Some places earn their reputation and keep it effortlessly. Door County is one of them.
This 75-mile peninsula in northeastern Wisconsin has been drawing visitors from Chicago, Milwaukee, and the broader Midwest for more than a century, and the reasons are the same today as they were when the first summer tourists arrived by train in the early 1900s: the water, the bluffs, the villages, the food, and the particular pace that takes hold the moment you hit Sturgeon Bay and keeps its grip through the last evening on the porch before the drive home.
Door County sits between Green Bay on the west and Lake Michigan on the east, with more than 300 miles of shoreline, 11 historic lighthouses, five state parks, nine villages, and a concentration of independent restaurants, galleries, and shops that rivals destinations ten times its size.
This guide covers the best things to do in Door County in 2026, organized by activity so you can build the trip that fits your particular version of a perfect Door County visit.
Table of Contents
- State Parks
- Hiking
- Biking
- Kayaking and Water Activities
- Beaches
- Lighthouses
- Theater and Live Performances
- Golf
- Wineries and the Cherry Trail
- Restaurants and the Fish Boil
- Festivals and Events
- Shopping
- The Villages
- Washington Island
- Where to Stay
- More Door County Guides Worth Reading
State Parks
Door County has five state parks, more than any other county in Wisconsin, and they collectively protect the most spectacular natural terrain on the peninsula.
A Wisconsin State Park vehicle sticker is required for entry at $28 for Wisconsin plates and $50 for out-of-state. The annual sticker covers all Wisconsin state parks for a full year and is the right choice for anyone visiting more than two parks on a single trip.
Peninsula State Park in Fish Creek is the crown jewel of the system and the most visited state park in Wisconsin. Its 3,776 acres encompass eight miles of Green Bay shoreline, more than 20 miles of hiking trails, a paved bike trail, the public sand beach at Nicolet Bay, an 18-hole golf course, 468 campsites across five campgrounds, Eagle Bluff Lighthouse, and the rebuilt Eagle Tower with its 850-foot fully accessible canopy walk rising 253 feet above the bay. It is the kind of park that takes multiple visits to truly know.
Potawatomi State Park in Sturgeon Bay is the most underrated park in Door County and the one that rewards the traveler willing to stop before driving north. The newly restored 1931 observation tower delivers panoramic views 225 feet above Green Bay, the mountain bike trails are the most technical and rewarding on the peninsula, the eastern terminus of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail is here, and the shoreline trail along Sawyer Harbor is one of the most pleasant flat walks in the county.
Whitefish Dunes State Park on the Lake Michigan side has the tallest sand dunes in Wisconsin.
Newport State Park at the northern tip is Wisconsin’s only designated wilderness park, with 11 miles of undeveloped Lake Michigan shoreline and some of the darkest night skies in the state.
Hiking
Door County is one of the finest hiking destinations in the Midwest, with trails ranging from easy shoreline walks to challenging blufftop routes with significant elevation changes and views that make the effort feel immediately worthwhile.
The Eagle Trail in Peninsula State Park is the peninsula’s signature hike, running along the limestone cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment above Green Bay with clifftop views at every turn. Eagle Tower, rebuilt in 2021, stands 60 feet tall with an observation deck 253 feet above the bay, accessible by 95 stairs or by an 850-foot ADA-accessible canopy walk above the treeline. The Sunset Trail runs along the western shore with Green Bay visible through the forest at every bend. The Minnehaha Trail loops through the park’s interior for those who want more miles and more solitude.
At Potawatomi State Park, the 2.8-mile Ice Age Trail segment runs through the park from its eastern terminus near the old ski hill overlook. The Ancient Shores Trail is a short interpretive loop through ancient beach ridges that tells the geological story of the peninsula’s formation.
Newport State Park’s 11 miles of wilderness shoreline trail is unlike anything else in the state park system, with Lake Michigan visible through the forest for most of the route.
Whitefish Dunes State Park’s dune crest trail is one of the most dramatic short hikes in the system, with the tallest sand dunes in Wisconsin underfoot and the lake stretching to the horizon.
Biking
The paved bike trail through Peninsula State Park is one of the most popular cycling routes in Wisconsin, running through the cedar forest and along the shoreline on a flat, well-maintained surface that is accessible to riders of every age and skill level.
Bike rentals including standard bikes, tandem bikes, e-bikes, and children’s bikes are available from Nor Door Sport and Cyclery just outside the park entrance in Fish Creek. A Wisconsin State Trail Pass is required for cyclists 16 and older at $5 daily or $25 annually.
For mountain bikers, Potawatomi State Park has approximately nine miles of off-road trails that climb and descend the Niagara Escarpment repeatedly, offering the most technical and rewarding cycling terrain in Door County. The trails are open May 1 through October 31.
