The Door County peninsula takes variety to a new level, practically defining the phrase “something for everyone.”
By Diane Morey Sitton
September 2018
Where else but in Door County, Wisconsin, can you watch goats graze the grass roof of a Swedish restaurant, paint your name on the graffiti-covered wall of a dockside warehouse, and gasp as the flames fly at a traditional fish boil?
Yes, it’s quirky in Door County. But it’s also exciting and fun.
Travel up this Wisconsin peninsula and you will applaud other diversions, too. You can discover local lore and legend at a maritime museum; cruise the 300-mile coastline past sea caves and nearly a dozen lighthouses; stroll the verdant trails of a nature preserve; shop galleries and working studios for one-of-a-kind, locally crafted treasures; and savor sensational sunsets over the expansive waters of Lake Michigan and of Green Bay.
Sturgeon Bay
For help navigating the peninsula’s 19 communities, 53 beaches, five state parks, 19 county parks, and multitude of other attractions, stop at the Door County Visitor Bureau Welcome Center in Sturgeon Bay. Talk to a certified tourism ambassador, browse an information kiosk, and pick up brochures and guidebooks. Charging stations (including an electric vehicle station) and a bicycle repair area are nearby. As you travel north from Sturgeon Bay (it’s approximately 41 miles to the tip of the peninsula), you’ll find tourism info centers in many of the larger villages, too.
All roads north of Sturgeon Bay have only two lanes. They do accommodate large RVs, but during peak summer weekends, parking spots may be scarce in waterfront villages. You may find it easier to explore using a towing or towed vehicle.
Sturgeon Bay dates to 1835 and is the county seat and only city in Door County. It straddles the body of water typically referred to as Sturgeon Bay. In the early 1880s, a shipping canal opened southeast of the city, connecting Green Bay on the west with Lake Michigan to the east. The mile-long waterway is a shorter and safer route for ships than the perilous Death’s Door passage at the northern tip of the peninsula. The creation of the canal turned the northern two-thirds of Door County into an island, accessible only by bridge.
Visitors are welcome at the helm inside a restored pilot house at the Door County Maritime Museum.
Sturgeon Bay Attractions
While in Sturgeon Bay, allow up to two hours to visit the Door County Maritime Museum, a two-story showcase of the area’s rich relationship with water travel. The museum sits between Sturgeon Bay’s downtown bridges. Exhibits form a timeline, beginning with birchbark canoes crafted by American Indians and continuing to modern-day ships. You can peer through a submarine periscope, examine meticulous models, and steer the historic Great Lakes freighter, the Elba, through a simulated course. A new exhibit called “Shipwrecks of Door County” explores the inherent dangers of maritime life on the Great Lakes and tells of ships that have ended up in watery graves. Set aside another 40 minutes for a guided tour of the restored 149-foot-long tugboat, John Purves, moored adjacent to the museum.
Another maritime attraction is located at the eastern end of Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal, at the end of Canal Road. The North Pierhead Light was constructed in 1882 on the end of a breakwater pier. When the North Pierhead Light proved inadequate for ship traffic, the towering Sturgeon Bay Canal Station Lighthouse was built nearby as a replacement. The newer light is located on U.S. Coast Guard Station property and is open for tours only during the Lighthouse Festival, held each June. From the parking lot situated outside the Coast Guard site, walk in the designated lane past the Canal Station Lighthouse (photo ops only) down to the north breakwater pier. For the closest viewing of the North Pierhead Light, walk to the end of the breakwater. On windy days you may have to dodge sea spray.
Generally speaking, the west coastline of Door County is more heavily developed than the east side. To reach west shore attractions, backtrack to State Route 42/57, and head north on State Route 42.
Ephraim
No trip to Door County is complete without a stop at Wilson’s Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlor, open for business since 1906 in Ephraim. Look for the red-and-white striped awnings.
Classic eats and treats are offered at Wilson’s Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlor.
