Rave Run: Ridges Road in Door County (Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin)
As explained in an earlier post, one habit that I picked up on the road as a consultant over the years is always inquiring about local running paths while visiting unfamiliar locales for the first time. And I find running a pleasurable way to explore new places. So in the spirit of a regular spread in Runner's World magazine called Rave Runs, I began a series of posts here to share interesting routes with other runners.
While visiting Door County again this year, I set aside some time retracing my running route to take some photos of landmarks and terrain for the posterity of other fellow runners. Centered around a favorite stay called Baileys Harbor Yacht Club Resort on the self-proclaimed quiet side of the peninsula, this running route is worth sharing with others because of the natural beauty and varied view across just a few short miles that keeps my interest between extended legs of runner meditation and reflection.
While creating maps of this route to post here, I noticed that neither Google Maps or Yahoo! Local Maps is complete, even though the roads involved are not new, and in this case even the shoreline is slightly different. So to provide a complete map and as an exercise to demonstrate that electronic maps should always be used with some element of caution in conjunction with other media, even though I am a fan of Google Maps, below are results provided by these two sources. Since these maps are subject to change, I purposefully chose to create snapshots rather than embed on this page. Links are provided for those interested.
The focus here is shore-hugging Ridges Road (incorrectly labeled Ridges Drive on Yahoo! Local Maps), which starts at State Highway 57 on the west end of the route, and includes Lake Shore Drive, Harbor Lane, and Toft Point Road (curiously absent on Google Maps). If you are like most visitors to the area, you will approach Ridges Road from the south on State Highway 57 after driving through Bailey's Harbor. Ridges Road would be easily missed if it were not for a Rustic Road marker directing the driver to the east.
The savvy visitor to this blog might notice a difference in image quality between each of these photos. I took the liberty of using a couple past photos in my archive because as great as my Droid Pro phone might be, the camera that it provides is not my Canon Rebel XT DSLR.
The lower rangelight on the north side of Ridges Road is probably the most noticeable landmark welcoming you to the Ridges Sanctuary, the oldest private nature preserve in Wisconsin. The lower rangelight is connected to the upper rangelight via a boardwalk. A series of unpaved trails are linked by the boardwalk, but care must be taken when using them for running because they are narrow and hikers frequent these trails during daylight.
About midway between the beginning and end of Ridges Road, just before Bailey's Harbor Yacht Club Resort, is Toft Point Road. Although Ridges Sanctuary provides a welcome relief to the runner from the pavement, unlike those trails this light gravel road is closer to the crushed limestone to which I am personally accustomed to traversing on the Illinois Prairie Path and Great Western Trail. Unfortunately, during my recent late-July visit I only ran about half the length of this beautiful forested road due to the heavy mosquito population.
Returning to Ridges Road, and working your way east, you will come to the only fork in the road on this route. Referring back to the maps above, you can see that the two will merge to the east of Baileys Harbor Yacht Club Resort, but if you choose the right leg you will be rewarded with the following views.
On your return back west, you can always take the other side back. During the early morning hours that I normally run, this area was frequented by fog, and was eerily quiet. But the deer that crossed the road in front of me one morning on this visit reminded me that I am not alone.
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Rave Run: C & O Canal Towpath and Potomac River Waterfront (Georgetown)