Washington Island’s more than 100 miles of quiet paved roads make it one of the finest cycling destinations in the entire Door County archipelago, particularly accessible by e-bike rental from Annie’s Island Moped Rentals near the ferry dock.
Kayaking and Water Activities
Getting on the water is one of the quintessential Door County experiences, and the two distinct coastlines offer dramatically different paddling environments.
The Green Bay side offers calm, sheltered waters ideal for beginners and families.
The Lake Michigan side delivers dramatic limestone cave coastline for confident paddlers who want one of the most visually spectacular paddling experiences in the Great Lakes.
See our complete Door County kayaking guide for outfitters, launch points, and guided tour options across the peninsula.
The Door County Adventure Center offers zip lining, guided kayak tours, off-road Segway tours, paddleboarding, a multi-level indoor adventure park, and combination packages that make for an excellent full adventure day.
Segway the Door Tours offers guided Segway tours through Peninsula State Park and electric scooter tours in Fish Creek.
Sailing, parasailing, charter fishing, and stand-up paddleboarding are all available from operators in Sister Bay, Ephraim, and Fish Creek. Charter fishing for Lake Michigan chinook salmon and lake trout departs from the Sturgeon Bay waterfront, with the best action building through July and peaking in August.
Beaches
Door County’s beaches are as varied as its shoreline. The Green Bay side is warmer, calmer, and ideal for families with young children. The Lake Michigan side is cooler, more dramatic, and lined with dunes, limestone cliffs, and caves.
Nicolet Bay Beach inside Peninsula State Park is the finest public sand beach in Door County, sheltered in the curve of Nicolet Bay with volleyball courts, a playground, a camp store, and kayak and bike rentals on site. A state park sticker is required.
The public beaches at Fish Creek, Sister Bay, and Harborside Park in Ephraim all offer free waterfront access on Green Bay.
Schoolhouse Beach on Washington Island is one of only five beaches in the world made entirely of smooth white limestone rocks and is worth the ferry crossing just to stand on that shoreline.
Whitefish Dunes State Park has the most dramatic beach in the county, with the tallest sand dunes in Wisconsin rising behind a Lake Michigan shore that draws both swimmers and photographers.
Lighthouses
Door County has the highest concentration of lighthouses of any county in the United States, with 11 historic stations scattered across the peninsula and surrounding islands. They were built between 1836 and 1895 to guide commercial ships through Death’s Door passage and they remain some of the most photographed structures in the Great Lakes region.
Cana Island Lighthouse near Baileys Harbor is the most iconic, rising 89 feet above Lake Michigan on its own wooded island with haywagon service across the causeway and tower climbs available May through October.
Eagle Bluff Lighthouse inside Peninsula State Park offers guided tours daily from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. through mid-October.
The Pottawatomie Lighthouse on Rock Island is Wisconsin’s oldest lighthouse, with free guided tours Memorial Day through Columbus Day for those willing to make the two-ferry journey to reach it.
The Door County Lighthouse Passport Days event, organized by the Door County Maritime Museum, opens all 11 beacons to the public on select weekends from May through October.
See our complete Door County lighthouses guide for access details, tour options, and Passport Days dates.
Theater and Live Performances
Door County has two of the finest theater companies in the Midwest running simultaneously within a few miles of each other through the summer season, a cultural offering that is genuinely extraordinary for a county of roughly 30,000 year-round residents.
Northern Sky Theater runs its outdoor season at the Peninsula State Park amphitheater from mid-June through late August, with original Wisconsin-rooted musical comedies performed under the cedar and pine trees. The 2026 season features the world premiere of The Thing with Feathers, Something in the Water, and When Butter Churns to Gold in rotating repertory. The indoor Gould Theater in Fish Creek runs June through October with additional programming.
Peninsula Players Theatre, America’s oldest professional resident summer theater, runs Tuesday through Sunday through October 18, 2026, at its all-weather pavilion on Peninsula Players Road between Fish Creek and Egg Harbor. The 91st season includes Baggage, The Mousetrap, Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash, Moon Over Buffalo, and Murder Girl. Tickets at peninsulaplayers.com or (920) 868-3287.
The Peninsula Music Festival brings professional orchestral musicians from across the country to the Door Community Auditorium in Fish Creek through most of August.
Birch Creek Music Performance Center at 3821 County Road E in Egg Harbor offers public performances by advanced student ensembles in a rustic barn theater throughout the summer. Free concerts run every Friday evening at Fish Creek’s Beach Park and every Sunday evening at the Peg Egan Performing Arts Center in Egg Harbor from June through August.
Golf
Door County has some of the most scenically situated golf in Wisconsin, with courses ranging from a championship layout inside a state park to a historic links course on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan.
