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Rediscovering Wisconsin's Door County
Shops and Shorelines
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(ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: MARCH/APRIL 2003)
The shoreside town of Ephraim stirs slowly this morning, as the rising sun tosses a sparkle across Green Bay. A lone boat putt-putts into the harbor, while most of the cruisers still nod sleepily in their slips. Behind me, white clapboard storefronts and trim churches climb steep hills, with only a handful of early risers strolling the quiet streets. No matter how often I visit, these tranquil mornings always inspire.
By afternoon, bumper-to-bumper traffic will wind down Ephraim's main street. Here and in communities such as Egg Harbor, Fish Creek and Sister Bay along the county's busy Green Bay side, a light, fairlike atmosphere prevails. Sidewalks fill with browsers, rubbing elbows with each other as they saunter into shops filled with nautical scenes, pottery and hand-loomed woolens. No one seems in a hurry except, perhaps, youngsters anxious to get to Wilson's Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlor.
Eagle Bluff Lighthouse
This is Door County, a peninsula of shorelines and woods that juts into Lake Michigan, an easy three-hour drive north from Milwaukee. For generations, it's reigned as a vacation playground, drawing 2.1 million visitors last year. The peninsula's been dubbed the Cape Cod of the Midwest for its pristine New Englandlike towns and harbors.
Door County's outdoor pursuits remain legendary: 11 golf courses with panoramic lake views; state parks made for hiking and exploring; sugar-sand beaches where swimmers and sunners loll the afternoons away. Cherry orchards, open fields and deep forests lace the interior, and roads beg for leisurely bicycle rides.
Vacationers wanting a less crowded Door County experience have long favored the peninsula's eastern coast along Lake Michigan, especially the expansive beaches at Whitefish Dunes State Park. Part of Door County's enchantment is that you can experience the best of both worlds in just a weekend. It takes about 15 minutes from one side to the other.
First on the agenda and a top priority for many visitors is an old faithful: the Cana Island Lighthouse. Visitors park at the end of a forested road and trek across a rocky Lake Michigan causeway to the lighthouse, its dignified white spire a signature for the peninsula. (Continued)
