Anyone in the Midwest done the Door County visit?

[bbhaag]

So my wife and I are looking to do a short getaway in late July somewhere in the Midwest that is in easy driving distance and Door County looks interesting. Anyone here ever been? I'm looking at places in Sturgeon Bay becasue it seems reasonably priced and fairly close to everything but open to suggestions if there is something a little off the beaten path but still within driving distance of attractions.

It looks like outdoorsy types of things are the go to like hiking, visiting the shorelines, biking/kayaking but I also see they have some wineries and a wine trail which is something we are interested in. Anyone ever done that; if so how was it? Besides that are there any cool little towns that offer some unique shopping? When we go on trips like this we love to go shopping and bring back some souvenirs.

Anyway, I guess my main question is if anyone here has ever visited Door County how did you like?

 

[brianmanahan]

i've never been to door county or even wisconsin

but if a place has towns named "idlewild", "carlsville", "institute" and "egg harbor" then it sounds like it's probably a good time

the parks look pretty nice too

 

[IronWing]

I used to go to Door County fairly often but my info is 30 years out of date. Potawatomi, Peninsula, Whitefish Dunes, Newport and Rock Island State Parks were all nice. July will have mosquitos and black flies so try to stick to the shore where there is a breeze.

 

[compcons]

No Door county input, but take a gander at western Michigan. It is the other book end to Door county. We did a "wine thing" in St. Joeseph, Benton Harbor and Paw Paw. Not hiking/outdoors but a good trip. St Julianne has a working winery tour (we did the premium tour and got the grandson of the founder and it was great). There is a beach that is pretty awesome as well. It is a worthwhile hotel/town trip.

 

[Captante]

Door County Wisconsin - visitor guides (doorcounty.com)

 

[Pohemi]

Do you live in IL? Stay outta my state, damn FIB!

I kid, I kid. I go up to DC at least once a year, sometimes just for a day drive but usually for a long weekend, rent a cottage somewhere. There's so much to do in the stretch between Egg Harbor and Gill's Rock, and a decent amount of it doesn't require money, or at least not much.

If you want something off the beaten path but closer to the action than Sturgeon Bay, check out this place:

Door County Cottage for the Whole Family | Countryside Cottages

Countryside Cottages near Fish Creek, WI offers a great, secluded location with plenty of room for the whole family. Modern amenities ensure a comfortable stay, with pet-friendly accommodations available.

www.juliesmotel.com

I doubt it's still the same owner (she'd have passed by now), but these use to be as cheap as a Motel 6. It was an unbelievable deal. They'd likely have increased rates by now, but it might be worth looking at. I loved them because they were quiet and didn't feel like a HoJo. There are lots of cottages and cabins for rent in DC, but they're typically pretty costly.

Oh, and shopping? Depending on what you're looking for, I think you'll be in for a treat. Fish Creek and Sister Bay have tons of little shops, and in Fish Creek, most are reachable by walking from a single place.

Check out the "Ellison Bay lookout" that's north between Sister Bay and Gill's Rock. The sign on the road isn't big/obvious, but more than worth finding this spot. We typically would see other people there, but it's not busy or heavily trafficked. I don't think most tourists know about it, and the locals don't mention it unless you ask specifically about it by name.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Door county, is that where Jehovah Witnesses go to train?

 

[BurnItDwn]

I love door county, have family in the Sturgeon bay area. Last few years, when I go up there, its mostly to help family with stuff so I don't do the tourist stuff as much.

Cave Point is the most beautiful amazing place IMO, though it can get very crowded.

Samuelsons Creek Pub smoked meats are amazing.
Nightengale supper club best prime rib in sturgeon bay
Donnys Glidden Lodge best place to take the spouse for a nice dinner by the lake (near cave point)

 

[Pohemi]

Shoreline restaurant in Ellison Bay/Gill's Rock is a nice place for dining as well. More casual than suit and tie but still a nice place with a great view and good food.

I don't know the Sturgeon Bay area that well, but this is one of my favorite restaurants north of Egg Harbor in Door County. It's been there for many years and is quite popular in the evenings.

 

[Thump553]

Grew up in (and returned to) New England. Lived in WI for about fifteen years. Been to Door County once-was off season as I recall, but it impressed me as basically a Tier B clone of Cape Cod.

I'd recommend instead Wisconsin Dells, or better still take a long road trip and go to Glacier National Park. If you have a passport definitely go from Glacier National Park into Canada and see some of the great parks they have there (Banff is superb).

One thing I never did but always wished I did was visit Lake Superior. Taking a week long canoe trip in the Boundary Waters is still on my bucket list.

 

[waffleironhead]

Grew up in (and returned to) New England. Lived in WI for about fifteen years. Been to Door County once-was off season as I recall, but it impressed me as basically a Tier B clone of Cape Cod.

I'd recommend instead Wisconsin Dells, or better still take a long road trip and go to Glacier National Park. If you have a passport definitely go from Glacier National Park into Canada and see some of the great parks they have there (Banff is superb).

One thing I never did but always wished I did was visit Lake Superior. Taking a week long canoe trip in the Boundary Waters is still on my bucket list.

If you ever get around to it, may i suggest a nice week long BWCA route. Its a nice mix of portaging and open water days. I havnt done this in about 10 years, but we used to do it annually.
mudro-fourtown-boot-fairy-gun-wagosh-chippewa-papoose-crooked-basswood falls-horse river-horse-tincan mike-sandpit-mudro

The first section is a couple of days of smaller lakes and portaging till you hit crooked lake, then you spend a few days in open water on the border then paddle back up the horsetooth river and a few portages back to mudro.

