What do visitors and residents like best about Door County?

Your average pollster may find living in Door County to his or her liking, but they couldn't make a living determining its appeal.

When it comes to attracting visitors, Door County's magic took thousands of years to develop and it hasn't changed for nearly that long. This is a theme park carved by nature, herself.

Every once in a while, the people running the annual Door County Lighthouse Walk are asked if there's something new to see. Considering the newest lighthouse is over a century old, the caller can't really expect a new beacon anytime soon. Still, people find their way through a tangled web of back roads to locate Cana Island each year. (More...)

History

Native American tribes found the Door Peninsula nearly as attractive as today's visitors. Abundant water, game and a relatively temperate climate that served to extend the growing season were attractive features.

The French were first to fly their flag over the Peninsula. Their legacy remains in the naming of the county. Early French explorers named the straight separating mainland Door County from Washington Island "Porte des Morts," or Door of Death. The less ominous part of the name stuck and the county has opened its door to visitors ever since. (More...)

Galleries and Museums

STURGEON BAY

At the Door County Historical Museum you will find the story of the indigenous peoples, the loggers, the farmers, the fishermen, the resorts. The ever-changing face of Door County is carefully chronicled in fascinating displays. 18 N. Fourth Ave. (920) 743-5809 Open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from May 1–Oct. 31. Donations accepted.

The Door County Maritime Museum pays tribute to those who built the ships, fished the waters and transported the raw materials. New this year, at Sturgeon Bay's 20,000-square-foot waterfront museum, is the exhibit "Freshwater Fury." (More...)

The Stage

The visitor to Door County shouldn’t leave without a visit to at least one state park or without shopping its many boutiques and galleries. The same could be said of its remarkable array of performing arts opportunities. (More...)

Fish Boil

Door County offers a mouth-watering array of culinary treats. There are great restaurants to please any palate, farm markets abound, and foods rooted in the county’s rich ethnic heritage are available and worth a try. But one meal is synonymous with Door County – the fish boil.

The Door County fish boil is not just a meal, it’s an event. Held in the open air over cedar-fed fires, massive cauldrons of bubbling salt water are filled to capacity with red-jacketed potatoes, luscious sweet pearl onions and freshly-caught fish from the local waters. (More...)

Cherryland

Cherry pickin' may be Door County's grandest tradition. Grabbing a pail and taking to the orchard each July has become a family ritual for many.

The fruit has long been associated with the Peninsula.

By the late 1800's, the great forests of Door County had been lumbered out, leaving many settlers facing a frightening future. While the alkaline soil and shallow limestone deposits made it difficult for farming, trees – particularly fruit trees – thrived on these conditions. (More...)

Nature

Preservation of Door County's pristine beauty is the principle mission of a number of organizations on the Peninsula. There are two places, in particular, in the county where visitors can see that work firsthand and learn about the Peninsula's delicate ecosystem. They are The Ridges Sanctuary near Baileys Harbor and the Ephraim Wetland Preserve.

The Ridges has been actively preserving ecologically important lands, and the thousands of living things which depend on them, since it was founded in 1937. These protected lands include a large area of beach ridges which have formed on the northern end of Baileys Harbor. Over time, the changing water levels of Lake Michigan have created a series of low sandy ridges, with wetlands called swales stretching between them. This ridge-swale habitat is well-preserved at the sanctuary and provides a home for over 400 species of plants and hundreds of other birds, animals and insects. More than 25 species of native orchids, and over a dozen plants listed on the Wisconsin Threatened and Endangered Species List, grow there. (More...)

State Parks

Few places on the Door Peninsula are as treasured, visited or admired as are its five state parks.

Rock Island State Park (920-847-2235) is the northernmost of a prized network of five state parks in Door County. Day-trippers enjoy a magnificent beach, miles of inland and shoreside hiking trails and there are 40 sites reserved for tent campers. Biking is not allowed on the island. A magnificent boathouse and the county's oldest lighthouse are its primary structures. (More...)

Lighthouses

Door County, with hundreds of miles of coastline, has long offered a challenge to ships that approach the land.

Even with the aid of lighthouses and life-saving stations, the maritime history of the county is one of tragic shipwrecks and loss of life.

The rocky coastline of Door County, 70 miles in length and boasting 11 lighthouses, is a testimony of the need for these lonely outposts. (More...)

Fishing

The Door Peninsula is one of the most diverse fishing holes you'll ever find. Bass and perch on Green Bay and salmon and trout on Lake Michigan are the mainstays, but more than a dozen cold and warmwater species are targeted by scores of fishermen from across the country.

State catch statistics provided by charter captains and creel census clerks show that Door and Kewaunee counties typically combine to produce more than 150,000 salmon and trout each summer, nearly one-third of the entire Wisconsin total. (More...)

Winter in Door County

Door County definitely takes on a different look during the winter.

The snow and ice which blankets the Peninsula even seems to have a special beauty. There are elements unique to this particular part of the Wisconsin. The primary reason is water and the shear abundance of it. (More...)