Door County is such a fun place to visit! It is located on a peninsula in northeastern Wisconsin. In Door County, you can hike, bike, paddle, stargaze, shop, visit a winery, visit a lighthouse, see shipwrecks and enjoy a beautiful sunset at the end of the day! We’ve visited twice and I’m still looking forward to the next time we can make it back again.
Hiking
Normally, hiking is one of our top activities on our vacations. As much as we love hiking, we tend to focus more on water activities when we visit Door County since it’s not often we get to go out on the Great Lakes. In addition to the trails listed below, there are several other state/county parks with trails that we have yet to hike. They’re on our list for a future visit.
Peninsula State Park
Our go-to spot for hiking in Door County is Peninsula State Park. All-around, this is one of our favorite locations in Door County because there is so much to do here. This park has quite a few shorter trails, but many of them are interconnected, so you can create a longer hike by taking multiple trails. Our favorite trails are the Minnehaha and Eagle Trails. They follow along the shore and rocky bluffs, eventually climbing to the top of these bluffs. Note that you will need to purchase a day or annual pass to visit a state park in Wisconsin. To read more about our experiences on these hikes, click here.
Cave Point County Park
There are several other state and county parks in Door County that have trails as well. We visited Cave Point County Park and walked along the cliffs looking out at Lake Michigan. Later the same day, we returned to this location in our kayaks. It was cool to see the same cliffs from a different perspective. If you visit in the warmer summer months, you may see people jumping from the cliffs into the lake.
Paddling/Water Activities
This is the main event for us when we visit Door County. We bring our kayaks and hope for good weather! We love to paddle out on the water, but if you’d like to get out on the water in something you don’t have to power yourself, there are boat rentals and boat tours available.
Cave Point County Park
As previously mentioned, we’ve kayaked near Cave Point County Park on the Lake Michigan side of Door County. We’ve found that Schauer Road Boat Launch is a great place to put the kayaks in. It’s roughly a mile north of Cave Point County Park. Parking at the boat launch parking lot does require a small fee, which can be paid via an envelope and drop box on site. Many kayak tours also set off from this location and head toward Cave Point.
We paddle south along the coast to reach Cave Point. We take our time checking out the caves/cliffs and enjoying the view. Then we’ll paddle further south until we reach the beaches of Whitefish Dunes State Park. Here, we can go ashore for a little break. There is at least one shipwreck in this area near White Dunes State Park. We’ve circled the water looking, but we have yet to find it.
Bailey’s Harbor
We’ve also paddled around Bailey’s Harbor, which is north of Cave Point County Park on the Lake Michigan side. There is an old lighthouse in this area and another shipwreck, which is marked by several floating buoys. We were able to see this shipwreck from our kayaks, but we probably would have missed it if it wasn’t marked.
Peninsula State Park
We’ve also kayaked at Peninsula State Park. This park is on the Green Bay side of Door County. We’ve paddled out to Horseshoe Island and circled around the island. Not far from Horseshoe Island, we’ve paddled along the rocky bluffs on the north side of the park. To read more about our kayaking adventures in the park, click here.
Paddling on larger bodies of water can be so much fun, but should also be taken seriously. Make sure you have the proper safety gear and keep an eye on the weather as it can change quickly in this area. There are plenty of guided tours available throughout the area if you do not have your own kayak. With a guided tour, you can get out on the water led by a professional.
Biking
There are many biking/cycling options in Door County. Many people bike along the roads throughout the county, but there are also some designated bike routes. We generally prefer bike routes, but we’ve also biked along some roads.
Peninsula State Park
Our favorite place to ride our bikes is in Peninsula State Park on the Sunset Bike Route. This trail connects you from inside the park to the town of Fish Creek. It also has some great views, especially around sunset. Click here to read more about our experiences biking in Peninsula State Park.
Washington Island
In addition to Peninsula State Park, we’ve taken our bikes on the ferry to Washington Island, which is located off the northern tip of the Door County peninsula. You can take vehicles on the ferry, but we thought it would be fun to explore the island on our bikes. (It also saves some money to take a bike instead of a vehicle.) The ferry ride to this island takes you through “Death’s Door”, which is a strait. This strait is a little strip of water that connects Lake Michigan to Green Bay. Many shipwrecks have occurred in this area in the past. Rumor has it that Door County received its name from this area. You can read more about how Door County got its name on the Destination Door County website here.