The Peninsula State Park Golf Course in Fish Creek is the most spectacular round of golf in Door County, with fairways carved through the ancient forest and bay views from multiple holes. Golf Digest readers have given it four stars. A six-hole par-3 short course provides a quick family option.
Idlewild Golf Club at 4146 Golf Valley Drive in Sturgeon Bay is the premier championship course, with a 6,876-yard layout winding through forests, ponds, and wetlands, also four-star rated by Golf Digest, with a finishing island green hole.
Maxwelton Braes Golf Course at 7670 Highway 57 in Baileys Harbor opened in 1929 and is known across the region as a golfer’s paradise on the Lake Michigan side.
Cherry Hills Golf and Lodge in Sturgeon Bay and Stone Hedge Golf and Pub in Egg Harbor, which also offers footgolf, round out a golf landscape that covers every skill level and budget.
Wineries and the Cherry Trail
Door County produces more tart cherries per acre than almost anywhere else in the world, and the orchard culture shows up in everything from the wine trail to the farm markets, the restaurant menus, and the festivals that anchor the summer calendar.
The Door County wine trail has nine wineries spread across the peninsula, producing fruit wines, grape wines, and specialty beverages that reflect the cherry and apple orchard heritage of the region.
Lautenbach’s Orchard Country Winery and Market in Fish Creek is the most atmospheric stop, set among working cherry orchards. Door County Brewing Co. in Baileys Harbor operates from a taproom serving rotating craft ales.
Shipwrecked Brew Pub in Egg Harbor is the county’s original microbrewery, crafting its own ales since 1997. The Door County Wine Fest on June 27 at About Thyme Farm in Baileys Harbor celebrates the 10th anniversary of the wine event.
See our complete Door County wineries guide for the full trail.
The cherry harvest runs mid-July through early August.
Wood Orchard Market in Egg Harbor and Seaquist Orchards north of Sister Bay are two of the most beloved farm market stops for fresh cherries, pies, jams, and orchard products through the harvest season.
Restaurants and the Fish Boil
Door County has no chain restaurants north of Sturgeon Bay. Every dining option is independently owned, and the range and quality across the villages is remarkable for a destination of its size.
From a nationally celebrated breakfast at The White Gull Inn in Fish Creek to hand-cut certified Angus beef at CHOP in Sister Bay, a wood-fired pizza at Wild Tomato to authentic Neapolitan pizza at della Porta and perfectly smoked BBQ at Savor in Sister Bay, the culinary landscape here is genuinely impressive.
See our complete Door County restaurants guide for the full picture.
The Door County fish boil is the most iconic culinary tradition in the county and an essential experience for any first-time visitor. Fresh Lake Michigan whitefish is cooked over an outdoor fire alongside red potatoes and onions, finished with the dramatic boilover where a splash of kerosene on the fire sends a fireball into the air and pushes the oils from the fish to the surface. The meal includes coleslaw, homemade bread, drawn butter, and cherry pie for dessert.
The White Gull Inn in Fish Creek runs the most celebrated boil on the peninsula.
Pelletier’s Restaurant and Fish Boil at Founder’s Square in Fish Creek runs nightly with boilovers at 5, 6, and 7 p.m.
The Old Post Office Restaurant in Ephraim hosts boils Monday through Saturday with spectacular Eagle Harbor views.
For the best breakfast in Door County, see our complete Door County breakfast guide.
For the best burgers, see the best burgers in Door County guide.
Festivals and Events
Door County’s festival calendar is one of the richest in the Midwest, with events running from May through October that feel genuinely rooted in the community rather than manufactured for tourism.
The Door County festivals guide covers the complete calendar, but here are the anchors of the 2026 season.
The 61st Annual Fyr Bal Festival on June 20 in Ephraim lights bonfires on Eagle Harbor and closes with fireworks over the water. The Door County Beer Festival and Door County Wine Fest both take place at About Thyme Farm in Baileys Harbor on June 20 and June 27 respectively.
The Fourth of July brings fireworks across multiple villages simultaneously. The Jacksonport Cherry Fest on the first Saturday of August is the definitive cherry harvest celebration.
The Door County Plein Air Festival runs July 19-26 with an exhibition through August 10 at the Peninsula School of Art in Fish Creek. The Door County Classic and Wooden Boat Show runs August 1-2 at the Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay.
Shopping
Every shop north of Sturgeon Bay (and most in Sturgeon Bay) are independently owned. The variety across galleries, boutiques, specialty food shops, farm markets, and gift stores rewards genuine browsing in a way that planned shopping rarely does.
Fish Creek is the shopping capital of the peninsula, with Founder’s Square anchoring the historic village center and Edgewood Orchard Galleries standing as one of the finest art galleries in the Midwest.
Egg Harbor’s Main Street Shops packs nearly 20 eclectic stores into a walkable indoor-outdoor space. Wood Orchard Market in Egg Harbor is the essential farm market stop for cherry pies and orchard products.
