The Door County guide that plays favorites
Our favorite fish boils, the supper clubs we send friends to, and where to park in Fish Creek on a Saturday. Every page dated, every list kept current.
Best of Door County
All best-of lists →The Best Cross-Country Skiing & Snowshoeing in Door County
Peninsula State Park is the place to ski in Door County: 16 miles of groomed classic trail, 6 miles groomed for skate, a warming house at the Lot 5 trailhead, and ski and snowshoe rentals across Highway 42 in Fish Creek. Newport State Park is the quiet alternative up north, and Crossroads at Big Creek in Sturgeon Bay lends skis and snowshoes for free when there's snow. Snow cover has been short-lived in recent winters, so check the Travel Wisconsin cross-country ski report before you drive out.
The Best Antiques in Door County
Koepsel's Meadow Lane near Baileys Harbor is our top pick — serious original-surface furniture, Great Lakes decoys, and folk art. Bay Trading in Egg Harbor is the place for architectural salvage, Shades of the Past has genuine estate silver and crystal, and the Olde Orchard mall is the easy multi-vendor browse. Most are seasonal, roughly May through October, so call ahead.
The Best Theater in Door County
Peninsula Players near Fish Creek is our top pick — America's oldest professional resident summer theater, with Broadway-caliber casts, a garden stroll, and a bonfire at intermission. Northern Sky stages original musicals outdoors in Peninsula State Park, Third Avenue PlayWorks runs professional plays year-round in Sturgeon Bay, and Door Shakespeare performs in the Björklunden garden. Most run summer, a couple year-round.
The Best Live Music in Door County
Door County Brewing's Music Hall in Baileys Harbor is the best dedicated room for live music, and the Door Community Auditorium in Fish Creek brings in the big touring names. Birch Creek's barn near Egg Harbor runs nightly student-and-faculty concerts all summer, Holiday Music Motel is the songwriters' hub, and Husby's Garage Bar in Sister Bay has bands most summer weekends. Most music is summer-heavy, so check calendars.
The Best Shops & Boutiques in Door County
On Deck Clothing is our top all-around pick — a homegrown apparel staple with shops in Fish Creek, Sister Bay, and Sturgeon Bay. Novel Bay Booksellers is the county's best bookstore, Ecology in Sister Bay is the eco-outfitter to beat, and Fragrant Isle's lavender farm and shop on Washington Island is the most only-in-Door-County stop. For antiques and galleries, see the notes at the end.
The Best Boat & Water Tours in Door County
The Washington Island Ferry is the essential ride — 30 minutes across the Death's Door strait to a quieter island. For a narrated cruise, Fish Creek Scenic Boat Tours passes lighthouses and Millionaire's Row; Lakeshore Adventures paddles clear-bottom kayaks over 1800s shipwrecks; and Door County Kayak Tours threads the Cave Point sea caves. Most run late spring through fall.
Guides & itineraries
All guides →Door County Winter Events: Holidays Through Winterfest
The Jacksonport Polar Bear Plunge on New Year's Day is Door County's signature winter event: hundreds of swimmers run into Lake Michigan at noon sharp at Lakeside Park, and spectators are welcome. The holidays peak on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026, when Sturgeon Bay's Christmas by the Bay parade, Fish Creek's Hometown Holiday, and Baileys Harbor's Harbor Holiday all land on the same day, and February brings Fish Creek Winterfest and candlelight ski nights at the state parks. Dates move from year to year, so confirm with each organizer before you book.
Vegan & Vegetarian in Door County
Roots Inn & Kitchen in Sister Bay is the peninsula's only genuinely plant-based kitchen — vegan comfort food with the menu marked GF, DF and vegan throughout. Zero Sum, also in Sister Bay, is the pick if you're vegan and gluten-free at once, and Greens N Grains in Egg Harbor is a vegetarian café folded into a natural food market. You will not need to cook every meal, but the good options cluster in the north half of the county and most close by mid-afternoon.
Gluten-Free in Door County
Zero Sum in Sister Bay is the safest bet on the peninsula: an entirely gluten-free kitchen, so nothing on the menu shares equipment with wheat. Kick Ash in Ellison Bay is the other dedicated gluten-free facility, and Pizza Bros in Egg Harbor runs a separate prep area and its own oven for gluten-free pies. Nearly every restaurant here offers gluten-free items — the ones below are the places where gluten is kept out of the equipment, which is a different question.
3 Days in Door County: The Full Peninsula Loop
This is the full peninsula loop for a longer trip: up the bay side on Highway 42 to Peninsula State Park and a fish boil in Ephraim, out to the tip on Day 2 for Swedish pancakes, Newport State Park, smoked whitefish in Gills Rock, and sunset at Ellison Bluff, then back down the lake side on Highway 57 past Cana Island Lighthouse to Whitefish Dunes and Cave Point. It's built for three full days in the warm months; several stops close or cut hours from November through April.
Door County with Kids: A 2-Day Itinerary
Two days built around a family's energy levels: a big morning at Peninsula State Park, Sister Bay's downtown beach for the afternoon lull, and sundaes at Wilson's at sunset, then a beach day at Whitefish Dunes and baby goats at The Farm on the drive home. If Day 2 turns rainy, swap the Maritime Museum in for the beach, same slot, no re-planning required.
Getting to Door County: Do You Need a Car?
Yes, plan on a car — Door County is a long, narrow peninsula in northeastern Wisconsin, and there's no public transit system that covers visitor travel between towns. There's no commercial airport in the county itself; the closest is Green Bay's Austin Straubel International Airport (GRB), roughly an hour from Sturgeon Bay, give or take. From there, two state highways (WI-42 and WI-57) split around the peninsula and get you everywhere else.
Explore by town
Sturgeon Bay
The county seat and the biggest town by far — a real working shipbuilding city, not a resort village.
Egg Harbor
First of the bayside villages as you head north, and the most family-engineered of them — a beach with actual sand, a modern marina, mini golf, and a walkable strip of shops.
Fish Creek
The center of gravity for a Door County vacation: the main entrance to Peninsula State Park, the densest cluster of restaurants and shops, and summer theater at Northern Sky and Peninsula Players nearby.
Ephraim
The postcard: white clapboard buildings, two historic churches on the hill, and sunset over Eagle Harbor.
Sister Bay
The north end's hub, anchored by the goats on the grass roof at Al Johnson's and the best public waterfront park of any village — a real beach, a marina, and lawn space that hosts Fall Fest every October.
Ellison Bay
Quiet, arty, and easy to underestimate — home to The Clearing folk school and a couple of serious restaurants.
Gills Rock
The end of the road — a tiny fishing village at the tip of the peninsula where you catch the passenger ferry to Washington Island or eat smoked whitefish at Charlie's.
Baileys Harbor
The quiet side's main town, facing Lake Michigan instead of Green Bay — which means morning sun, cooler air, and the county's best natural areas: Ridges Sanctuary, Cana Island lighthouse, and Anclam Beach.
Jacksonport
A crossroads with a beach — and what a beach.
Carlsville
A dot on Highway 42 between Sturgeon Bay and Egg Harbor that happens to hold Door Peninsula Winery and Door County Coffee — two of the county's biggest indoor draws when the weather turns.
Washington Island
A 30-minute car ferry across Death's Door to a genuinely different pace: Schoolhouse Beach's smooth limestone stones, a lavender farm, Stavkirke church, and bars that founded the Bitters Club.