Our first destination on the island was Schoolhouse Beach. This is a unique beach made up of smooth, light-color stones and incredibly clear water. From here, we peddled over to the Jackson Harbor area (east of Schoolhouse Beach). Normally, the Rock Island ferry would be running from this location out to Rock Island State Park, however, it wasn’t running at the time we were there. I would like to return someday and take this ferry out to the island to explore. It is a person-only ferry, meaning that no vehicles can board.
Stargazing
There are a lot of dark areas at night in Door County, however, there is one location that is designated as an International Dark Sky park: Newport State Park. Both times we’ve visited, we’ve made it a point to get to Newport State Park for an evening. We try to arrive before it gets completely dark to stake out an area near the beach to settle in and watch the stars come out. This is a popular place for stargazing, so there’s a good chance there will be a crowd. It is also possible to see the Northern Lights from this location. We’ve yet to get a glimpse of them there, but we’re always hoping to see them!
Since we’ve visited last, we’ve bought headlamps with an option for a dim red beam. A bright white or yellow light that comes from most flashlights, headlamps, and lanterns can reset your night vision once you’ve adjusted to the dark environment around you. Using a red light helps you to keep your night vision to better see the stars. The last thing you want to do is shine a bright flashlight or even your cell phone flash around a group of people that are stargazing. We’ve found that our eyes adjusted enough to the night after a while that we didn’t really need a flashlight to get back to the car, but it would be nice to have the option of turning on the red headlamp after getting a little further away from the crowds.
Town Activities
There are many small towns spread across Door County. Our favorite two to visit are Fish Creek and Sister Bay. Fish Creek is located just south of Peninsula State Park. We like to stop at Not Licked Yet Frozen Custard for a treat. We’ve also walked around the town and stopped at some of the local shops.
Sister Bay is about 15 minutes north of Fish Creek. Sister Bay has a nice park right on the water. We’ve picked up a pizza from Wild Tomato Wood-Fired Pizza and Grille and had a picnic dinner in the park by the water. The pizza hit the spot and the view was top notch. Afterwards, we walked around the town, which has some really cool local restaurants and shops.
There are also several wineries and distilleries on the peninsula. We’ve stopped at Hatch Distilling Co. near Egg Harbor for a tasting. It was excellent! Next time we’re in the area, I’d also like to visit one of the many wineries.
Lighthouses
Living in a land-locked area makes the lighthouses of Door County that much more fascinating to me! We’ve visited three of the area’s lighthouses: Eagle Bluff Lighthouse, Cana Island Lighthouse, and the Old Bailey’s Harbor Lighthouse. The Eagle Bluff Lighthouse is located inside Peninsula State Park. The Cana Island Lighthouse is (not surprisingly) located on Cana Island just off the Door County peninsula. You can actually walk out to the island on foot during low tide. The Old Bailey’s Harbor Lighthouse is located in Bailey’s Harbor. The top of this lighthouse resembles a bird cage. We paddled around this lighthouse in the Bailey’s Harbor area.
Camping/Lodging
Both times we’ve visited Door County, we’ve camped at Peninsula State Park. We’ve tent camped and RV camped in the park. The park is so large, it has five campgrounds. We’ve camped in two of them: Welcker’s Point and South Nicolet Bay. We love camping here because of all the activities available within the park and because of its central location within Door County. To read more about our camping experience within the park, visit our Peninsula State Park campground page here.
There are many other campgrounds in Door County. There are also plenty of hotels, bed and breakfasts, condos, and houses to rent in the area.
When to Visit
Both our trips to Door County were during the Summer months (June and July). We felt that Summer was a great time to visit because it was warm (but not too hot) during the day and it cooled off nicely at night. I’ve seen amazing pictures of the leaves changing in the area in the Fall. I’ve also seen outstanding Winter photos.
Wish List
There is so much to do in Door County! We always have a list of places we’d like to visit and/or activities we’d like to do on our next trip there. Below are a few items we’d like to try on a future visit. You can be sure we’ll also repeat several of our favorite activities above too. If you’re thinking about visiting Door County, Destination Door County is a great resource for trip-planning.
- Visit Rock Island State park (off Washington Island)
- Wine tasting at a winery
- Try a new location for kayaking
- Hike/bike around Whitefish Dunes State Park
- Visit the Door County Maritime Museum