Girl Scouts Camp Cuesta near Baileys Harbor in Door County, July 31, 2024. PC: Fox 11 Online
DOOR COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Plans are in-the-works to purchase an area Girl Scouts camp and preserve public access to the area.
The Door County Land Trust is raising money to buy the site.
At the end of a quiet rustic cul-de-sac just west of Baileys Harbor, sits the home to Camp Cuesta.
“This is Camp Cuesta, which is historic. An iconic Girl Scouts camp. It’s been here since the 1960s,” said Emily Wood, Door County Land Trust Executive Director.
The Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes was looking to sell the 24-acre camp. Door County Land Trust was looking to buy.
“But we have not closed on the property yet. So we don’t own it. We are fundraising $420,000 for the acquisition of the land, and the buildings,” said Wood.
Door County Land Trust Executive Director Emily Wood says personal connections to Camp Cuesta run deep.
“Some of our staff, some of the women on our board grew up at this camp. Back in the 1980s, they were out here running around, and have seriously developed that love of nature to the point that they are here, still working to protect places like this,” she said.
Camp Cuesta is located next to the 281-acre Kangaroo Lake Nature Preserve.
“This is quintessential interior Door County. We have some wetlands as you get closer to the water. We have both upland, and lowland forest. Hardwood forest canopy. We have a beautiful section of the Niagara Escarpment that runs right through the property. So there’s a nice bluff top that we’re on right now. Lots of thing to explore. So we were excited to have the opportunity to be able to take it over, and then continue to let the Girl Scouts use it as they have in the past. The property will be protected forever. So we will always have public access open to the property,” she said.
The deal is expected to be finalized by the end of September.
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