Adapted from Carl Scholz, a long time Glidden Drive resident and co-founder of Door County's "The Farm"
Why Glidden Drive Is a Premier Place to Live?
Glidden Drive is much more than a beautiful road along the Lake Michigan shoreline. It is a remarkable natural, geological, and historic area with a legacy of residents who have valued, respected, and worked to preserve its unique character.
1. Natural Beauty: Glidden Drive winds through a beautiful landscape of forests, wetlands, dunes, and shoreline. Its rolling, twisting roadway offers ever-changing views and a peaceful connection with nature.
2. Remarkable Biodiversity: Glidden Drive is home to an extraordinary variety of plant and animal life. It has been described as having greater biodiversity than any other eight-mile stretch of road in Wisconsin.
Its woody plants include white pine, white cedar, hemlock, white spruce, mountain maple, red maple, hard maple, Norway spruce, juneberry, highbush cranberry, common juniper, red-osier dogwood, Canada yew, pagoda dogwood, red elderberry, hazelnut, yellow birch, and white birch.
Wildflowers and other herbaceous plants include green-headed coneflower, cow parsnip, goldenrod, yarrow, black-eyed Susan, harebell, bouncing bet, dune thistle, mullein, and wild snapdragon. The area also provides habitat for numerous species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians.
3. A Unique Hydrology: Glidden Drive has an unusually interesting water system, including:
Five streams: Shivering Sands, Lily Bay, Fisher, Swallet—which flows underground through several swallets—and a vernal stream that drains the Big Swale.
Lake Michigan, with 13 access points.
Numerous wetlands and swales that contribute to the area's unique landscape and ecology.
4. Remarkable Geology: Glidden Drive is home to some of the highest dunes along the western shore of Lake Michigan. The Scheig Dune, one of the highest, offers a magnificent view of the surrounding landscape.
The area also contains remnants of historic or “old” shorelines, providing a glimpse into the geological history of the region.
5. A Rich History: Glidden Drive has played an important role in the area's history. Among its historic sites and activities are:
A sawmill
A cooperage
Wester's Fish House
The Lily Bay site and dock, which was once used to ship lumber, firewood, and hemlock bark
Glidden Lodge, an important historic tourism site
The Hitching Post
6. Recognized as a Rustic Road: In 1990, Glidden Drive was featured in a Rustic Roads film produced for television.
The road's designation as a Wisconsin Rustic Road was the result of strong local support. In 1978, 173 Glidden Drive residents signed a petition asking that the road receive Rustic Road status. With the support of Door County Highway Commissioners Dick Weisgerber and Harvey Malzahn Jr., along with the Door County Highway Committee, Glidden Drive was designated Rustic Road No. 9 by the State Rustic Road Committee.
Today, Wisconsin has more than 100 designated Rustic Roads.
7. A Neighbor to a Wetland Legacy: Adding to Glidden Drive's natural significance, the road borders the Shivering Sands Wetland Complex, a WI DNR area recognized for its ecological importance.
A Legacy of Preservation: Glidden Drive has a remarkable legacy of people who appreciated its beauty and understood the importance of protecting its natural character. Orrin and Olive Glidden, Ewald and Bobby Schmock, Tom Schmock, Jens Jensen, Bill Fairchild, John Brogan, Russ Bieri, Harvey Grasse, Irene Newkirk, Carl Scholz, and Bill Schuster are among those who helped preserve and protect this special place. Their efforts created a legacy that continues today.
Glidden Drive is truly a “super natural” place—where the beauty of the landscape, diversity of nature, fascinating history, and strong sense of community come together.
It is our responsibility and privilege to preserve and protect this magnificent natural area for future generations.