Boat launches · Lake Michigan · Wisconsin

Boat Launches Near Sturgeon Bay

10 public launches within 12 miles of downtown Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, 7 of them trailer ramps. The nearest is Sawyer Park Boat Ramp, 0.4 miles S.

Within 12 mi

Trailer ramps

Closest

0.4 mi

Closest first

Public launches around Sturgeon Bay

Straight-line distance and direction from downtown, not a driving or boating route. Every figure is what the agency publishes; a blank means the agency is silent.

0.4 mi S
Sawyer Park Boat RampSturgeon Bay · Sturgeon Bay
Trailer rampDirections
0.8 mi NW
Sunset Park Launching RampSturgeon Bay · Sturgeon Bay
Trailer rampDirections
3.9 mi NW
Potawatomi State Park AccessSawyer Harbor, Sturgeon Bay · Nasewaupee
Trailer rampDirections
5.1 mi N
Olde Stone Quarry Park Boat RampSturgeon Bay · Sevastopol
Trailer rampDirections
5.6 mi SE
Roadside off of S. Lake Michigan Drive (Clay Banks)Clay Banks
Hand / carry-in launchDirections
5.7 mi E
Lily Bay Park Boat RampSturgeon Bay
Trailer rampDirections
5.9 mi SE
S. Lake Michigan Drive Carry-inClay Banks
Hand / carry-in launchDirections
8.7 mi S
Roadside off of S. Lake Michigan Drive (Clay Banks)Clay Banks
Hand / carry-in launchDirections
9.0 mi W
Robert M. Carmody Park Boat RampLittle Sturgeon Bay · Gardner
Trailer rampDirections
9.3 mi NE
Whitefish Bay RampSevastopol
Trailer rampDirections

Once you're off the trailer

What to fish out of Sturgeon Bay

Our Lake Michigan fishing guides name water reached from these launches for 7 species:

Smallmouth Bass · Mid-June through early October, with September the peak for sizeSmallmouth Bass Fishing on Lake MichiganSturgeon Bay and Little Sturgeon, Door County: The Green Bay side of the Door Peninsula. Warm, fertile, rocky and productive — and by far the most heavily fished smallmouth water on the lake, having hosted major national tournaments.Lake Trout · May and June on shallow rock, July through September deep, plus a fall reef concentrationLake Trout Fishing on Lake MichiganSturgeon Bay and the Door Peninsula: Wisconsin's Door County ports put you over hard bottom in a hurry. Fish the reefs off the peninsula's Lake Michigan side and the deep water outside Sturgeon Bay.Muskellunge · September through November, with late October and November the heavy-fish windowGreen Bay Muskie Fishing: The Lower Fox, Sturgeon Bay & Fall TrollingSturgeon Bay, Sawyer Harbor and Little Sturgeon Bay: Protected Door County water on the east side of the bay. Sawyer Harbor and Little Sturgeon Bay are DNR stocking sites chosen because they hold both fingerling and adult habitat. Weed edges and soft bottom that suit casting.Northern Pike · May and June, September through November, and January through February on Green Bay iceNorthern Pike Fishing on Lake MichiganSturgeon Bay and Sawyer Harbor, Door County: Protected Green Bay pockets with cabbage in 5–14 ft. Best known for smallmouth and walleye, and they hold pike the entire season with almost no directed pressure.Walleye · Late March through May in the bays, then late June through August on the reef and open-bay patternWalleye Fishing on Lake MichiganSturgeon Bay and Sawyer Harbor: The Door County side of Green Bay. Spring fish on shallow rock, and a summer population that mixes with smallmouth on the same structure.Lake Whitefish · December through March through the ice; October through April from a boat in Grand Traverse BayLake Whitefish Fishing on Lake MichiganSturgeon Bay and the Door Peninsula: Wisconsin's Door County water holds whitefish on hard bottom, with a fall spawning movement onto the reefs and a winter fishery on the bay side.Yellow Perch · July through October in the southern basin; December through March on Green Bay iceYellow Perch Fishing on Lake MichiganSturgeon Bay and Sawyer Harbor, Door County: Green Bay side. The best numbers of perch on the lake, and the anchor of a serious winter ice fishery when the bay locks up.

Brown Trout on Michigan Chinook Salmon on Michigan Coho Salmon on Michigan Steelhead on Michigan

Before you launch

Lake Michigan is big water

The pier-head channel is the dangerous part of the trip. An onshore wind stacks waves where the channel meets the lake, and the run home can be far worse than the run out. Check the wind direction against the harbor mouth before you leave the ramp.

Longshore currents and structural rip currents at the piers. Lake Michigan produces more drowning fatalities than any other Great Lake, and most of them happen to swimmers near breakwalls and piers, not to anglers offshore.
Sudden north-to-northwest wind shifts. The lake runs 300 miles north to south, so a northerly builds enormous fetch and turns a flat morning into a five-foot afternoon on the south end.
Seiche events. Wind and pressure can push water to one end of the basin and let it slosh back, producing fast, unexpected water-level swings — one on the Chicago shoreline in 1954 killed several people on a pier.

Read how to read a Great Lakes marine forecast and trailering and launching on big water. Pack the big-water safety kit.

Camp or picnic

State parks

Potawatomi State Park2.8 mi
Whitefish Dunes State Park10 mi

For the crew ashore

Beaches

Landmarks from the water

Lighthouses

Sturgeon Bay Canal Light4.1 mi
Sturgeon Bay Canal North Pierhead Light4.4 mi
Sherwood Point Light4.9 mi

Questions

Where is the closest public boat launch to Sturgeon Bay?

Sawyer Park Boat Ramp, about 0.4 miles S of downtown in a straight line.

How many public boat launches are near Sturgeon Bay?

State agency data lists 10 public launches within 12 miles: 7 trailer ramps and 3 unimproved or carry-in sites, on Lake Michigan and the bays and rivers that run into it.

Do boat launches near Sturgeon Bay charge a fee?

None of these 10 sites publishes fee information, which does not mean they are free; city and park launches often sell a daily or season pass. Confirm with the manager before you tow.

Who sets the fishing rules on Lake Michigan near Sturgeon Bay?

Wisconsin DNR. Seasons, limits and license rules change, so read the current regulations before you go.

Up and down the shore

Launches near other Michigan towns

Egg Harbor, WI · 16 mi Algoma, WI · 16 mi Marinette–Menominee, WI · 22 mi Oconto, WI · 24 mi Kewaunee, WI · 27 mi Sister Bay, WI · 27 mi

Source

Launch facts are from Wisconsin DNR, Public Boat Access Sites, retrieved 2026-10-27. Ramps close for repairs, fees change and water levels move; confirm with the manager before you tow. Fishing rules are set by Wisconsin DNR.

Downtown positions are approximate. Chart shoreline generalized from Natural Earth (public domain); not for navigation. Something wrong or missing? Write to contact@greatamericanlakes.com.

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