Wilson’s indulges folks with sodas, sundaes, cones, and a five-scoop, three-topping concoction called “Wilson’s Banquet.” Kids like to hunt for the jelly bean soda jerks drop into the bottom of each ice cream cone. While there, you might as well put a coin in the jukebox, try a fish sandwich, and savor the old-fashioned charm.
Ephraim is known for its Norwegian heritage, as well as showy sunsets and the limestone bluffs bordering Eagle Harbor.
The Hardy Gallery, located inside a photo-friendly, graffiti-covered warehouse, shares the picturesque waterfront area. The warehouse décor began with a practice called “mark making,” as boaters added the name of their particular vessel and the date of their visit to the warehouse’s walls. Today visitors are invited to continue the tradition by signing the old wooden walls; just be sure to use permitted methods to do so (no carving, no spray paint, etc.). A sign on the street side of the building explains the process. The dock is a popular spot for shooting selfies and sunsets.
Ephraim’s accessible shoreline also makes it popular among kayakers, jet skiers, swimmers, and anglers. The village forms the eastern border of Peninsula State Park, a 3,700-acre treasure that offers hiking and biking trails, a lighthouse, a golf course, an outdoor theater, and RV camping areas.
Sister Bay
Farther north, Sister Bay beckons with the largest free public beach in Door County, plus picnic areas, a swim dock, and free summer concerts in Waterfront Park. But the village’s best-known attraction is the small herd of celebrity goats that feast on the sod roof of Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant and Butik. Human diners go inside for Swedish meatballs, Swedish limpa (rye) bread, Swedish pancakes smothered in lingonberries, and other Scandinavian fare.
Delicious Swedish and American fare is served inside Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant and Butik in Sister Bay, but its famous goats only care about what’s served on the roof.
Allow time here to take your own photos and to shop for goat-related souvenirs in the two butiks (gift shops). If you still haven’t had enough, click on the live-streaming goat cam on the restaurant’s website (www.aljohnsons.com/goat-cam). Like celebrities, Oreo, Snowball, and their goat friends are given private transportation from their abode on a farm to the restaurant each day. But only if the weather isn’t too hot, too cold, or too rainy.
The focus shifts to seascapes, sea caves, and sunsets aboard a Sister Bay scenic boat tour. A 63-foot-long, double-deck catamaran departs from Sister Bay marina, across the street from Al Johnson’s Restaurant. Daytime cruises feature live narration about the region’s early settlers. Sunset cruises are accompanied by live music. Passengers who have always wanted to be a captain are welcome to steer the boat (and wear a captain’s hat) as the cruise returns to port.
The same company that operates these cruises rents boats at Sister Bay. It also operates cruises and a boat rental service from Fish Creek Marina, south of Ephraim and next-door to Peninsula State Park.
Ellison Bay
A fish boil dramatically concludes in front of sight-seers outside Rowleys Bay Restaurant in Ellison Bay.
A cooking method brought here by Scandinavian immigrants in the late 1800s amazes visitors at Rowleys Bay Restaurant in Ellison Bay. At an outdoor spectacle known as a “fish boil,” a cook/storyteller spins yarns about the peninsula’s earliest
inhabitants as water simmers in a large cauldron hung over a fire pit. The local boil master cooks freshly caught whitefish, onions, and red potatoes in the boiling water. At precisely the right moment, the boil master adds accelerant to the fire, which causes the water in the pot to boil over, leaving behind a perfectly cooked dinner. Then, it’s time to follow him inside to the buffet line. Approximately nine Door County restaurants perform this showy culinary tradition.
Creativity spills over, too, in Door County. The Ellison Bay Arts group showcases art galleries and pottery studios, including Clay Bay Pottery. Shop their showroom for award-winning hand-thrown pottery created by the owners as well as artists from other states. Turtle Ridge Studio makes signature leather handbags and wearable art. Other studios offer oil paintings, photography, textiles, and jewelry.
