After the Dells, Door County is Wisconsin’s best-known vacation destination. With its hostelries, wineries, restaurants and outdoor recreation, it’s the perfect destination for those wanting a quick two-day getaway.
But as we found, good planning is critical for making the most of limited free time. We don’t have an hour-by-hour itinerary to offer, but here are specific ideas and recommendations to help you get the most from your mini-vacation.
Location, Location
Think of Door County as the thumb in Wisconsin’s mitten, a 482-square-mile peninsula with 298 miles of coastline divided between Lake Michigan on the east and Green Bay (the body of water, not the city) on the west.
The completion in 1881 of the Sturgeon Bay Shipping Canal connected both bodies of water, effectively turning the lager part of the county into an island itself. Nearby islands Washington and Rock, located just off of Door County’s tip, complete the land mass.
The county’s name is derived from the French for “Death’s Door,” the strait that separates the peninsula from Washington Island and whose rough waters caused many shipwrecks and claimed many lives.
The peninsula’s length is traversed by Highway 42 on the Green Bay side and Highway 57 on the Lake Michigan side. In the heat of summer, 42 is a slow crawl between the tourist towns of Egg Harbor, Fish Creek, Ephraim, Sister Bay, Ellison Bay and a few others. To make better time, head east to 57, which allows you to travel unimpeded down a mostly rural road broken up only by the towns of Jacksonport and Baileys Harbor. The east side is the “slow side” of the Door.
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Eating and Drinking
Although orchards still abound, Door County long ago gave up its spot as the nation’s tart cherry capital. But eating and drinking flourish as part of the area’s tourist trade.
Wineries: The Door County Wine Trail boasts eight different vintners and begins, ironically, with von Stiehl Winery, the oldest of the group, in the Kewaunee County community of Algoma. Expect lots of fruit wines as well as more sophisticated varietals. Some wineries offer complimentary tastings while others charge for samples.
Best Sips: Door Peninsula Winery, located in Carlsville, offers more than 50 wines and ciders from a wide variety of locally grown and imported grapes. Visitors can try up to seven wines for free, which you can bump to 14 if you and your significant other share the one-ounce pours.
The building also is home to Door County Distillery, the first in the area.
Breweries: Shipwrecked Brew Pub & Restaurant in Egg Harbor is still rebuilding after last year’s fire, but has reopened this summer. That still leaves several others, including the relatively new Starboard Brewing Company, a nanobrewery and taproom in downtown Sturgeon Bay.
Best Quaffs: Door County Brewing Company’s Taproom and Music Hall in Baileys Harbor offers its flagship brands and an evolving roster of beers from Hacienda Beer Company, DCB’s experimental wing in which brewers run wild. Heavy with a rural hipster vibe, Hacienda produces brews with names such as The Only Time is Party Time, Everything Eventually and Whatever Feels Right and unlikely flavor profiles to match.
Restaurants: High-end eateries come and go but this is vacation country and the casual and quirky generally survive. The longevity of Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant in Sister Bay—that’s the one with a grass roof kept cropped by a herd of goats—is a prime example.
Pizza: Wild Tomato Wood-fired Pizza and Grille, with locations in Fish Creek and Sister Bay, offers innovative pies, sandwiches and brews. A recent order of the Donation Creation Pizza—a specialty pie with ingredients that change monthly—was surprisingly delightful. In addition, proceeds benefit local nonprofits. Nice!
Great Outdoors
Despite the omnipresent water, the presence of jet skis is minimal. Silent sports seem to dominate the Door. Sailboats and kayakers, bikers and hikers, golfers and shoppers are everywhere.
Best Bike Routes: The peninsula is crisscrossed with county roads generally suitable for biking, but staying too long on Highways 42 or 57 could prove dangerous due to traffic. Instead, hit the more than 20 miles of bike trails in Peninsula State Park, accessible through the park entrance in Fish Creek. Bring your own bikes or rent them from one of several nearby concessions.
The park also offers some excellent hiking trails.
Best Kayak Experience: Door County is home to the only petragraphs—a form of rock paintings done by ancient peoples—in the state, but the Gills Rock Petragraphs are only visible from the water, which is where kayaks come in handy.
Put in your vessels at Garrett Bay, just south of Gills Rock and sail south along the edge of Door Bluff Headlands Park. The paintings, which depict a great Native American battle, are visible near the water line. Over time the image have become faded and lichen-covered, which make them difficult to find, but worth the effort.
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On your way back keep your eyes on the water. You may just spot the remains of the Fleetwing, a schooner that ran aground in the bay in 1888. It’s located just 30 feet offshore and you can kayak right over the top if it.
Again, BYOB (bring your own boats) or rent some from area concessioners.
Best View: If anything can top a day in Door County it’s a night at Newport State Park, located near the tip of the peninsula at Rowley’s Bay on the Lake Michigan side.
During the day Newport is a great place to bike, hike, fish and camp, but night changes everything. Last year, the International Dark-Sky Association named Newport Wisconsin’s first dark-sky park, one of only 48 worldwide.
On a clear night, a visit to the park can open up a whole new—and infinite—view for visitors, adding a sparkling end to your two-day vay-cay.
