Fall is our favorite time for camping: cooler weather, fewer bugs and interesting fall colors. Two years ago, we briefly passed by Lake Michigan on our epic east coast camping trip. We were enamored by the cool sandy beaches off the northern coast and vowed to come back one day to explore more. We decided it was time for another visit this fall, but our first stop on the way was Door County in Wisconsin.
We set up camp near Peninsula State Park just outside of Fish Creek. We experienced the quintessential Door County “fish boil” on our first night at The Old Post Office restaurant in nearby Ephraim. It is a simple dish of new potatoes, onions and whitefish boiled vigorously on an open fire. The “boil master” told us that the fish boil had Swedish roots and became popular in the early 1900s when vacationers would spend several weeks or even months at a time in Door County. The resorts were tasked with feeding all the vacationers and found the fish boil to be particularly popular. At the end of the boil, the boil master throws a can of kerosene in the fire to make a huge fireball that burns off the oily foam which starts bubbling over due to the extra heat.
We had never eaten whitefish before and we were pleasantly surprised at how good the fish boil tasted. They served it with melted butter and some seasoning, we gobbled it up with some local cherry beer. We got Door County cherry pie for dessert, which was also delicious!
We rode our bikes the next day on a very pleasant 37-mile loop. Our first stop was Peninsula State Park where we followed the winding Sunset Bike Route through the woods and along changing coastlines. We ate our picnic lunch at Nicolet Beach, where people were enjoying an unseasonably warm day in the water. A group of Amish folks were enjoying the beach as well. It was interesting to see the ladies swimming in their dresses. We continued biking through Peninsula State Park and some tall bluffs gave us a good climb and nice views as we exited the park.
We found the little bay town of Ephraim, just to the north, very quaint. The houses, gardens and flowers were all so neat and tidy. From Ephraim we climbed a steep hill out of town and headed east to cross the peninsula. The country roads were very picturesque with cute farms, woods and rolling hills along the way. We biked to the Cana Island lighthouse, then down to Bailey’s Harbor where there was a classic car show going on. Finally, we headed back west to our campground.
That evening, we went to a nearby drive-in movie theater. Sophie had never been to one and my last experience was as a kid (I remember I saw Disney’s The Shaggy D.A.). This time they were showing the newer version of The Naked Gun followed by a horror film. The movie was pretty corny as expected, and we didn’t stay for the horror movie – but it was fun be outside under the stars.
The next morning we drove to the tip of Door County where we visited Northport, Gills Rock and Newport State Park. We hiked over 7 miles in Newport State Park along a long sandy beach that transformed into rocky outcroppings further north, and on a nice wooded trail along an inland lake on the way back. The last part of the hike was on a beautiful new elevated wooden walkway that wound itself through the woods.
On our last day in Door County, we stopped at Cave Point County Park. This may have been our favorite spot, as there were very scenic tree-lined cliffs along the coast that made for fantastic views of Lake Michigan as it crashed into the cliffs, creating interesting formations.
We walked all along the shore until we got to Whitefish Dunes State Park – home of a very wide sandy beach and the largest sand dunes in the state. We decided to hike all the way to the largest dune that had wooden steps and a walkway to the top. We were expecting a large desert-like sand dune formation as seen in movies, but instead, the dune was covered in trees and vegetation and you could hardly see Lake Michigan from the top. It was still an interesting hike, and we took another inland trail back to our car along some woods.
Our hikes in Door County ended up being all a little bit different and we enjoyed the variety. We couldn’t have asked for better weather; it was a good first time in Door County!
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