Point Beach State Forest, Its Lighthouse and 127 Campsites

A steel lighthouse rises beside the Lake Michigan beach at Point Beach State Forest, and the public gets close to it only on foot along the sand. The forest covers about 3,000 acres north of Two Rivers, with roughly 6 miles of sandy shoreline, a wooded campground a short walk from the water and a stretch of the Ice Age Trail running through the pines. Below: what it takes to get in, the beach and the lighthouse, the trails, the campground, how the forest began, and where to stop in town on the way back.

Getting in: where the forest is and what to bring

Point Beach State Forest sits at 9400 County Road O, about 2.9 miles northeast of the middle of Two Rivers, and it is open from 6 AM to 11 PM every day of the year.

A vehicle admission sticker is required. Check current rates on the DNR admission page before you drive up. For a longer visit, pair the forest with the harbor and the museums in town.

The beach and Rawley Point Lighthouse

The beach is the forest's main draw, about 6 miles of sand on Lake Michigan, and Rawley Point Lighthouse is the landmark to walk toward.

Beach access mats are put down at the lighthouse and lakeshore parking lots in summer, according to the DNR. A June 2026 reviewer wrote that the sand felt like the ocean, and another visitor that month loved the dog beach and the ice cream. A 2022 family guide adds that there are no lifeguards, so swimmers go at their own risk, and that the Nature Center Lodge concession is open seasonally.

Rawley Point Lighthouse is a steel tower 113 feet above the lake, and Travel Wisconsin calls it the tallest octagonal skeletal light tower, and the only one of its kind, on the Great Lakes. The Coast Guard operates it, and the DNR says the light runs from 30 minutes before sunset to 30 minutes after sunrise and can be seen up to 19 miles away. The first lighthouse here went up in 1853, and the current tower was first lit in 1894. The Wisconsin Historical Society says that tower reconstructs and enlarges an older lighthouse from the Chicago River.

Tours are normally not available, and the keeper's quarters are a Coast Guard residence, so what you get is a view from the sand. An August 2026 visitor called the sand walk to the tower peaceful and the beach an unobstructed spot for photographing the tower against the dunes. Travel Wisconsin lists a selfie stand near the lake and the lighthouse. The DNR counts 26 ships that foundered or stranded on the point before the new lighthouse, and in 1887 the steamship Vernon sank in heavy seas with 36 crew and passengers lost.

Closer to downtown, Neshota Beach has 50 acres of groomed sand, according to the Ice Age Trail Alliance, and the full list of beaches in Two Rivers is worth a look if the forest's sticker or distance does not suit the day.

Trails: the Ice Age Trail, the Rawley Point Trail and the ridges

The forest has more than 17 miles of hiking trails by a 2017 Journal Sentinel count, and Visit Two Rivers lists about the same.

The Ice Age Trail's Point Beach Segment runs 10.0 miles through the forest, according to the 2023 Ice Age Trail Atlas. A hiker who walked it in April 2024 called it easy, with about 1,000 feet of cumulative climb, and described dunes sheltered by white pine and a long boardwalk over wooded wetland. The Ice Age Trail Alliance's Lakeshore Chapter led a guided hike in June 2025 from the Red Pine parking lot, across County Road O from the forest entrance, and described the north end as sandy and brushy. That route turns around at County Highway V for 4 miles round trip or continues to Lakeshore Road for 6, and leashed dogs were allowed.

The Rawley Point Trail is about 6 miles of hard-packed limestone, according to Visit Two Rivers, linking Two Rivers to the forest with its north end at the lighthouse. The 2017 Journal Sentinel piece says bikes can be rented at the concession stand at the northern end in summer, so confirm the season before counting on it. The DNR lists 3.6 miles of horse trails, open May through October.

Point Beach Ridges, one of three state natural areas inside the forest, has 11 alternating ridges and swales formed by the shifting shoreline. The same article says the Ridges Trail has ski loops of 3, 5.5 and 7.25 miles in winter, and that spring and fall bring migrating shorebirds and raptors.

The same ridge-and-swale ground continues about 3.7 miles southwest of the forest at Woodland Dunes.

Camping at Point Beach State Forest

The family campground has 127 wooded sites within walking distance of Lake Michigan, and 70 of them have electricity, according to the DNR. No site has a lake view because of the high sand dunes. Showers and flush toilets are in buildings across from sites 31 and 120, a dump station sits near the main entrance, and site 31 is the only accessible campsite.

Reservations run through wisconsin.goingtocamp.com or 1-888-947-2757. A September 1, 2026 report lists Point Beach among the forests now taking campsite reservations year-round, with phone agents on duty 9 AM to 11 PM from May 1 to October 31 and 9 AM to 5 PM from November 1 to April 30.

Groups have two rustic cabins 1.6 miles south of the entrance, the Ketchbaw sleeping 14 and the Coenen sleeping 16, plus an outdoor group camp for up to 60 people. Two rustic Ice Age Trail and kayak sites sit about half a mile south of the forest office, and the kayak site can only be reached from the lake.

Reviews run both ways. A returning camper who came here as a child and now brings their own kids wrote in June 2026 that many sites still have separation from their neighbors, while an August 2026 reviewer gave two stars, citing poison ivy, bare dirt and gravel sites, and camp water that looked rusty and smelled of sulfur.

Scheffel's Hideaway Campground, at 6511 County Road O, is listed by Travel Wisconsin with 50 water and electric sites and 15 with sewer, so ask about its season. Its own site says the state forest wraps two sides of the property. In town, Scenic River Stop-N-Dock RV Park & Marina sits on the West Twin River about 3.1 miles southwest of the forest and offers full hookups, showers and laundry. More choices are collected under campgrounds in Two Rivers.

How the forest began

Point Beach State Forest was assembled in the late 1930s, starting with 280 acres acquired in 1937, including 80 acres of surplus lighthouse land donated by the federal government. In 1938 Manitowoc County appropriated $9,500 for land north of Two Rivers, and the state, county and city together bought another 724 acres. By 1944 the state owned 1,400 acres.

Work crews from the Works Progress Administration began roads and a forest lodge in 1939, using lumber cut in the forest, and planted 475,000 trees that year, mostly red pine. A planned Civilian Conservation Corps camp fell through, so local relief workers did the job, and the administration building was finished in 1940. The DNR notes timber was harvested in 2002 to thin the pine plantation. Long before the forest, in 1835, Peter Rowley set up a trading post here and named the area Mink River.

On the way back: Rogers Street Fishing Village

Rogers Street Fishing Village sits about 2.7 miles southwest of the forest on the East Twin River, and it carries the lighthouse story into town.

If the lake calls, several charter operators sit within about 0.2 miles of the museum, and you can compare fishing charters in Two Rivers before booking one.

Before you go

The forest suits more than one season. A September 2026 visitor wrote of seeing otters and a pelican on a quiet day with few other people. The 2017 Journal Sentinel piece calls winter a quiet season of beach walks and skiing, and advises reserving the campground early for summer and fall. Prefer a bed in town? Lighthouse Inn On Lake Michigan lists direct beach access and is about 3.5 miles southwest of the forest.

Then walk back along the sand with the tower behind you, the same steel frame first lit in 1894 that still shines over the point each night, a view the public takes from the beach and not from the stairs.