Door County Maritime Museum

120 N. Madison Ave., Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235

920-743-5958

Website

Update attraction details

The Maritime Museum on Sturgeon Bay's working waterfront

Sherwood Point Fresnel fourth order lens.

The Museum's facility it Gills Rock at the top of the Door Peninsula

21 visitor photos

Ranked #2 of 4 attractions in Sturgeon Bay

51 Reviews

Type: Speciality Museums

Owner description: Door County Maritime Museum: Enjoy tales of bold ship captains, brave seaman, innovative shipbuilders, rugged fishermen, stalwart lighthouse keepers... more » Owner description: Door County Maritime Museum: Enjoy tales of bold ship captains, brave seaman, innovative shipbuilders, rugged fishermen, stalwart lighthouse keepers and much, much more--sea stories abound! The Door County Maritime Museum offers three unique visitor experiences. Its year-round 20,000 square foot flagship museum is located between the dowtown bridges on Sturgeon Bay's workking waterfront. It features four large exhibit galleries and the immaculately restored seagoing tugboat John Purves built in 1919. The iconic Cana Island Lighthouse, located Baileys Harbor, is a Door County treasure. The northern museum is a hidden gem featuring the classic wooden fish tug Hope. It is located in the historic fishing village of Gills Rock alongside the infamous "Death's Door" passage. Both are open seasonally.

Write a Review

51 reviews from our community

Dawn B

Madison, Wisconsin, United States

Contributor

17 reviews

9 attraction reviews

Reviews in 5 cities

1 helpful vote

“Always a place we stop at....”

Reviewed 16 May 2013 NEW

The DC Maritime Museum is just a fun place to visit. We've toured the museum a few times, though we often stop just to check out the gift shop. They have a nice selection of books, including local history. They also have a nice selection of home decor and fun things for little ones.

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

Thanks so much for the wonderful review and your many visits to the museum! We're very proud of our little museum store...as you point out, we do our best to keep a nice collection of maritime related books for readers of all ages along with many unique nautical themed gifts. Hope you got a chance to take in our new... More

Kendall S

Evansville, Wisconsin

Senior Contributor

30 reviews

8 attraction reviews

Reviews in 19 cities

6 helpful votes

“The weather was a little bad, so this is a great place to visit on the inside!”

Reviewed 16 May 2013 NEW

I love history and lighthouses, so this is a great place to visit (even if the weather is bad!)! I had friends visiting from Germany so this was a great place to stop. They do have the Fresnel light from Sherwood Point Lighthouse in the museum (fourth order) and are always great to see up close. It's hard to believe... More

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

See 2 more reviews by Kendall S for Sturgeon Bay

Ahoy! Thanks much for the great review...thrilled to hear that you and your friends from Germany enjoyed the museum. We're very proud to display the original, historic Fresnel lens from the Sherwood Point Light Station...it is a beauty! We have a new art exhibit featuring wonderful paintings of Door County's 11 historic lighthouses (run through 6/26/13)...hope you can stop by... More

MnKuke

Minnesota

Senior Contributor

46 reviews

17 attraction reviews

Reviews in 21 cities

24 helpful votes

“Small with a few interesting exhibits”

Reviewed 30 April 2013

Mildly interesting displays covering local maritime history. Strangely enough, the somewhat unrelated pirate exhibit was the most interesting part.

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

See 7 more reviews by MnKuke for Sturgeon Bay

Ahoy! Thanks much for the review...we do our best to use all feedback to spur continuous improvement. Glad to hear you enjoyed the "Pirates--Ship to Shore" exhibit. While not specifically tied to our rich local maritime history, we believe this fun, educational exhibit does a nice job of exploring the "golden age of piracy." We have a couple of small... More

Linda W

Green Bay, Wisconsin, United States

Contributor

20 reviews

7 attraction reviews

Reviews in 6 cities

“Beautiful Museum”

Reviewed 21 April 2013

This is a great maritime museum located on the channel in Sturgeon Bay. There is such rich history on this part of the Great Lakes!

