open to the public, free, and has no posted launch fee. You park, you launch, you paddle. That’s the whole transaction.

Why we use it for guided tours

Five reasons it’s the standard launch for our trips:

• Pavement to water in 15 feet. Drag a loaded kayak from your trunk to the water in under a minute. No rocky shoreline, no winding path, no hauling.
• Parking is right there. No shuttling. No “drop the boat, then drive to park, then walk back.” Park and launch from the same spot.
• The ramp is wide enough for groups. We can stage 8 to 12 boats at once without blocking other paddlers or fishers.
• It’s protected from north winds. The breakwater on the north side cuts the chop. North-wind days that would shut down other launches still let us put boats in here.
• It’s three miles from Cave Point. The cave run is a 25-minute paddle south from this ramp. Close enough that you have time on the water at the caves, far enough that the ramp is never crowded with cave-tour spillover.

Schauer Park vs. Whitefish Bay Dunes State Park

The most common question we get: “Why don’t you launch from Whitefish Bay Dunes? It’s closer to Cave Point.”

Real answer: Whitefish Bay Dunes is a state park, which means a Wisconsin park sticker is required for every vehicle ($13 daily, $28 annual). The “launch” is a sandy beach with no ramp, which means dragging a 40-pound kayak across 50 feet of soft sand. Parking fills out fast on summer weekends. And the state park has rules about how many boats can launch from the beach at once, which works against guided trips.

Schauer Park has none of those problems. Free, real ramp, no sand drag, plenty of parking on weekday mornings. We have a whole post on this comparison if you want the long version.

Schauer Park vs. launching inside Cave Point itself

You can technically launch from inside Cave Point County Park. There’s a rocky shoreline at the north end of the park where, in calm conditions, you can put a kayak in the water.

We don’t recommend it. The path from the parking lot to the shore is winding, the rocks are loose, and the put-in is uneven. Hauling a loaded boat over that terrain is a recipe for a strained back or a banged-up kayak. Schauer is 10 minutes longer to drive and infinitely easier to launch from.

The exception is if you’re paddling a very light boat (an inflatable, a packraft) and you don’t mind the haul. For everyone else, drive the extra few minutes north to Schauer.

Schauer Park vs. Bailey’s Harbor and Sister Bay launches

If you’re up at the north end of the peninsula, Bailey’s Harbor and Sister Bay both have public launches. They’re fine for paddling those local areas. They’re not the right launch for Cave Point because they’re 20 to 30 minutes north by paddle, which makes the cave run a much longer trip.

For Cave Point, Schauer is the closest practical launch. For Cana Island, the launch we use for our Cana Island Lighthouse Tour is closer to Bailey’s Harbor and a different launch entirely.

What’s right next door

The reason Schauer is convenient as a base: most of what you want to see along the south Lake Michigan shoreline is paddleable from here.

• Cave Point sea caves: 25-minute paddle south. The flagship trip.
• Whitefish Bay Dunes shoreline: 35-minute paddle south. Sandy bottom, beach landings possible.
• The shoreline north toward Jacksonport: 15-minute paddle north. Quieter, less limestone, more cottages.
• Open water for sunset paddling: right out from the ramp. Our Sunset Kayak Tour uses this water.

For a self-guided rental, you can paddle 90 minutes in any direction from Schauer and have plenty to see.

The etiquette of a small public ramp

Schauer is a public launch shared with fishers, fishing guides, and the occasional pleasure boater. Quick rules to keep things smooth:

• Stage on the side, not on the ramp. Get your kayak ready (paddles, life jackets, gear stowed) on the grass or the gravel, not blocking the ramp itself.
• Launch in 60 seconds or less. Once you’re on the ramp, get the boat in the water and clear out fast. The next person is waiting.
• Don’t leave gear strewn around. Pack out what you pack in, including your water bottles.
• Use the pit toilet, don’t sneak into the woods. It’s there. Use it.
• Be polite to fishing guides. They’re working. They were here first. Ten seconds of “good morning” goes a long way.

We’ve had a great relationship with the Town of Jacksonport over 23 years of using this launch, partly because we coach our guides and our guests on this stuff at the parking lot.

If you’re renting a kayak from us

Our kayak rentals can be picked up at the shop and self-launched from Schauer. We’ll point you at the ramp, give you the wind-and-conditions read for the day, and tell you which direction to paddle for what you want to see. The rental window includes the time you spend at the launch.

If you’ve never paddled here before, we’d point you at the guided Cave Kayak Tour instead. The cave run isn’t dangerous when conditions are right, but knowing which conditions are right is the part that takes years to develop.

The thing about a free launch

Door County is increasingly an expensive place. State park stickers, parking fees, paid attractions, $30 sandwiches. Schauer Park is the rare asset that’s still completely free, run by a local township, and works. We don’t take that for granted.

If you’re up here for a paddle, use it, leave it cleaner than you found it, and tell a friend about it.

Cedar Shore
Cave Point Paddle & Pedal