Door County skies make for some of the best stargazing in Wisconsin

About 3 miles in to Door County’s Peninsula State Park — past hiking trails, campsites and a 60-foot “Eagle Tower” lookout — is an amphitheater framed by tall trees that rustle in the summer breeze. For over 50 years, performers have put on outdoor shows in the park.

In this spot, visitors, campers and locals can watch Northern Sky Theater productions under the stars. The troupe is known for putting on original musicals set in Wisconsin, full of cheese puns and Packers references.

The skies in remote Door County make for some of the best stargazing in Wisconsin. As the summer sky darkens behind the stage, stars come out above the actors. For people who live in cities that cast light pollution, looking up at the vast expanse can make life’s troubles feel small.

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Not far from Peninsula State Park is Newport State Park, the state’s only International Dark Sky place. Interest in stargazing has driven an increase in visitors, and Northern Sky actors said they understand why.

Three people in casual clothes stand on stage next to a painted cow prop, raising one arm each, with colorful wooden scenery and boxes in the background. — Actors Chase Stoeger, Jamie Mercado and Alex Campea perform in Northern Sky Theater’s 2025 production of “Dairy Heirs.” *Photo courtesy of Len Villano for Northern Sky Theater*

“I think Door County is where I’ve seen the most stars in my life,” said Alex Campea, who’s performing in all three of the troupe’s outdoor shows this summer. “And the first real example of seeing what stars look like when there’s no light pollution.”

Campea said a castmate has a constellation app he’ll sometimes pull up during late rehearsals.

“There have been multiple times that he has found the space station in orbit, and we’ve been able to watch it go across the sky,” Campea said.

Slapstick and stars make Northern Sky performances shine

In early June, the cast was putting the finishing touches on a show about inheriting a dairy farm, with the punny name “Dairy Heirs.” But for all the corny jokes, the play also carries poignant notes about farming culture in the Midwest.

The show’s scene designer and production manager, Lisa Schlenker, grew up in a Midwest farming community on the banks of the Mississippi River.

“The kinds of stories that Northern Sky does are about people that I feel like I know,” said Schlenker, who has worked with the company for about 18 years. “They’re popular with Wisconsin theatergoers because we recognize ourselves in these characters.”

Five performers stand on an outdoor stage set with wooden props and a rustic backdrop, surrounded by trees, as an audience member sits in the foreground. — The Northern Sky Theater cast rehearses “Dairy Heirs” at Peninsula State Park on June 3, 2025. *Anna Marie Yanny/WPR*

The play is about two siblings trying to decide what will happen to their late father’s Door County dairy farm.

“It may not be LA, or a big city like Green Bay. But away from the city noise, there are simple joys,” the sister sings to her brother.

For Schlenker, those joys include the production’s late rehearsals after the crew turns off their sound system so as not to disturb the park’s wildlife or campers.

“It becomes really about just sitting in the environment,” Schlenker said. Then, after rehearsal, “we’re generally the only people up in the park. I’ve seen the aurora borealis multiple times, and stars on a cloudless night are pretty extraordinary out here.”

Two actors perform on stage; one leans on a cardboard box looking thoughtful, while the other, in overalls, poses energetically beside a wooden house set with musical instruments. — Northern Sky Theater’s Jamie Mercado and Molly Rhode star in the 2025 production of “Dairy Heirs.” *Image courtesy of Len Villano for Northern Sky Theater*

Musical director Alissa Rhode composed “Dairy Heirs.” She’s been with Northern Sky for over 10 seasons.

“We’re in this art form that has people coming under the stars, sitting in this beautiful sanctuary of trees, with this open sky above their heads,” Rhode said. “And then we’re sharing this experience.”

And even though she lives in Milwaukee, Rhode keeps coming back summer after summer.

“The number of stars that you see here in Peninsula State Park is quite astonishing on a clear night,” she said.

Newport State Park is Wisconsin’s only International Dark Sky park

Beth Bartoli used to lie in the middle of the road near her house to look up at the stars. The road created a clearing in the trees, and there was no traffic to worry about.

But ever since Newport State Park — 16 miles up the road from Peninsula State Park — got its designation in 2017 as the state’s only International Dark Sky place, that has changed.

“I can’t do that now because there’s more traffic coming in here,” Bartoli said. “They’re coming down to see the dark sky park.”

A night sky displays vivid pink and purple aurora lights above a dark silhouette of trees, with stars visible in the background. — The view from Newport State Park during a “Universe in the Park” event in July 2022. *Photo courtesy of Newport State Park staff*

The park is at the very top of the peninsula, with 30 miles of hiking trails and views to the horizon on Lake Michigan.

Bartoli is Newport’s natural resources educator. She helped the park get its dark sky designation with the nonprofit DarkSky International. That involved over four years of taking measurements of the sky’s brightness around the park, and making sure the lights on their few park buildings were facing downwards.

Newport achieved the designation in part because of its remote location and educational programming. It’s one of only 18 places in the Midwest to earn the designation. Bartoli said that has definitely driven interest.

In fact, the park’s stargazing nights have attracted so many visitors that staff members are planning to build a viewing area next year. It will be a platform where visitors can sit about a mile from the visitor center, near the shore of Lake Michigan.

At park events, visitors can view meteor showers, planets and galaxies through telescopes.

In the summer, Bartoli said, their view of the Milky Way is so clear and dense overhead that visitors sometimes mistake it for a cloud, “because it’s so thick with stars.”

A park ranger stands next to informational signs about dark sky heritage and night sky observation at a park entrance with a Park Open sign. — Natural Resources Educator Beth Bartoli at Newport State Park on June 3, 2025. *Anna Marie Yanny/WPR*

The park is far from light pollution, and doesn’t allow car camping. And park staff want to maintain its undeveloped charm.

“Because undeveloped is almost more unique than a developed park,” said park manager Brian Grube. “It offers something that you can’t get in other places.”

“Sometimes you can go on a hike in the middle of the summer and not see somebody else on the trail,” he added. “Even though the rest of the peninsula is teeming with people. … That’s something we want to preserve.”

Bartoli and Grube said visitors often ask if they can guarantee perfect weather —and, well, they can’t.

“We get out there and do our dance and hope that everything’s going to be clear,” Bartoli joked.

But if you ask actor and “Dairy Heirs” co-director Kelly Doherty, Newport is worth the trip for a clear night in Door County. She drives up from Milwaukee every season.

“There is absolutely nothing like it there. There’s too much light pollution, there’s too much everything else,” Doherty said. “So to come up here, it almost feels like you’re in another world.”

Editor’s note: You can find more road trip stories at wpr.org/roadtrip. Northern Sky Theater’s outdoor shows run through Aug. 23. Newport State Park is open until 11 p.m. daily. Northern Sky Theater is a business sponsor of WPR.