Jaycee Park is prominently located at the northwestern entrance into the City of Sheboygan at 3401 Calumet Drive, across from Evergreen park and along the Pigeon River. With the Pigeon River forming its northern edge, a centralized lake with surrounding limestone bluffs, and expansive woodland and wetland areas, the park is one of the most geographically diverse public open spaces within the City and surrounding area. 

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The Pigeon River is a tributary of Lake Michigan and serves as an important ecological and recreational corridor. The river serves as an anadromous migration route and spawning grounds for Steelhead Trout from Lake Michigan during periods of higher water levels and therefore plays an important role in the enveloping riparian ecosystem while providing a unique regional fishing attraction. Canoeing and kayaking are also popular recreational activities when water levels allow but occasionally require portaging less navigable sections of the river. Both sides of the river are within Jaycee Park at the park’s SW corner but access it limited along the river’s north side due to steep topography along Calumet Drive. 

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The river continues to form the northern edge of the park as it flows east toward Lake Michigan. Not only does the river serve a multitude of both active and passive recreational activities within a unique riparian habitat, but it also serves as a geographical conduit providing uninterrupted connectivity between many other public open space destinations, including Maywood Environmental Park, Evergreen Park and Pigeon River Parkway, which in turn provide access to surrounding neighborhoods, business and civic destinations. 

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While the park is within walking distance of many public destinations and surrounding neighborhoods, it is also less than a twenty-minute bike ride to Vollrath park along the Lake Michigan shoreline via Eisner Avenue, 8th Street and North Avenue. 

The Jaycee Park Master Plan was created to provide the City of Sheboygan a valuable aid in meeting the recreation needs for the community and surrounding region. Jaycee Park has been a significant part of the City’s Parks and Recreation since it was first purchased by the City in 1943. Since then, the park has gone through many changes and has been used by the community in different ways. City Public Works Staff along with the Board of Marina, Parks and Forestry realize that the park has great potential for many uses and partnerships and that a road map was needed to guide the City in the future development of the park. 

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The new Master Plan serves as a strategic blueprint that provides specific, tactical recommendations to fully realize the potential of this marvelous resource. The plan not only reflects the needs and desires of the City of Sheboygan’s Department of Public Works, but the Community as a whole.