Category: Outdoor
Getting outside in Door County is a must! While you can always explore a trail or lake shore on your own, the calendar is dotted with guided hikes, wildlife tours, bird watching treks, and cross-country skiing meetups. Find a group bicycle ride, a naturalist session, or paddleboard tour and explore Door County’s natural wonders.
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Faces of the Past: Chester Thordarson
One of the most fascinating characters in Door County’s history has to be Chester Thordarson, particularly where Rock Island is concerned. Born in Iceland in 1867, Thordarson immigrated with his family to Milwaukee when he was nearly six years old. Chester and his family moved throughout the Midwest and by the time he was 20, […]
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What Role Do Double-Crested Cormorants Play in the Great Lakes Fisheries?
Those who’ve visited the Door County shoreline in recent years may have noticed an increased number of a distinctive bird – the cormorant. Current studies are slowly revealing the impact these birds have on the Great Lakes ecosystem. A relative of the pelican, Double-crested Cormorants have a four-foot wingspan and an orange throat pouch that […]
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As boat-launching season nears, Yacht Works in Sister Bay is preparing for their 4th Annual Boat Show. This exceptional two-day event takes place over Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, May 27th and 28th. Representatives from boat manufacturers Chris Craft, Everglades by Dougherty, and Cranchi will all be present to perform sea trials and […]
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Evidence of a Fish Story: Charter Fishing in Door County
I’ve always thought the best way to see Door County was from the water, looking back toward the peninsula. Whether paddling a kayak along the shoreline of Lake Michigan or island hopping aboard a sailboat in Green Bay, there is nothing better than peering at the sandy beaches, rugged bluffs, and quaint villages and being […]
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Olde Ellison Bay Days Olde Ellison Bay Days, June 23rd – 25th, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Sponsored by the Ellison Bay Men’s Club, this three-day event kicks off with a talent show on Friday night at the North Fire Station. Apart from enjoying the amateur talent, locals show up to see who will […]
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Wildflowers: Discovering Door County’s Treasures
Treasure hunts aren’t just for little kids. Door County offers kids of all ages an opportunity to hunt for compelling treasures—hundreds of unique wildflowers. The prospect of seeing Blue-Eyed Grass or a Dragon’s Mouth or a Ram’s Head has lured many a couch potato outdoors on a personal treasure hunt. Numerous species of wildflowers are […]
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The Golf Course Transformed: Hill 17 in Peninsula State Park
Hill 17 on the Peninsula State Park course offers golfers a gorgeous treetop view to tee off from. As one drives into the park from the Ephraim entrance, the golf course presents itself immediately to the right, but to the left there’s nothing but a forest of trees. Shortly thereafter, driving to the golf course […]
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Connecting Two Worlds: The Washington Island Ferry Line
The distance from Northport pier, on the northern tip of the Door peninsula, to Washington Island’s Detroit Harbor is just a few miles, but in so many ways the two may as well be worlds apart. Between the shores run the foreboding waters of Death’s Door, which earned its moniker in the days when sailing […]
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Snowshoeing provides the means for truly discovering those places on both our cognitive and paper maps. For those who love being outdoors and for those who aren’t sure, snowshoeing affords the freedom from groomed ski and snowmobile trails and is a great way to stay in shape through the winter months. Romantic images of explorers […]
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The scene is late December. Whistling winds breathe freezing temperatures upon the Door County winter landscape yet not a flake of snow has fallen. On a bed of ice from an inland lake a distant thunder may be heard from an oddly shaped craft traveling at a remarkably high speed. To be on the ice […]
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One of the most common questions I hear from visitors is, “What do you do up here in the winter?” This question is usually accompanied by an expression made up of part confusion and part sympathetic dismay. Tourists who have never been to Door County in the winter come up with some far-fetched ideas about […]
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Ask five or six peninsula visitors how often they might expect to see the aurora borealis and you are likely to get five or six different answers – once a year, maybe, if they’re lucky, they’ll say; or once every couple of years; or once or twice in a lifetime. What the answers will all […]
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I’ve seen you do it, and I do it, too: pull over to the side of the road, jump out of the car, and attempt – most often in vain – to capture the essence of a big old wooden Door County barn with a camera. My particular favorites are those slightly or even largely […]
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A Slice of Americana: Friday Night at “The Outdoor”
In much of America, drive-in theaters are abandoned relics of a bygone era. Decrepit old snack bars crumble in overgrown parking lots, still pointing valiantly at the bones of a decaying screen. They are some of the saddest sights on the American landscape, the old speaker posts standing like tombstones marking the graves of youth […]
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Palmer Johnson: Building the World’s Finest Yachts
Back in 1918, a company called Johnson and Gmack was busy building and repairing boats for the Great Lakes commercial fishing fleet. But it wasn’t until 1928, when a man named Palmer Johnson, the founder’s son, built the company’s first wooden pleasure boat that an entirely new era began. Its history has had many chapters […]
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Behind the Curtain of Fall Colors: A Horticulturist Explains What’s in a Leaf
Door County has been blessed with natural beauty far beyond that of most places. Although this is plain to see on any given day in any given month, it is most evident at particular times, like on a perfect day in May when the world is new and the woods and meadows are alive with […]
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The Spirit Renewed: Wooden Boat Restoration
Sturgeon Bay is a boat town and has been ever since the area was settled in the mid-1800s. A trip through the Founder’s Gallery at the Door County Maritime Museum demonstrates the fierce pride this bustling little city of 10,000 has in its maritime heritage to even the most casual observer, and justifiably so. During […]
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With the Wind: Kiteboarding the County
When people envision extreme sports, Door County usually is not the backdrop in their brain; however, there is a group of individuals who have rejuvenated the notion of what Door County could be. No longer just the picturesque surroundings for fine dining, art galleries, and antique shops, this crew has found a new vitality in […]
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The Leap: A Photographic Essay of Door County Weddings
With its serene atmosphere and changing seasons, Door County has become a popular location for destination weddings. Beyond choosing among the numerous venues within the county, couples have also found alternative ways to bring the area’s traditions into their ceremonies and receptions, be it in a field of flowers, on a century-old farm or along […]
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Bring Your Yard to Life: Plant Door County Native Species
As the days get longer and warmer the county comes to life. Grass is growing, flowers are blooming, tree buds are bursting open, and people are getting their yards and flowerbeds ready to plant. As you go through this annual routine, consider how much wildlife is dependent upon your yard for survival. No matter how […]