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

Ahoy! Thanks so much for the positive review...greatly appreciated! We are thrilled to hear that you enjoyed your visit. We have a new lighthouse art exthibit opening in May and woodcarving exhibit opening July...be sure to stop back to see us when next you visit the beautiful Door Peninsula! More

GrammaH

Green Bay, Wisconsin

Top Contributor

100 reviews

20 attraction reviews

Reviews in 39 cities

40 helpful votes

“Pirate Exhibit was outstanding!!!”

Reviewed 14 April 2013

Been to the museum many times and have always enjoyed it! Learn something new each time! As a lover of the Wisconsin waterways, it is so interested to learn about the local history of the Door County area. The special exhibits are always done so well!! Great place to take our grandchildren!!!

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

See 6 more reviews by GrammaH for Sturgeon Bay

Thanks for the wonderful review! The Door Peninsula's maritime history is indeed extraordinary. It is great to hear that you enjoyed your visit and we hope to see you back again soon. Our wonderful in-water exhibit, the historic tugboat John Purves, opens for the season on 1 May and we have a couple of great temporary exhibits planned for the... More

OliviaT123

Green Bay, Wisconsin

2 reviews

2 helpful votes

“Fun place to go whenever!”

Reviewed 14 April 2013

I love coming to the Maritime Museum! I went when the Pirate exhibit was there, and it still is right now as of April 14th 2013. They do an awesome job of everything, and would highly recommend visiting! You learn a lot!

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

Ahoy! Thanks so much for the awesome review...we're thrilled that you enjoy the museum so much!! We look forard to seeing you again soon...be sure to stop by to check out our upcoming lighthouse art exhibit open in May and our Pudge DeGraff woodcarving exhibit in opening in July More

Beachfamily60

Chicago, Illinois

Senior Reviewer

6 reviews

Reviews in 5 cities

3 helpful votes

“For a small town awesome Maritime Museum”

Reviewed 4 April 2013

several shipping history displays and ship building and lighthouse info. a perascope that went up through the roof and you could see the harbor/bay

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

Ahoy! Thanks much for the great review...wonderful to hear you enjoyed your visit and learning more about the Door Peninsula's rich maritime heritage...hope to see you again, soon! More

GotTheShotPhoto

Edgerton, Wisconsin

Reviewer

4 reviews

Reviews in 2 cities

3 helpful votes

“Even Fun In The Off Season”

Reviewed 14 March 2013

After reading the other reviews, we decided to check out the museum yesterday, Yes, Mid-March. We were a little disappointed to find the tug boat portion of the tour was closed in the off season, but that disappointment didn't last once the kids found The Pirate Cove. They would have happily stayed there all day with all the props, clothes... More

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

Ahoy! Thanks you so much for the awesome review. We are THRILLED that you and your family enjoyed our museum! We hope you can return when the weather is a bit warmed and our historic tugboat, John Purves, is open for tours. We're particularly happy to hear how much your children enjoyed the "Pirates - Ship to Shore" exhibit. I... More

Doug C

Pulaski, Wisconsin, United States

Contributor

17 reviews

8 attraction reviews

Reviews in 9 cities

8 helpful votes

“Visit the Tugboat!”

Reviewed 25 January 2013

The museums wonderful but the highlight is the tour of the tugboat! We were fortunate to have an engineer who served on the boat. He made the boat come alive.

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

Wonderful to hear that you enjoyed your visit--thanks much for the great review. A tour or our historic tugboat, John Purves, is indeed a highlight of any visit to the Door County Maritime Museum. Our volunteer docents do an extraordinary job of telling the tug's story as they guide our visitors through every space from stem to stern of this... More

Leilani T

Chicago, Illinois

Contributor

20 reviews

8 attraction reviews

Reviews in 5 cities

3 helpful votes

“interesting”

Reviewed 18 January 2013

If you are really into boats and ships and history of the great lakes, etc.. then this is the place for you! We were looking for a place to go when everything else was closed and this happened to be open. It was interesting, but also kind of boring.

Was this review helpful? Yes

Problem with this review?

See 5 more reviews by Leilani T for Sturgeon Bay

Ahoy! Thanks much for the postive review...glad you found us! We're open nearly everyday (only close on New Year's, Easter, Thanksgiving & Christmas) year 'round. We do our best to make the rich maritime history of the Door Peninsula come alive. Hope you had a chance to man the guns on the pirate ship "Fortune" and take in a view... More