Door County, Wisconsin is a very special place to us. It is where Jeff was born and spent the first three years of his life, it is where many of Jeff’s extended family members still live, it is even where we first vacationed together, along with many more vacations since that first one. We love it so much that when we were given the opportunity to purchase some of Jeff’s family land a few years ago, we jumped at the chance. Currently, our land is sitting vacant, but we haven’t ruled out the possibility of building on it in the future and making it our permanent home base. All that to say that we really, really love Door County. Keep reading to see why!
We each recently had a week off work, so off we went to enjoy the place we love so much. Door County sits entirely on a peninsula between Lake Michigan and Green Bay, so it is an area full of small towns with gorgeous water-fronts, dense forests, and beautiful farmland and orchards. The diversity of the land means there is plenty to do to keep you busy for however long you choose to stay. In our week, we only scratched the surface and, as always, on departure day, we were wishing for more time!
This time, we took a different route to the county than we usually do. Instead of staying on the interstate all the way to Green Bay, we got off in Manitowoc and took highway 42 up the lake-front. This allowed us some great views of a VERY choppy Lake Michigan. It was incredibly windy that day! This is a much more scenic route and one we will likely revisit on our future drives north!
As for where we stayed…because our land is heavily wooded and has sat mostly untouched for the last few years, we are unable at this time to get the Bigfoot back onto it more than just a short distance off the road, so we don’t currently stay there. We did stay a couple of nights at Jeff’s uncle’s house, but the majority of our visit was spent at Peninsula State Park between the towns of Fish Creek and Ephraim. This is a large and very popular state park with multiple campgrounds. For this visit we were set up in South Nicolet Bay Campground. Each campground has its advantages, but we love the location of this one for its proximity to the beach, hiking trails, and a nice bike path. We could pretty much get anywhere we wanted to go in the park from here without having to drive!
Now for the interesting stuff! We are going to quickly highlight some of the things we did and places we went during this visit, just to give you an overview. As we have already said, though, there is still so much more than what we had time for in our too-short week!
Let’s start with Peninsula State Park, where we were staying. Here we did some hiking and bike riding. From our campground we could access the Minnehaha hiking trail that took us over to the Eagle Trail. The Eagle Trail is a 2-mile loop that takes you along the bay-front and past some beautiful cliffs. Once it turns inland again, it also allows access to the Eagle Tower (a 60 foot tall lookout tower overlooking Green Bay) and the Eagle Panorama overlook. The Eagle Tower is truly a sight to behold. It was rebuilt in recent years and is now handicap accessible. That means there is a HUGE 850 foot long ramp that leads to the top. Whether you meander along the ramp or hoof it up the 100 stairs, the views at the top are truly spectacular! We were also able to exercise the e-bikes a bit along the 9-mile Sunset Bike Route that we were able to access from Nicolet Beach located directly beside our campground. The main attraction along this path is the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse and of course, many stunning views of the bay. And, if you are looking to hang out in town for a bit, one end of the path ends right in the town of Fish Creek.
This next one is pretty exciting…WE SAW THE NORTHERN LIGHTS! TWICE! Nicolet Beach, right next to our campground, allowed great views to the north and east and was a perfect place to view this wonder! We are still learning the art of nighttime photography, so our pictures are nothing compared to the ones we have seen all over the internet, but it was so amazing to get to see the lights in person. It was a first for Heather, and Jeff’s first time seeing them since he was a kid.
Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant in Sister Bay is a very popular and well known restaurant, mostly because of the goats that graze on its sod roof. They also have delicious Swedish pancakes that are very thin and crepe-like. We highly recommend topping them off with butter, maple syrup, and the traditional lingonberries. It is a very tasty treat, but you will want to get there early! The restaurant opens at 7:00 and by 8:00ish, all tables are usually full and there is a substantial wait. If you get lucky, like we did, you might score one of the tables along the front of the restaurant with nice views of the water-front.
Charlie’s Smokehouse in Gill’s Rock smokes and sells the most delicious fish you will ever taste. We selected Atlantic Salmon, Whitefish, and Lake Trout on this visit.
Northport is at the very tip-top of the peninsula and is also where the car ferry to Washington Island (which is only accessible by boat) leaves from. It is always worth a stop to watch the ferry and browse along the beach for a bit. Unfortunately, we have never made the trip over to Washington Island, which has a small community of about 700 people, what we hear are some nice beaches, and a few shops and restaurants to peruse. There is also a considerable amount of lavender grown on the island that is supposed to be a sight to behold when in season. Maybe that will be something to do on our next visit. Let us know if you have been, and if you think it is worth it!
Newport State Park is also near the top of the peninsula just south of Northport. Here, we dropped the truck tailgate and used it as a table to tuck into that smoked fish we bought at Charlie’s Smokehouse. It was maybe not the fanciest, but was definitely the tastiest lunch we have had in a very long time! Then we strolled along one of the park’s beaches for a little while. There were actually people swimming here! We aren’t sure what the water temperature was, but Lake Michigan never feels warm – much less in October – and the air temperature that day was only in the mid-fifties! We left the swimming to them!
Wilson’s Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlor in Ephraim is a must-stop. The food is decent, but the star of this show is definitely the ice cream. We like to get our cones to go and enjoy the view from one of the many benches overlooking the bay. The flavors rotate, but if it is available and you like mint and chocolate, Heather highly recommends the Frozen Tundra!
No trip to Door County is complete without a stop at Renard’s Artisan Cheese just south of Sturgeon Bay. When we first started visiting this place it was a tiny hole-in-the-wall. It has since grown into quite the attraction where you can buy all kinds of Wisconsin made products, but you cannot pass up the fresh cheese curds. If you have never had these bites of goodness, you are in for a real treat! The soft, salty cheese that squeaks on your teeth is unlike anything you can find in the south where we live! And don’t forget to pick up some real string cheese (none of that plastic-like, mass produced stuff that is sold in the grocery store) while you are at it. They also have a nice café where you can grab some lunch or an ice cream cone.
We did get to at least visit our property while there. It is a land of gorgeous woods, but also has a partially collapsed building and 100 years of junk that was placed back in the woods to “keep for later” and then never again touched. If we ever do decide to build here, we have a lot of work to do to clean it up! Totally worth it, though, to be on such beautiful property that has been in Jeff’s family for many, many years.
Cave Point County Park is a rocky shoreline of cliffs along Lake Michigan. On windy days, the waves hit the cliff faces with a thunderous clap and send spray high into the air! It is so fun to watch. This year, though, the lake was a bit more subdued and there was only minor splashing. It is still a beautiful spot, though, and absolutely free to enjoy!
Typically, when we visit with family, we put the cameras away so we can be fully present, but we did manage to take a couple of photos this time. One day, we went to lunch with Aunt Sally, Uncle Rich, Aunt Sandy, and Uncle Jim, then had them back to the campsite for s’mores and lots of catching up. Another night we went to Donny’s Glidden Lodge Restaurant with Uncle Ron and Cousin Tim for some amazing fried perch to go along with the good company! These folks are all pretty important to us and we hate that we don’t get to see them more often.
So, there you have it. These are the highlights of our most recent Door County adventure. The theme of this week seems to have been “eating our way through Door County” and we are sure that both of our waistlines are a little bigger from the effort! It was totally worth it!
Until next time!