Discoveries of a different kind await folks at Death’s Door Maritime Museum. It’s located just north of Ellison Bay on the shore of the infamous Porte Des Morts (Death’s Door) passage, at the peninsula’s northern tip. This collection differs from its affiliate, Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay (described above), by emphasizing commercial fishing. A shipwreck and scuba diving exhibit complement the theme, as do artifacts recovered from the floor of Lake Michigan, and the wooden fishing tug Hope.
Baileys Harbor
A third venue associated with the Maritime Museum is the Cana Island Light Station, which can be seen as you travel down the peninsula’s east side. From Gills Rock, travel south on State Route 42 and then head south on State Route 57. Turn left on County Road Q, and then turn left onto Cana Island Road.
Cana Island Light Station is situated on an 8.7-acre island off the northeast shore of Door County. For a breathtaking view of Lake Michigan and the Door County coastline, climb to the top of the 149-year-old lighthouse, and then step outside the 89-foot-tall tower to the gallery. The lighthouse keeper’s original home is open for inspection as well. Wear and/or carry appropriate footwear for crossing the rocky, water-prone causeway that separates the parking area from the attractions and for climbing the spiral, metal staircase.
More lighthouses, biologically diverse ecosystems, indoor exhibits, and other enticements attract visitors to The Ridges Sanctuary on the peninsula’s east shore near Baileys Harbor. Well-marked trails and boardwalks traverse the sanctuary’s namesake ridges and the swales (water-filled wetlands) between them. Lake Michigan’s receding shoreline formed the striking topography.
Take a guided hike, or pick up a trail map at the visitors center. A boardwalk leads to four interconnected trails, plus the old Upper Range and Lower Range lighthouses (circa 1869) and the lighthouse keeper’s house. The two lights were built to work together to provide sailors a way of marking when they were within range of the harbor.
The entire area preserves a rare environment with 11 kinds of pine trees, 26 orchid species, plus pitcher plants, lake iris, and other native flowering plants. Sixty bird species, monarch butterflies, and endangered Hine’s emerald dragonflies inhabit the sanctuary, too.
But Wait. There’s More.
Numerous other attractions await in Door County. You can see countless stars in the night sky at Newport State Park, southeast of Gills Rock along the Lake Michigan shore. The park is such a valuable stargazing resource that it is among 59 International Dark Sky Parks certified by the International Dark Sky Association.
Other things to see include Washington Island (Door County’s largest island); the Seaquist Orchards Farm Market in Sister Bay; the Skyway Drive-In Theatre in Fish Creek; and a big list of summer festivals that spring up throughout the county. If you travel with kids or grandkids, they will be just as happy as you are with the variety of things to do.
Door County spills over with attractions, coastline views, fascinating historical tales, unusual flora and fauna, and savory menus. If it seems hard to believe that there is so much to experience and enjoy here, come see it for yourself. As they say in Door County, “Come for the fun; stay for the memories.”
Further Information
Door County Visitor Bureau
1015 Green Bay Road
Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
(800) 527-3529
(920) 743-4456
www.doorcounty.com
Campgrounds
Door County’s website lists more than a dozen campgrounds, so these are only a few. See the website or check your campground directory for a complete list. Check FMCA.com for a list of FMCA commercial member campgrounds.
Baileys Grove Campground
2552 County Road F
Baileys Harbor, WI 54202
(920) 839-2559
www.baileysgrovecampground.com
Rustic Timbers Door County Camping
4906 Court Road
Egg Harbor, WI 54209
(920) 868-3151
www.rustictimbersdoorcountycamping.com
Wagon Trail Campground, C2167*
1190 County Road ZZ
Ellison Bay, WI 54210
(920) 854-4818
www.wagontrailcampground.com
*FMCA Commercial Member
Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park of Door County
3677 May Road
Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
(920) 743-9001
www.doorcountyjellystone.com