Climbing near Door County?

I'm a mountain guide and climber visiting from Chamonix, France to Door County, Wisconsin, and it looks like there isn't any climbing (bouldering, sport, indoor, or otherwise) within an hours drive of Door County. Is there anything someone knows about I haven't found online yet?

Not that I know of but the eastern side of rock island has exposed cliffs. Shallow water at the bottom though. You should be able to set a TR from trees. I have no idea if the rocks are choss or not. I believe they are limestone.

https://www.mountainproject.com/v/106853381

Very little...

https://www.mountainproject.com/v/door-county-lake-trail-bouldering/110712872

Andrew Krajnik wrote:

Very little...

https://www.mountainproject.com/v/door-county-lake-trail-bouldering/110712872

Not totally true. It's just all undeveloped. There's a relatively large talus field behind Makarov's Revenge. If you're into cleaning/developing before climbing. If you want to develop some more problems Danny, I support the effort.

R.Bartelme wrote:

Not totally true. It's just all undeveloped. There's a relatively large talus field behind Makarov's Revenge. If you're into cleaning/developing before climbing. If you want to develop some more problems Danny, I support the effort.

Fair enough. I grew up about an hour south of there, and have visited on vacation, but haven't been to Door County since I took up climbing 2 years ago. At this point, whenever I make it up there, it's as a "visitor" on vacation, so bushwhacking and route development are pretty low on my priority list; I don't really have the time to invest in it.

If I lived closer, I'd likely be much more keen on exploring and cleaning up new routes.

I know that Devil's Lake--and Colorado--legend Jim Erickson, his brother Dave, and their friends in the Racine Crag Rats visited that area often (I recall they had a family weekend home up there) during the '60s and did a fair amount of exploration, with some route development, on the peninsula, though climbing was not the primary focus of their visits. 

Also, High Cliff State Park has some climbing, though it's more like 1.5+ hours away, depending on where you are in Door County.

Alan Rubin wrote:

I know that Devil's Lake--and Colorado--legend Jim Erickson, his brother Dave, and their friends in the Racine Crag Rats visited that area often (I recall they had a family weekend home up there) during the '60s and did a fair amount of exploration, with some route development, on the peninsula, though climbing was not the primary focus of their visits. 

Sturgeon Bay to Baraboo is a 3 hour drive, and not scenic at all. If you are staying further up in Door County it could be another hour. If you are flying into Madison, Milwaukee, or Chicago it's definitely worth the stop since you are way closer to Baraboo than Door County. If you are flying into Green Bay - enjoy relaxing and drinking at the vineyards and messing around on boulders.

Thanks for the beta everyone!

How much free time will you have to climb, and will you have a car?

Depending on your priorities, even with the 3+ hour drive to Devil's Lake, it may be worth it to head there for an overnight. It's widely regarded as the best and most extensive climbing in the state, for toprope or trad. Door County has a few boulder problems, and some undeveloped rock. High Cliff has a bit more, but apparently a fair bit of choss as well (I've never climbed there myself). Devil's Lake has nearly 2,000 established routes, and almost 1,000 boulder problems, all with decent approaches and excellent rock.