General Information

Lighthouse Park adjoins the Manitowoc Harbor / Marina and the Mariners Trail.  The park is also near the Confined Disposal Facility (CDF) in Lake Michigan, owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which contains the Paws & Play Dog Park.

Check out the view on the Manitowoc Marina harbor cam!

Lakeshore Birding Area

The Lakeshore Birding Area, which includes the lakefront along Maritime Drive, the Confined Disposal Facility (CDF) and the Little Manitowoc River Walkway and Prairie is one of Wisconsin's best birdwatching hotspots.  In April of 2017, this area was named in honor of Charles Sontag.
  
 The CDF is a man-made structure designed to hold material excavated during harbor dredging activities.  Because it is essentially an island and lies along the Lake Michigan shore, an important migratory route for many species of birds, it is an important stopover area for many of them.  More than 300 species of birds have been recorded here - some nesting, others feeding or resting during migration.  While at the Lakeshore Birding Area, you may see waterfowl, pelicans, gulls, terns, songbirds, hawks, falcons, eagles, osprey, wading and marsh birds, and shorebirds.
  
 Starting in the fall of 2016 and continuing into the fall of 2019, a cooperative project to improve the quality of habitat for songbirds and people who use the CDF for recreation was done by the City of Manitowoc and Woodland Dunes Nature Center with support from the U.S. Dept. of Interior - Fish & Wildlife Services, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership. The scope of the project consisted of the addition of 2.17 acres of wildlife habitat, an 875' walking trail, and the control of 8.1 acres of invasive and undesirable species that serve as a seed source to adjacent coastal areas. The partners planted native shrubs and trees along with a native seed mix that included a diverse mix of nectar producing forbs, constructed a walking trail with interpretive signage through the new pollinator planting, and grew and strengthened partnerships between local conservation partners and community members.
  
In 2017, the Woodland Dunes staff installed purple martin birdhouses at the CDF.  Martins enjoy visiting the area, and the birdhouses encourage them to nest in the area.  Martins are beneficial to the area, because they eat lots of mosquitoes and flies. Click here for a link to a video about purple martins by the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology or here for a link to Cornell University's online bird guide about purple martins.

Facility Reservations

Reservations for rental facilities, such as the open air shelter, may be booked online, by telephone with a credit card, or in person no earlier than one year (365 days) in advance of the date to be rented.  A signed rental agreement and payment of all fees and deposits is required at the time of booking.  

To view a flyer or slideshow for a facility, click on the Facility Rental Flyers & Slideshows tab.  

To make a reservation, click on the Facility Reservations Online  tab, call the Parks Office at (920) 686-3580 (Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or Friday from 7:30 am to 11:30 a.m.), or visit the office located on the west end of the first floor of City Hall, 900 Quay St., Manitowoc.