Sturgeon Bay (Door County)

Waterbody ID (WBIC): 88 — permanent page /lakes/88/.

Sturgeon Bay is in Door County; records show 4,945 acres and 3 DNR access-site records.

Size

4,945 acres

• 3 documented public access site records (DNR access inventory)
• Fish stocking documented through 2024 (DNR stocking records)
• Satellite clarity estimate 9.8 ft (2017)

Back to results Show on map Choose access / Directions Check current DNR regulations

Plan your visit

• Lake directory: public landing — Yes
• Lake directory: public beach — Yes
• Lake directory: public park — Yes
• DNR public-access inventory: 3 documented access site records
• DNR public-access inventory: documented developed boat ramp
• DNR public-access inventory: 1 shore-fishing site record
• 3 sites qualify for per-site Directions through the reviewed lake association (load the site details below)

Each statement is bounded to its named source; absence of a record is never evidence of no access. The DNR access database may lag reality; posted signs at the landing are authoritative.

Verify at the DNR public boat access program page.

Fishing

No fish species/abundance table is published for this lake. Missing records mean unpublished, never zero fish.

Stocking records: 67 documented events through 2024, 1,225,680 fish total. Species: Trout (Occasional), Muskellunge And Hybrids (Frequent), Walleye (Historic), Northern Pike (Historic). Events in 2015 or later count as recent.

No fisheries survey population estimate is published for this lake in the covered report families.

Fishing limits — 2026-2027 season: 84 normalized rows across 19 species entries. Normalized from the DNR ruleset retrieved 2026-08-04. Source text remains authoritative.

2026-2027 retained fishing rules: 84 published rows for 19 species; effective through 2027-03-07. Check current DNR rules.

Water and setting

• Satellite clarity estimate: 9.8 ft (2017) — a remote-sensing estimate, kept separate from field measurements

No official DNR depth map is published for this lake.

Not published in the lake directory: lake type, official maximum depth, official mean depth.

• AIS record: Curly-leaf pondweed — Verified (vouchered), latest documented 1999-09-01
• AIS record: Eurasian watermilfoil — Verified (vouchered), latest documented 1991-10-01
• AIS record: European frogbit — Verified (vouchered), latest documented 2024-07-22
• AIS record: Phragmites (non-native ecotype) — Verified, latest documented 2016-08-22
• AIS record: Purple loosestrife — Verified, latest documented 2016-08-22
• AIS record: Spiny water flea — Verified
• AIS record: Starry stonewort — Verified (vouchered), latest documented 2016-08-22
• AIS record: Zebra mussel — Verified, latest documented 2005-01-01

Occurrence records come from a non-exhaustive DNR inventory; a record documents presence at observation time and a missing record is never evidence of absence.

• Public-land proximity (GIS proxy, not access evidence): mapped public land within 1,000 ft; nearest: Potawatomi State Park (Wisconsin DNR); ≈20.6% of shoreline buffer
• Shoreline development (landcover proxy, 2025 source): ≈57.2% developed land within 300 m, ≈22.9% impervious
• Road proximity (TIGER proxy, 2025 source): nearest secondary road (U.S., state, or county highway) ≈0 m; ≈5.5 km of road per km² within 1 km

Data & sources

Published data families

• Fish stocking history
• Fishing regulations (normalized snapshot)
• Directory access facts (landing, beach, park)
• Public access site inventory
• Satellite water clarity estimate
• Aquatic invasive species occurrences

Original records: Wisconsin DNR lake page.

Missing values are unpublished, never zero; each fact above is bounded to its named source and date. Full sourcing detail: Data & methods.