Door County, Wisconsin

Greetings!

We just spent 4 days/5 nights in Door County, Wisconsin and loved the area.  I had never been to Wisconsin before and this area reminded me so much of the Cape and Islands.  Door County is a peninsula - the bottom of it is the city of Green Bay and it jets north with the Green Bay (body of water) on the west side and Lake Michigan on the east side.  It is about 70 miles long and 18 miles wide at its widest point.  There is a tremendous amount of farming / agriculture there, combined with beautiful nature and charming coastal towns.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time there and look forward to going back.

Our campsite in Bailey's Harbor - dinner time!

Nothing beats a nice campfire!

We stayed in Bailey's Harbor which is located near the middle of the peninsula right on Lake Michigan - such a pretty town with cute shops and restaurants.  Our first afternoon there, we walked into town and checked everything out!

This is a big fishing town with a nice harbor

Reminded us so much of the Vineyard towns.

This sign gave me a good chuckle!

Our first full day kicked off with a bike ride on the Sunset Bike Trail in the Peninsula State Park.  It was about 9 miles and most of it rode through the shady woods and we also spent some time going along the coast of Green Bay.  So pretty.

After the bike ride, we headed into another scenic coastal town called Fish Creek where we walked around and enjoyed lunch on the main street, reminding us again of New England coastal towns - quaint shops, beautiful gardens and cold beer! 

The next day, we spent the entire day in Bailey's Harbor.  We started at their weekly Farmers Market where we purchased delicious local produce, and then got out to explore some trails.  The first trail we enjoyed was Toft Point - a trail that meandered through the woods and ended up on a Lake Michigan Beach.  It was originally a family estate and they turned it over to the state for conservation so all can enjoy this area, including us!

We then headed to the Cana Island Lighthouse.  We are so blessed to have visited multiple lighthouses in the Great Lakes region and this one was beautifully maintained by the county.

Sweeping views of Lake Michigan

96 stairs to the top

We then went into town for a great lunch at a lively food truck area right on the main street.  After lunch, we headed to Waseda Farms which is known for its pasture-raised pork and beef and fresh eggs.  It was such a beautiful little spot and they were so gracious about our walking around - the gardens and farm animals were great!

They look delicious 

The next day we decided to head north on the peninsula and explore more trails.  It was a warm day, so we found another state park - Newport State Park - that offered a beautiful trail through the woods and along Europe Lake and Lake Michigan.

The trailhead was at the gate of the former estate of Ferninand Hotz, a jeweler from Chicago, whose family also gave the land to the state after his death.

Europe Lake, which was cut off from Lake Michigan centuries ago when water levels dropped.

After the hike, we went to one of the county's known bakeries for homemade pie - YUM.  We then headed to another fun coastal town - Sisters Bay - for lunch and more cold beer.

After lunch, we went back to Peninsula State Park and checked out the Eagle Tower and the Eagle Bluff Light Station - with more glorious views of Green Bay!

Eagle Tower can be reached by stairs or there is also a long ramp for those who don't wish to do the steep stairs - so cool.

We walked the ramp up and took the stairs down

A stunning day on Green Bay!

On the stairway heading down - you can see the ramp above and behind me.

There were lots of butterflies around and Paul grabbed this great shot as we headed back to the truck after exploring the Tower.

The Eagle Bluff Light Station was also very scenic and fun to explore.  There was great history there - one of the Lighthouse keepers had 7 sons and he was keep for over 35 years!  The youngest son was still alive with the Lighthouse opened to the public as a museum in 1960 and thanks to him, there were a lot of original pieces in the Keepers' cottage.

As you can likely tell, we had our daily routine - start with exercise in a beautiful setting, then go out to lunch and explore a different town - and then we usually had dinner at "home."  This night, we ate everything from Door county - pork chops, sugar snap peas, homemade pie, and vanilla bean ice cream (not pictured) - so delish!

On our final day in Door County, we headed south to Potawatomi State Park near Sturgeon Bay, which is the largest town on the peninsula.  It was a very hot day, so we decided to ride our bikes and for the most part, it was in the shade.  Before our bike ride, we headed up to the Observation Tower with beautiful views of Sturgeon Bay and Green Bay.  Funny story - at the top of the tower, we met Jim, a triathlete - great guy!  He lives in Chicago and he and his wife were in Door County for a Triathlon over the past weekend. They decided to stay for a few days and they could "take it easy" after the race.  He climbed the tower after 26 miles and was riding 26 miles back to where he was staying.  And it was a HOT day!  We thought we were doing so well doing a 10-mile ride!  It just cracked us up!

Sturgeon Bay with Green Bay in the background

We had such a wonderful time in Door County!  We arrived to Hayward, Wisconsin today and are attending the Lumberjack World Championships over the weekend - should be a real hoot!  Look for the recap on that in the next post. 

Thank you again for following along and for your love and support - XO, Jen & Paul