Harrington Beach State Park (Blog Hike #1021)

Trails: Whitetail, Lakeview, and Quarry Lake Trails
Hike Location: Harrington Beach State Park
Geographic Location: north of Port Washington, WI (43.49366, -87.80388)
Length: 2 miles
Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: September 2024
Overview: A lollipop loop to Harrington Beach passing Quarry Lake.
Park Information: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/parks/harringtonbeach
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=972192
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming August 15, 2025)

Directions to the trailhead: North of Milwaukee, take I-43 to Ozaukee CR D (exit 107).  Exit and go east on CR D.  Drive CR D east 0.9 miles to the state park entrance on the right.  Turn right to enter the park, pay the entrance fee, and park in the large parking lot on the right at Puckett's Pond.

The hike: Located less than 50 miles north of Milwaukee, Harrington Beach State Park consists of 715 acres along Lake Michigan.  The park protects more than a mile of Lake Michigan shoreline, and true to its name beach access is one of this park's main attractions.  The park also offers one of the newest state park campgrounds in Wisconsin, a 73-site developed campground built in 2009.

            For people willing to pull themselves away from the beach, Harrington Beach State Park offers several picnic areas and 10 hiking trails totaling 8 miles.  Many hiking routes are possible, but the hike described here starts at an inland picnic shelter and heads to the beach, passing several other points of interest along the way.  Thus, this hike forms a grand tour of almost every point of interest in the park.

Trailhead at Puckett's Pond

            From the Puckett's Pond parking lot, pick up the Whitetail Trail as it heads east.  Trails at this park are unblazed, but white street-sign-like signs mark major trail intersections.  The Whitetail Trail starts in a prairie area, but it soon starts treading the boundary between prairie and forest.  Thus, this trail is indeed a great place to look for whitetail deer, especially in the early morning or late evening.  Also, prairie wildflowers will put on a colorful display here in late summer.

Prairie wildflowers on the Whitetail Trail

            You cross a paved road, a gravel road, and an intersection with the Hardwood Swamp Trail before reaching the northwest corner of Quarry Lake at 0.3 miles.  The Quarry Lake Trail exits right here, and this intersection forms the loop portion of this hike.  To take the shortest route to the beach, this hike continues straight on the Whitetail Trail and uses the Quarry Lake Trail as its return route, thus hiking the loop clockwise.

Sign at trail intersection

            Next the trail curves left to head into a typical dense and dark north woods forest dominated by white cedar and birch trees.  In this area the Whitetail Trail runs conjointly with the White Cedar Nature Trail, so some interpretive signs describe common flora in the forest.  The damp cool forest makes a nice contrast to the warm sunny prairie you hiked through earlier.

Hiking through the north woods

            At 0.7 miles, you reach the main beach parking area.  Before you head to the beach, check out the old pot kiln that stands near the south end of the parking lot.  Limestone from this area's bedrock was burned with wood from this area's forest to produce lime.  An interpretive sign points out that some lime remains in the bottom of the kiln for you to see today.

Lime kiln

            After learning about the kiln, walk around the Ansay Welcome Center and walk down the wide trail to North Beach.  In the warm season you will have plenty of company here due to this beach's closeness to the parking lot.  To get more solitude, just before you reach the beach, turn right on the Lakeview Trail and begin heading south with Lake Michigan through the trees to the left.

North Beach

            The sandy track undulates gently, and the crowds thin as you head further south away from the parking lot.  Spur trails head left to the beach, and the lake waves and breezes make for pleasant sights and sounds.  At 1.1 miles, you reach a rocky point that separates North Beach and South Beach.  An interpretive sign tells you that the palace steamer Niagara caught fire and sank just offshore here in 1856.  Thus, the history at this park is as interesting as the scenery.

The point and South Beach

            Past the point, the Lakeview Trail merges with the asphalt Service Road Trail as it passes South Beach.  South Beach is not easily accessible by car, so this is the place to go if you want to take a solitary dip in Lake Michigan.  1.3 miles into the hike, leave the asphalt by turning right to start the Quarry Lake Trail.

Quarry Lake

            True to its name, the Quarry Lake Trail forms a loop around Quarry Lake.  Quarry Lake is the result of a limestone quarry that operated here in the early 1900's: limestone was cut, drug the short distance out to Lake Michigan, then transported via water to nearby cities for use in construction.  1.7 miles into the hike, you reach the northwest corner of Quarry Lake and close the loop.  Turn left and retrace your steps out the Whitetail Trail to return to the Puckett's Pond parking lot to complete the hike.