The Peninsula School of Art in Fish Creek hosts rotating gallery exhibitions and the Door County Contemporary Art Fair each June.
See our complete Door County shopping guide for the full picture across every village.
The Villages
One of the great pleasures of Door County is that it is not one place but many, and the nine villages strung along the peninsula each have their own distinct character. Understanding the differences helps you choose the right home base and make the most of the days you have.
Sturgeon Bay is the county seat and the most fully operational city on the peninsula year-round, home to the Door County Maritime Museum, the Door County Historical Museum, the Miller Art Museum, and a working shipyard visible from the public street.
Egg Harbor is one of the central peninsula’s most complete villages for dining, with the Mojo Restaurant Group’s four locations, Shipwrecked Brew Pub, and Casey’s BBQ anchoring an excellent restaurant scene.
Fish Creek is the most activity-dense village on the peninsula, combining the best shopping, the gateway to Peninsula State Park, two world-class theater companies, and a drive-in movie theater.
Ephraim is widely considered the most beautiful and tranquil village, with the widest public waterfront and the Fyr Bal Festival as its annual signature event.
Sister Bay is the social hub of the northern peninsula with the most restaurant and nightlife options and the famous goat-roofed Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant.
Baileys Harbor on the Lake Michigan side is home to the Ridges Sanctuary, Cana Island Lighthouse, Door County Brewing Co., and Inland, one of the most talked about pizza restaurants in Door County.
Washington Island
Washington Island sits at the northern tip of the peninsula across Death’s Door passage, a 30-minute ferry ride from Northport Pier on the Washington Island Ferry. The 22-square-mile island is one of the oldest Icelandic settlements in the United States and home to more than 700 year-round residents whose community identity is unlike anything on the mainland.
Schoolhouse Beach, one of only five beaches in the world made entirely of smooth white limestone rocks, is alone worth the crossing. The hand-built Norwegian Stavkirke church in the woods, the Washington Island Farm Museum, the lavender farms that bloom mid-July through early August, K.K. Fiske Restaurant with its legendary lawyer fish, and Nelsen’s Hall Bitters Pub, believed to be Wisconsin’s oldest continuously operating tavern, make the island a genuinely complete destination for a full day or a two-night stay.
Beyond the island, Rock Island State Park is Wisconsin’s most remote state park, accessible by a second ferry from Washington Island’s Jackson Harbor, with the oldest lighthouse in Wisconsin and primitive wilderness camping.
Where to Stay
Door County has nearly 200 lodging options from state park campgrounds and private cabin resorts to historic inns and full-service waterfront resorts.
The range covers every budget and travel style. Peak summer weekends in July and August book out months in advance at the most desirable properties. Shoulder season visits in May, early June, and September offer significant savings with almost no reduction in the quality of the experience.
For camping, Peninsula State Park‘s 468 family campsites across five campgrounds are the most sought-after outdoor lodging in Wisconsin, bookable at wisconsin.goingtocamp.com.
For historic inn character, The White Gull Inn in Fish Creek has been welcoming guests since 1896.
For resort amenities and bluff views, The Landmark Resort in Egg Harbor offers 294 suites.
For waterfront access in Ephraim, Edgewater Resort and Eagle Harbor Inn sit directly on Eagle Harbor.
For the private shoreline experience, Country House Resort in Sister Bay has 27 wooded acres and 1,100 feet of Green Bay frontage.
For pet-friendly cabins, Door County Cottages in Egg Harbor welcomes all breeds with no extra pet fee.
Door County fills up faster than most people expect, especially from Memorial Day through Labor Day and during fall color weekends in October. If you have dates in mind, it’s worth checking availablity now.
See our complete Door County lodging guide, or browse open rooms across Door County on Expedia or search current availablity on Booking.com.
More Door County Guides Worth Reading
This guide is the starting point. Every section above has a dedicated deep-dive guide that covers its topic in the detail it deserves. Here is where to go next.
For the outdoor foundation of any Door County trip, The Complete Guide to Peninsula State Park covers every trail, campground, beach, tower, lighthouse, and theater experience in Wisconsin’s most visited state park. Its companion, the Potawatomi State Park guide, covers the county’s most underrated park in equal depth.
For the water adventures that define a summer visit, the Door County Kayaking guide covers every outfitter and launch point.
For the lighthouse experiences that reward the most dedicated explorers, the Door County Lighthouses guide covers all 11 beacons and the Passport Days events that open them all.
For dining, the Best Restaurants in Door County and the Door County Fish Boil guide are the two essential references.
For festivals and events, the Door County Festivals guide covers the complete calendar from May through October.
And for planning where to stay, the Where to Stay in Door County guide organizes every property type and price range by town across the full peninsula.
