Golf

We are planning a golf outing for whoever is interested the morning of the wedding at The Orchards. We'll have more information about that soon!

Here's a quick summary of golfing options in Door Co. Descriptions are courtesy of Kim's oldest golf-snob brother, Kevin:

The Orchards
www.orchardsateggharbor.com · 888/463-GOLF
Very nice new course (four years old) still filling out and growing into its potential. Nice 18-hole professional layout with multiple tees for all levels. Hilly terrain, some water, quality greens. In Egg Harbor.

Peninsula State Park
www.peninsulagolf.org · 920/854-5791
Classic older 18-hole course. Some of the open holes are fairly simple, with numerous excellent challenging holes in the wooded portion. Quality of playing surface varies from year to year (government operation). This is an extremely scenic, popular course, so make reservations far ahead of time if you're interested. Ten-minute drive from Egg Harbor (in Fish Creek).

Cherry Hills
www.golfdoorcounty.com · 800/545-2307
Older 18-hole course, generally good quality. Some of the holes are very quirky. Would play if Orchards and Peninsula not available. Twenty-minute drive from Egg Harbor (in Sturgeon Bay).

Maxwelton Braes
www.maxwelton-braes.com · 920/839-2321
A low-level municipal-quality course at best, with open-field-type layout and average maintenance practices. Ten-minute drive from Egg Harbor (in Baileys Harbor).

Alpine Golf Course
www.alpineresort.com · 920/868-3232
tktktktktktk. In Egg Harbor.

Top

Beaches

Not surprisingly, Door Co. has lots of nice beaches:

Peninsula State Park
www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/parks
/specific/peninsula/
The beach at Nicolet Bay in Peninsula S.P. is Door County’s most popular (and crowded) beach; it’s a popular mooring spot for sailboats and yachts and the hotspot for teenagers.

Egg Harbor Public Beach
If you hang a left out of the Landmark parking lot onto Hillside road and turn left at the stop sign (veering left, following the sign to the Alpine Resort), you’ll end up at this beach, which attaches to the Alpine beach (about 30 seconds from the Landmark). It’s very nice and not well-known, so it’s rarely crowded.

Newport State Park
www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/parks/specific/
newport/index.html
It’s a bit of a drive to get here (about 35 minutes from Egg Harbor), but this park has a beautiful, large beach.

Whitefish Dunes State Park
www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/parks/
specific/whitefish/
There’s a big beach here, but it’s on the lake side, so it can be cooler than the bay side of the Peninsula. It’s about a 25 minute drive from Egg Harbor. This state park adjoins scenic Cave Point County Park (see Hiking and Sights links).

Top

Biking

A great biking spot in Door Co. is at Peninsula State Park, where you can rent bikes at several stores at the park entrance and take miles of dedicated bike trails throughout the park, including along the water.

Top

Hiking

There’s tons of hiking in the peninsula. Here are some of our favorites:

Peninsula State Park
www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/parks/
specific/peninsula/
The most scenic trail is the Eagle Trail, a steep up-and-down loop that follows some great scenery along the bottom of the bluffs. You can access it from the lookout tower, or you can park at the beach, walk through the Nicolet Bay campground and hook up to it from the Minnehaha Trail. The Skyline Trail is also scenic.

Newport State Park
www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/parks/
specific/newport/index.html
The Europe Bay Trail follows some beautiful shoreline as well as an inland lake.

Whitefish Dunes State Park
www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/parks/
specific/whitefish/
More good shoreline scenery here, especially at adjoining Cave Point County Park.

The Ridges Sanctuary
www.ridgesanctuary.org
Just on the north side of Baileys Harbor, this sanctuary has a unique microclimate, and guided walks with the naturalists are interesting (9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, there’s a small fee).

Top

Sights

If you don’t want to hike far, there are still lots of scenic spots to take advantage of:

In Peninsula State Park, there are great vistas from Skyline Road. The Eagle Tower and the Eagle Bluff lighthouse are other favorite spots for photos.

The Cana Island Lighthouse is just north of Bailey’s Harbor. Getting to it used to be a bit more adventurous, involving wading through Lake Michigan, but since water levels have dropped in recent years, it’s just a quick (dry) walk to the island.

Cave Point County Park, attached to Whitefish Dunes State Park, is one of the prettiest spots in the peninsula.

Top

Shopping

The shopping in Door Co. is endless. Here is a random collection of favorites:

Maxwell House is a gift shop right in downtown Egg Harbor with funky items for home interiors.

The Blue Dolphin is a gift shop (north of Ephraim on Hwy. 42) that is something of a Door Co. legend.

J. Jeffrey Taylor (at Founder’s Square Shops in Fish Creek) has beautiful original jewelry.

Edgewood Orchards (going north on Hwy. 42, turn right onto Peninsula Players Road) has great art and jewelry in an old restored barn.

Door Co. Poster Co. has many locations and offers posters from local Door Co. artists.

A Touch of the World (in Fish Creek) is a peculiar spot we call “The Tacky Import Store.” It’s more an experience than anything—when the owner asks you, “Have you ever been in here before?”, tell him “No,” and you’ll get some great, rambling stories about his travels buying cheap junk throughout the Third World.

Bea’s Ho-Made Products (all the way north, almost to the tip past Gil’s Rock) is Brent’s favorite store, because it’s all old-fashioned, homemade preserves. The pickles are the best anywhere, and ask Brent about the pickled okra.

Top

Theatre/Performances

For being way up north, Door Co. has a lot of culture, with some fantastic theatre:

Peninsula Players
www.peninsulaplayers.com
This is the oldest professional summer theatre company in the country, and they do a wonderful job. Plays are held in a covered amphitheatre on their bayside grounds between Egg Harbor and Fish Creek. Lots of people get there early to drink wine and watch the sunset before the play starts.

American Folklore Theatre
www.folkloretheatre.com
This Door Co. institution gets more popular every year, with original musicals with local flavor such as “Lumberjacks in Love.” Hokey, yes, but the talent is top-notch. The theatre is an uncovered amphitheatre in the middle of the woods in Peninsula State Park, so rain cancels the show. Tickets go on sale immediately before every performance—get there early and get in line, because recently lots of them are selling out.

Door Shakespeare
www.doorshakespeare.com
Although we haven’t made it here yet, it’s supposed to be very good. The plays are held outside in the garden at Bjorklunden, on the lake south of Bailey’s Harbor.

Birch Creek
www.birchcreek.org
Top high school music students are accepted to this summer camp, and they perform big band, percussion/steel band and/or symphony (depending on the week) in an old barn. The performances are excellent.

Top

Wineries

Door Co. has a bunch of wineries. Some serve local “cherry wine;” others ship in grapes from California and make normal wine. Here are the two offering the grape kind:

Stone’s Throw is on the corner of highways A and E, and it offers free tastings.

Simon’s Creek also offers free tastings at its winery down in Jacksonport.

Top