Marshall's Point

Marshall's Point contains a relict boreal forest dominated by white cedar, balsam fir, and white spruce and includes 2,000 feet of Lake Michigan shoreline with dolomite bedrock beach. Old beach lines form limestone ledges 2 to 4 feet high and provide local relief on the otherwise level topography. The coastal location along the Door Peninsula, with its cool microclimate, is partially responsible for the presence of the boreal forest and the rich association of mosses and liverworts found here.

The vascular plant flora is equally as rich in diversity containing several rare and restricted plants. A northern mesic forest, undisturbed for more than 100 years, is located near the peninsula's center. Soils have formed over limestone bedrock and have accumulated raw organic matter. These are termed raw humus rendzina, an extremely rare phenomenon. Nesting birds include winter wren, golden-crowned kinglet, blackburnian warbler, and northern parula white-throated sparrow. Marshall's Point is owned by Marshall's Point Association and was designated a State Natural Area in 1986.