Two Rivers

I have many favorite cities in Wisconsin, and Two Rivers is one of them. The city was named from its location at the confluence of the Mishicot and Neshota rivers, now known as the East Twin and West Twin Rivers, respectively. Both rivers empty into Lake Michigan. The city claims to be “the birthplace of the ice cream sundae.”

It’s fun to visit the Rogers Street Fishing Village, a maritime museum and heritage park. It is known as the “French Side Fishing Village Historic District.” French from the motherland and French Canadians from Quebec established themselves here. It is on the list of the National Register of Historic Places. The 1886 Lighthouse was the first one in the city. It is made entirely of wood. It is known as a Pierhead Light. That means its primary duty was to mark the harbor entrance. It once stood on the north pier of the harbor. The city moved it onto the museum grounds in 1975. There is some great history behind this lighthouse.

There is a historic swing bridge in Two Rivers. The Chicago & North Western Railway built it in 1930. Its mission was to cross the West Twin River to enable trains to cross. It was a complex engineering pivot design. The bridge had to be perfectly balanced at the center before it could swing. It is now owned by the Canadian National Railway. It is currently abandoned. The city maintains it as a historical treasure, but there has been talk of scrapping it

The Point Beach State Park is a 2,903-acre Wisconsin state forest along six miles of the Lake Michigan coast. The beachfront is beautiful. The park offers 127 campsites, seventy of which have electric hookups. The Ice Age Trail site is popular for backpack campers hiking the Ice Age Trail. The kayak campsite is only accessible from Lake Michigan.