BWCA Entry Point: 23 - Mudro Lake

BWCA Entry Point: 23 - Mudro Lake

bwca.com

 

[Pohemi]

Grew up in (and returned to) New England. Lived in WI for about fifteen years. Been to Door County once-was off season as I recall, but it impressed me as basically a Tier B clone of Cape Cod.

I've never been to New England, but I've heard/seen this said about the comparison between Door County and Cape Cod.

Wisconsin Dells is fun to check out if you've never been. Both are vacation destinations and tourist traps, but ...it's an entirely different type/feel of an excursion. Cape Cod hamlet towns vs The Town of Six Flags. If you had a family with kids, I'd say definitely WI Dells would be better.

If you're looking for a more relaxed, lower-paced, peaceful getaway with smaller pockets of people traffic, do Door County. If you want traffic damn near everywhere, full hotels, busy restaurants, and even more inflated prices, the Dells could be up your alley.

Either can be a good time, they're just two very different types of outings IMO. Personally, at my age and without a family, I'll avoid the Dells like the plague in summer. Too damn hectic.

Last time I was there was 20 years ago on a daytrip with my GF at the time. Even then and WANTING to be there, having so many people around irritated me. Then again, there's a LOT of screaming kids in the Dells. Everywhere. (it's all amusement parks, water parks, carnival ride attractions, duck boat rides, etc)

 

[Captante]

Yep.... "packed" is the LAST thing I want on my "getaway".... if I want to be surrounded by crowds of id10t"s and their ill-mannered offspring I can just stay home lol.

 

[turtile]

So my wife and I are looking to do a short getaway in late July somewhere in the Midwest that is in easy driving distance and Door County looks interesting. Anyone here ever been? I'm looking at places in Sturgeon Bay becasue it seems reasonably priced and fairly close to everything but open to suggestions if there is something a little off the beaten path but still within driving distance of attractions.

It looks like outdoorsy types of things are the go to like hiking, visiting the shorelines, biking/kayaking but I also see they have some wineries and a wine trail which is something we are interested in. Anyone ever done that; if so how was it? Besides that are there any cool little towns that offer some unique shopping? When we go on trips like this we love to go shopping and bring back some souvenirs.

Anyway, I guess my main question is if anyone here has ever visited Door County how did you like?

I haven't been there but it's on my list of places to visit because of the rare plants that exist in the county.

 

[Pohemi]

I'm sure there are others as well, but 'rare plants' and 'Door County' together...I always remember the Lake Iris. There are so many other types of flowers in that area though, I couldn't say how many are rare or possibly unique to that area/region.

The fruit trees apparently do so exceptionally well due to the shallow, rocky soil that aids in drainage...combined with the lake-effect precipitation from both sides of the peninsula. Makes for good cherries and apples! SOO many orchards in Door County.

 

[bbhaag]

Thanks for the suggestions and recommendations everyone!! We booked a cute little b&b in Door County called the Black Walnut Guest House. Should be a good time and a nice little getaway for a few days.

Can't wait to see all the nice things that Door County has to offer!

 

[bbhaag]

Just wanted to give an update and say thank you to everyone who made suggestions on what to do and see in Door County. We just got back today after spending four days and we had a blast!
We couldn't believe just how much Door County had to offer. Outdoor stuff like hiking and kayaking, food, wineries, distilleries, shopping, local artists, ect. It was incredible.

We brought home so many souvenirs from this trip. Wine, art, food, spirits, and so much more. Don't know when we will be back but glad we went.

Here is a pics the items we brought back with us.

 

[Pohemi]

Nice scores, I especially like the cutting board.

Did you take some good photos while you were up there? Wouldn't mind seeing a few if you were so inclined!

 

[bbhaag]

Nice scores, I especially like the cutting board.

Did you take some good photos while you were up there? Wouldn't mind seeing a few if you were so inclined!

Absolutely! Although I will say we didn't take very many pics on this trip. Not sure why but that is just the way it turned out.
We went to places like Whitefish Dunes State Park and kayaked off the shores of Cave Point County Park but didn't take any photo's. Visited a couple of light houses to like Cana Island and Eagle Bluff but didn't take many photo's.

Anyway, I'll be happy to share the ones we did take!

We took the beer, wine, and spirits tour that Door County Trolly offers. It was really fun and we got to meet some people from all over the country. One couple came all the way from Arizona!


This is me hitting up the tasting room at Door County Distillery.



Eagle Bluff Lighthouse was neat but we didn't make it in time to see inside but it was still cool to see.


We did make it in time to go though Cana Island Lighthouse though. Pretty amazing views from the top!




Downtown Sturgeon Bay was pretty cool. The two draw bridges were neat and we even managed to snap this pick with the bridge up while we where at Sonny's enjoying a pint.


This last photo is from Sunset Park in Sturgeon Bay on our last night. We had to wake up early the next day to make it down to West Chicago on business so we decided to take it easy and walk down to the park and enjoy our last night in Door County.

 

[Pohemi]

Beautiful, thanks for sharing!

Sounds like you had a good time, I always do when I go up there.

Edit: I did the trolley tour once years ago after they first started running it, and it was a good time even though I already knew a lot of the area.

If you go to the area again sometime, check out the shipwreck boat tours that leave from the marina in Ephraim (right across the road from Wilson's Ice Cream parlour). Did that maybe 4 or 5 years back and it was pretty cool.

 

[bbhaag]

Beautiful, thanks for sharing!

Sounds like you had a good time, I always do when I go up there.

We had a great time and thank you for all the info you provided especially in post #6. We had a loose itinerary planned out and certain things booked in advance but this was the first trip we took where we just kinda played it by ear.

I referenced this thread multiple times during the trip and your advice and other members advice made for a wonderful experience in Door County. It really did take us by surprise with just how much this area of Wisconsin has to offer.