Activities : Outdoor Activities

Wisconsin Water Wings
South Shore Pier
9993 Hwy 42
Ephraim
920-854-9000

If you have never been para-sailing, you are like me – until just recently when we hopped aboard Wisconsin Water Wings boating out of the South Shore Pier in Ephraim.  See the staff at their outdoor stand near the end of the dock, right by the water. 

You can choose to para-sail at three different heights: 175 feet, 350 feet, or 500 feet!  If you were like me, you might think, wow – this is too adventurous for my blood – I should just put this off or not try it at all.  Wrong!  We tested our nerves at the 175 foot level, and I want to tell you that this was one of the most fun things I have ever done in my life!  I am not a roller coaster guy, I don’t relish speed rides, looping rides and so on. 

I was absolutely stunned at how easy this was, and how much fun it was to do.  We boarded the boat with Captain Doug, and his crew, Liz.  I asked lots of questions before we boarded: do you need to know how to swim?  Do you get wet?  What happens if someone gets dunked?   The crew was comforting – you really need NO special skills to head out on the adventure of your life.  No swimming, you don’t get wet, and Liz was a lifeguard too.  Steering?  Nope.  The para-sail steers itself.  So I’m thinking ok, I can do this.  Wisconsin Water Wings has been doing this for over 20 years, and they tell us, with a perfect safety record. 

The maximum number of para-sailers is 6 at a time.  You are aloft on the 175 foot ride for about 9 or 10 minutes, longer (and more costly) on the 350 and 500 foot rides.  All aboard in our group were doing the 175 foot ride, so we each wore our orange bracelets to indicate that.  Dan, Lucia, me, Grace, Amy then Steve: one at a time us para-sailers are launched and retrieved, then the next one goes.  If you want to ride tandem with another, your combined weight must be 275 or below, and no one under 60 pounds can ride single or tandem.  OK, so let’s get going!

So you head out, knowing you will be out on the custom 37 foot boat for 40 – 90 minutes, depending on the number of para-sailers, and the height they selected.  I was looking a little nervous, so Liz selected me to go third.  So on goes the life vest, then the crew helps you in to the seat-harness, and you wait on the hot seat until you are called. 

Take off!

When you are called, you head back to the launch platform, the Captain attaches the chute to your harness, and a moment later you are airborne – floating maybe 10 feet above the water.   Then the engines roar on the boat, and you get a little kick, a puff of air hits the shoot and up you go!  Higher and higher, the boat getting smaller and smaller. The view is fantastic – the shoreline, Eagle Harbor, the islands, the water rippling below you, your line tethered to the boat,  you can feel the wind in your face, and hear it in your ears; other than that it is silent, peaceful, delightful, and beautiful.  I was looking all around me to take in the beauty of Door County from the air, hovering above the shimmering waters of Green Bay. 

My time passed too quickly, and I was being wound back in to the landing platform.  As you near the deck, raise your feet, and you touchdown, dry as a desert.  They grab you, detach the shute, and you move to the seat next to your hot seat to have the crew help you get your gear off, as the next para-sailer takes off!

An awesome, beautiful, fantastic journey that I intend to repeat again and again!  Wisconsin Water Wings knows what they are doing, are professionals, and they will make your first or 10th flight a perfect one!  And no, I don’t know how to swim, and I did it, so you can too!  The day before our flight, an 80 year-old man made his inaugural para-sail, and loved it!

I cannot explain the sheer delight in my para-sailing experience aboard Wisconsin Water Wings.  They are a first class operation, effective, efficient and friendly.  You will be talking about it for a long time, and you will find yourself telling all your friends about your adventure.  Exhilarating?  Yes?  Spectacular?  Yes!  Worth every dollar?  Yes!

Go para-sail with Wisconsin Water Wings!  You will love it!  It is highly recommended that you make advanced reservations to assure yourself a spot; and when you do, please tell them that DoorCountyNavigator.com sent you!

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