Destination Sturgeon Bay’s 2025 Fire & Ice Festival kicks off on February 14 at Crossroads at Big Creek with a “Valentine’s Day themed Luminary-Lit Hike & Ski” from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. Thanks to our sponsor, Door County Medical Center, visitors of all ages are invited to hike or cross-country ski free of charge in the enchanting glow of candlelight. Luminaries will guide hikers through the forest and back to the nature center where they can warm up around the FIRE with hot chocolate, cookies courtesy of Tadych’s MarketPlace Foods, and the company of good people – a magical, memorable, and for some, hopefully, a romantic winter experience.

We continue the Fire & Ice theme with a very special Science Saturday session between 2:00 and 4:00, when the volunteers from the Madden Tool Museum will present “ICE Harvest Demonstrations” in the rock garden outside the Collins Learning Center, while indoors, historical videos of ice harvests will be screened.  

We still have no idea how Sturgeon Bay’s winter festival got its name, but it seems appropriate because in a very real way, ice sculpted the bay of Sturgeon Bay and fires ignited the city as we know it.

Geologists explain that the lobes of ice from the last Ice Age Glacial Advance created Lake Michigan and the Green Bay, and between them, the smaller lobe of ice carved a passage which over the years filled with sand.  But when the passage was opened, it transformed a quiet settlement into a bustling town.

The excavation of sand from that passage—now the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal–was financed in part by land sales of fire-ravaged timberland cleared by the Peshtigo Fire. Occurring the same day, the Chicago Fire resulted in Chicago’s “Great Rebuilding,” creating a huge demand for Door County lumber. Sturgeon Bay quarries shipped out the stone that help rebuild Chicago. And the “Ice Harvest” became a huge industry.

While impressive, Chicago’s “Great Rebuilding” did not include the establishment a sewage system, which meant the city disposed of its raw sewage in the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. To obtain unpolluted ice for meat packing and home use (iceboxes), Chicago imported enormous quantities of ice from Sturgeon Bay. Also, Milwaukee desperately needed clean ice for its breweries.

So while this is hard to imagine, newspapers of the time estimated that in late 1800s, at least 700 Door County men cut acres and acres of ice from the bay of Sturgeon Bay each winter. The “cutters,” mostly local farmers, sawed and extracted the blocks of ice which were transported to and hoisted into the huge “ice houses” which once lined the shores. Sawdust (Sturgeon Bay had three large sawmills) was piled between ice layers for insulation, keeping the ice solid enough to be exported in the summer.

The strenuous work was done using hand tools. So, the “tool guys” will offer hands-on demonstrations of the tools – ice saws, pulleys, tongs, pike poles – used to harvest ice.  Learners of all ages will use these “simple machines” while forming memories and enjoying a timely lesson in local history.

When conditions are adequate, Crossroads will offer our Ski-for-Free program. Check the ticker on the top of our website for current trail conditions and the hours during which, free of charge, we will lend skis, poles, boots, snowshoes and kick sleds to Door County residents and visitors.

– by Coggin Heeringa, Interpretive Naturalist

For more information, please check out our Crossroads calendar or stop by the Collins Learning Center and pick up a printed calendar. Our trails are open all day every day, free of charge, thanks to donors like you!

Crossroads at Big Creek Learning Center and Nature Preserve is located at 2041 Michigan Street, Sturgeon Bay. Crossroads is a 501(c)3 organization committed to offering education, conducting research and land restoration, and providing outdoor experiences to inspire environmental stewardship in learners of all ages and from all backgrounds. We welcome your support. 

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Upcoming Activities

Wednesday, February 12

1:30 – 2:30 pm Wandering Wednesday – Naturalist-Led Hike

Join a naturalist-led hike. Easy walking. About an hour. Meet at the Collins Learning Center. Registration not required. Open to the public and free thanks to our donors.

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Friday, February 14

5:30-7 pm Fire & Ice Luminary Lit Hike

Help kick-off Sturgeon Bay’s Fire & Ice Festival weekend with a candle-lit walk. Join us for a roughly half-mile walk on our trails in the enchanting glow of luminaries. Once the luminaries guide you back to the nature center take some time to warm up around a toasty campfire with hot chocolate, frosted cookies (courtesy of Tadych’s MarketPlace Foods), and the company of good people. Well-behaved dogs allowed on leashes. Registration not required. Sponsored by our friends at Door County Medical Center.

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Saturday, February 15

2-4 pm Fire & Ice Weekend Science Saturday – Ice Harvest Demos

As part of Sturgeon Bay’s Fire & Ice Festival weekend, volunteers from the Madden Tool Museum will demonstrate how ice was harvested in Sturgeon Bay in the 1800s. Demonstrations will be held in the Collins Learning Center Gardens with historical videos screened in the Learning Center throughout the afternoon. Meet at the Collins Learning Center. Registration not required. Open to the public and free thanks to the generosity of donors like you!

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Monday, February 17

1:30 – 2:30 pm Wild Ones Webinar – “The Beauty and Benefit of Hedgerows”

Enjoy this pre-recorded webinar, “The Beauty and Benefits of Hedgerows.” Learn how low-maintenance and sustainable plantings of shrubs, trees, and groundcovers can enhance biodiversity, provide critical habitats for wildlife, and contribute to climate resilience. Free and open to the public. Meet at the Collins Learning Center. Sponsored by Wild Ones – Door Peninsula Chapter.

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Tuesday, February 18

3:30 p.m. Environmental Exploration – Big Creek in Winter

Geared for elementary aged students, but open to learners of all ages, this will be a hike along Big Creek, to see how weather conditions affect the water, and also observe signs of the creatures that visit the creek in winter. Dress for the weather. Meet in the lab at the Collins Learning Center. Registration not required. Open to the public and free thanks to the generosity of donors like you.