FISH CREEK — As winter finally turns to spring, Wisconsin’s most popular state park is showing signs of awakening from its long winter off season.

The annual deluge of tourists won’t arrive en masse until after Memorial Day, but early season visitors get a rare glimpse of the park in a much quieter and serene state.

In a stroll through the park on a sunny and pleasant Friday two days before May 1, here’s what we saw:

Early season campers are always anxious about the status of park amenities, and there is good news to report.

The water fill and dump station is now fully open, so those with travel trailers are in good shape.

The shower buildings, however, have yet to open.

Many electric sites in the Tennison Bay area of the park are open year-round, and there were plenty of vacancies as of Friday.

All campsites will be open by the weekend of May 28.

You can reserve your spot online at https://wisconsin.goingtocamp.com.

The shoreline is, of course, what makes Door County special, and it looks quite different this year.

Remember just two summers ago when barriers where going up to prevent high water from crashing inland?

Well, after subsiding a year ago, the water is even lower this spring.

We saw at least 20-30 feet of new rocky beach along the peninsula, much of it filled with huge mounds of beautiful, tiny seashells.

Another main attraction in the park is the new, fully accessible Eagle Tower that opened last summer after the previous tower was torn down after being deemed unsafe.

The tower currently is open for all visitors.

Just down the way, the Peninsuala Golf Course is set to open Saturday, April 30, 2022.

Both the 18 hole course and the 6 hole par three will be open.

And when it comes time to leave, there’s a great new place for souvenirs.

The Friends of Peninsula State Park have opened a gift shop in the park office near the Fish Creek entrance. Be sure to check it out.

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