Kohler-Andrae State Park 2026 06

Back in April our family jumped into our SUV and headed down to Sheboygan. This time we stopped at Kohler-Andrae State Park.

Key Features

• Active Coastal Sand Dunes: The park protects one of the last remaining dynamic, shifting dune complexes along Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan shoreline. These fragile geographical formations are shaped entirely by wind and wave action, providing a desert-like landscape right in the Midwest.
• The Creeping Juniper Cord walk: To allow visitors to explore the sensitive dune ecosystem without destroying the stabilizing root networks, the park features a famous wooden cord walk. This unique trail winds right through the heart of the dunes, offering expansive lake views while protecting vulnerable plant life like the creeping juniper Lake Michigan Beachfront: Kohler-Andrae boasts more than two miles of wide, sandy beach. It is a prime destination for beachcombing, swimming during the summer months, and viewing dramatic, unobstructed sunrises over the lake.
• Interlocking Trail System: The park features over 5 miles of hiking trails that showcase its diverse ecosystems. Key routes include the Dunes Cord walk, the Black River Trail (open to hikers, horseback riders, and cross-country skiers), and the Woodland Dunes Nature Trail, a short, accessible loop through a canopy of pines and hardwoods.
• Sanderling Nature Center: Situated right on the edge of the dunes, this nature center serves as the educational heart of the park. Open from May through October, it offers interactive exhibits on park geology, local wildlife, and history, along with an observation deck that provides a panoramic view of Lake Michigan.
• Rare and Specialized Flora: Because of the harsh, sandy environment, the park is home to fascinating, hardy plant species specifically adapted to dune survival. Visitors can spot rare plants such as the federally threatened Pitcher’s thistle, dune goldenrod, marram grass (which binds the sand together), and thickets of wild roses.
• Diverse Birdwatching Habitat: Acting as a critical stopover on the Lake Michigan flyway, the park is an exceptional birding hotspot. Depending on the season, you can observe a massive variety of shorebirds, migrating warblers, waterfowl, and birds of prey hunting over the open beach and adjacent wetlands.
• Distinct Ecosystem Overlap: While famous for its sand, the park actually contains a rich mosaic of habitats crammed into roughly 1,000 acres. Moving inland from the beach, you transition quickly from open beach to shifting dunes, stabilized interdunal wetlands, a winding river corridor, and dense pine and hardwood forests.
• Year-Round Camping Facilities: Kohler-Andrae features a highly popular campground with over 130 sites, including electric hookups and standard family sites. For winter enthusiasts, a portion of the campground remains open year-round for cold-weather camping, surrounded by snow-covered pines.
• The Black River Corridor: Flowing along the western boundary of the park, the quiet Black River offers a stark, peaceful contrast to the crashing waves of Lake Michigan. This area provides an excellent habitat for local white-tailed deer, waterfowl, and amphibians, making it a favorite spot for quiet wildlife photography and hiking.

Review

Kohler-Andrae State Park is a place we attempted to visit back in 2020. However at the time it was thought that any interaction between people would spread Covid. So the park had been closed for our own good.

So since I started this blog I was hoping that we would one day visit this park. My wife and children reminded me that we had visited one other time but I did not remember that visit. I believed that they were remembering a visit to Point Beach State Park. I am loathed to admit, I was wrong and they were right.

We arrived at the park and found a line of cars waiting to pay for entrance. As we waited a ranger walked to each car. She let us know that we could pull forward and pay inside for our sticker. While most of the vehicles continued to wait we pulled forward and used the opportunity to visit the restroom.

After paying for a yearly pass and putting it in our window we continued into the park. Choosing parking lot two we luckily found a spot. With the day being one of the first beautiful Sundays of spring there were lots of people out to enjoy the park.

We started to hike the path south opting to take the paths through the dunes south and then returning north along the beach. The paths through the dunes are made with a cord walk. This cord walk consists of metal cables strung through 6 by 6 boards. The cord walk path rose and fell as we walked up and down the dunes.

However after walking halfway to parking lot three, I realized that my camera battery was getting low. Telling my wife and kids that I needed to return to the car and get another battery. They continued on as I returned to my car.

After the brief side track I returned to the trail and endeavored to catch up to them, snapping a few pictures as I hiked. But one of the things I noticed was fog rolling off the lake and obscuring the lake from view.

I caught up to my family at the Sanderling Nature Center. They observed me reaching the center from the observation deck on top of the center. I joined them before we continued our hike.

Returning south on the cord walk, the fog seemed to thin out. We continued on to the last connection of the cord walk to the beach before we reached the campground. We then walked out to the beach.

Up and down the beach we could see small fish beached on the shore as we reached the lake. Apparently the Smelt spawning season was wrapping up and the bodies of the spent fish were washing a shore. Seagulls were everywhere, only leaving the beach as we or other people walked close.

We started to walk north returning to our car. But as we hiked norther the fog started to roll back in again.

We passed driftwood that had washed up. Some people had arraigned the driftwood in teepees as we walked. My kids took a moment to pose in the Teepee. To that I commented that the teepee was probably meant to eventually be set on fire.

The further north we traveled the thicker the fog got. It was an almost surreal feeling surrounded by the thick veil. We felt like we were walking through clouds. But eventually we reached the trail off of the beach and back to our car.

Kohler-Andrae State Park offered us up a great hike. Though the day was foggy I can imagine on another day relaxing on the beach while the kids swim. Kohler-Andrae reminds me of beaches along Florida in some ways.

Lake Michigan does in some ways resemble an inland sea. We continue to love our hikes along its shores.

Once again thank you for reading and enjoying my pictures. Please feel free to leave a comment and I hope you will read again next week.