Four Courses, One Afternoon

Door County is populated with lots of attractions for such a small population, including an amazing four mini golf courses in the northern part of the peninsula (three within a few minutes drive). So if you want to mini golf, you can choose your favorite course, pick the one that is least busy, or just go to whichever one is closest. However, one of my personal goals has been to go to all four in one afternoon…and I finally made it happen.

We began with the ever-popular Red Putter, located in North Ephraim. The course is a classic, complete with Ephraim gnomes and Door County lighthouses. The owner, Bob, is usually there working at the counter, and you can just tell how much he loves his course and seeing people enjoy it. This course has the lowest admission price at just $4 for adults, but may prove to be a challenge for younger kids just starting their mini golfing life adventure.

Next, we headed to Johnson’s Park. Along with mini golf, Johnson’s Park offers go-karts, batting cages and an arcade. It was my first time on the golf course here, and it was challenging but fair. The greens are smooth and the man-made creek winding through the course is lined with wildflowers. In some parts of the course there are enough plants and tree coverage that it is easy to forget that Highway 42 borders the course on one side. I did lose my ball in the stream at one point, and there are a couple of adventurous water crossings, but the $6 admission price was well worth the entertainment.

After a dinner break in Fish Creek, we headed down to the Egg Harbor Fun Park, just south of Egg Harbor on Highway 42. This Park also boasts additional attractions: batting cages, zip lining, basketball shooting, water wars, go-karts, and an arcade (not to mention the mini golf) along with a snack bar that serves up pizza, hot dogs, fried treats, sodas, milkshakes and ice cream. The “greens” on this course are almost all colors other than green, a visually interesting perk of the course. It is an entertaining venue though some of the greens’ borders are a little low, meaning your ball may skip the course a little more often here than at other courses. Also $6 for adult admission, you could easily spend more and make an afternoon out of it.

Finally, we headed back to Sister Bay for a round at Pirate’s Cove Adventure Golf. Neighboring Johnson’s Park on Highway 42 in “uptown” Sister Bay, Pirate’s Cove is groomed the best of the four courses, and is priciest at $7.95 per adult. The pirate music, sunken pirate ship in the pond, and decorative skulls set the tone for a pirate-themed adventure. This course is the most straightforward of the four, making it great for kids, yet just tricky enough to keep it a challenge for adults.

Pick your favorite or try them all – the four Door County mini golf courses all are a low-cost, high-fun activity for both locals and visitors to enjoy. So get out there, choose your putter and ball, and enjoy an hour (or an afternoon) on Door County’s mini golf courses.