The day is here! My blog and social media are live! The weather has taken a turn in Chicago and chilly fall is making its presence known. What a perfect time to share my Labor Day trip to Door County, Wisconsin and reminisce about summer’s last hoorah! I have been going to Door County since I was a kid and over the years it has become my husband’s and I favorite place to go for Labor Day weekend. Door County is on a peninsula between Green Bay and Lake Michigan. It is known for its shoreline, wineries, restaurants, and nature parks. It is made of several little towns, each with their own unique charm. A quick 4-5 hour drive from Chicago, it’s the perfect place to get out of the hustle and bustle of city life. There is plenty to do for kids, adults, and it’s dog friendly! We usually go over a long weekend, but you can easily spend more time here. Over the years it has become known as the Nantucket of the Midwest and a food paradise. When planning your trip to Door County, make sure you book your stay early, especially during peek holidays (4th of July and Labor Day). Check out some of my photos at the end of this post, and hop over to the Sweet Things section of thissite for some goodies I bought on this trip.
Door County Map
I always find it useful to look at a general map of the area I travel to. It gives me a sense where activities are located and how far away they might be from each other. I hope this little map is helpful when considering some of my favorite places below!
Activities
Aside from exploring the each of the little towns and checking out all of the little coffee shops, restaurants (more on that below), and shops, you can find activities for relaxing or staying active. Our favorite things to do are miniature golfing, go carting, catching a movie at the drive in (yes there is a drive in!!), wine and cider tastings, and weather permitting, water activities. Take a look at the Door County website noted below for additional activity ideas I did not note below, or you can contact me directly for ideas as well. Check out the links below for our favorite places. Most of these activities are super wallet friendly!
Skyway Drive-In–Located in Fish Creek. Double feature is only $9!
Red Putter Mini Golf-Located in Ephraim-$5 per game and they let us play with our Pup!
Johnson’s Park(Go Carting and Batting Cages)-Located in Sister Bay
Favorite Food Places
Whenever we arrive, our first stop is at Main Street Market in Egg Harbor to pick up some essentials for our room like coffee, tea, waters, and snacks. The hotel we have been staying at lately and most hotels we have stayed at are equipped with mini fridges, microwaves, and coffee pots. This is a great way to save money on essentials. Our hotel also had a grill, so if you don’t want to spend money on restaurants, you can easily stop at the market and stock your mini fridge for grilling! On the way home we always stop at Seaquist Orchards to pick up goodies like apples, apple cider donuts, and cherry pie (Door County is know for all things cherry!).
Groceries
Main Street Market–Located in Egg Harbor and is great for picking up snacks and essential to keep in your place of stay.
Seaquist Orchards Farm Market-Located in Sister Bay. My favorite place to get cherry pie, cider donuts, cherry dips and when in season apples!
Charlies Smokehouse–Ellison Bay- I absolutely love all things smoked, especially fish and this is the place to pick some up. I always have to bring some back for my family.
Restaurants
There are so many good restaurants to choose from in Door County, from famous Fish Boils at Pelletier’s to Swedish breakfast with goats on a roof at Al Johnson’s. It really is hard to narrow down a list. Below are some of my favorites.
Al Johnson’s-Located in Sister Bay. This place is known for their Swedish breakfasts (Swedish pancakes with lingonberries are oh so yummy) and goats on the roof! It is really popular and the wait can be 2 hours. They do however allow you to order to go, and on this trip we did that and ate our breakfast across the street by the water.
Chef’s Hat-Located in Ephraim. Great place for brunch with water views. They also allow pups on their patio.
Pelletier’s Restaurant & Fish Boil– Located in Fish Creek. The place for Fish Boils with a pup friendly patio. For $20 you get two pieces of fish, potatoes, coleslaw, a drink and a slice of Door County Cherry pie.
Harbor Fish Market and Grille–Located in Baileys Harbor. This one is more of a splurge, but they do a really good lobster boil.
Old Post Office– Located in Ephraim. Great place to get breakfast with water views. I have also heard that their fish boil is really good, but I have yet to try it. Their patio is also pup friendly.
Door County Creamery–Located in Sister Bay. The best place to get locally made goat cheese and have lunch. They also make their own goat milk gelato!
The Cookery Restaurant and Wine Bar-Located in Fish Creek. Great place to get healthy food options and they have really good whitefish sandwiches.
The Chop Restaurant–Located in Sister Bay. It is a bit pricier, but I had the best chicken schnitzel here.
Not Yet Licked-Located in Fish Creek. This is the place to get frozen custard! They have a super cute outdoor area with a kids playground, a little pond with ducks that you can feed with popcorn for $1 and pups are allowed!
Czarnuszka Soup Bar-Located in Ephraim. It is a perfect lunch spot with homemade Polish soups.
Coffee Shops
I love coffee and anytime I go somewhere new, I like like to search out the best coffee shops. Below are my favorites.
Ephraim Coffee Lab-Located in Ephraim and this one had to be my favorite.
Places to Stay
The last couple of years that we have been traveling to Door County, we have been going with our puppy, so we have been a little limited in terms of where we stay. Most dog friendly hotels book up really quick during peak season since they only have a few amount of dog friendly rooms. We have been staying at Somerset Inn when we go to Door County because it is centrally located to all of the activities we like and places we like to eat at, but most importantly they have pup friendly rooms and only charge a one time fee for pups. Many hotels will charge you an daily rate for pups. Somerset might be more pricey for some during peak season, so I tried to list other place we stayed at that have been economical. If these are still too pricey, I recommend looking into Airbnb.com and the Door County website listed below, for cabin and home rentals.
For more information on restaurants and places to stay not covered in this post, check out the official Door County website, doorcounty.com. I use it as a resource anytime I am looking for dog friendly restaurants, hotels, or if I just want to see what is new in Door County.
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About Me
Welcome! I am Marta, a Chicago based travel, food, and bargain enthusiast. I absolutely love exploring different cultures, especially at a bargain! I truly believe that traveling opens your mind to the world and teaches you to appreciate other cultures. I understand that to many travel feels like a luxury, and not a necessity. So, I started this blog to share the tips and tricks I have learned over the years to make travel possible!
