Where to Eat & Explore in Door County, WI

[Edited May, 2021] We’re answering some of your most frequently asked questions about where to eat and what to do in Door County so you're fully prepared for your visit this summer season! So many people come into Sister Golden looking for recommendations that we decided to round up all of our favorites in one blog post.

In case you’re not familiar with this amazing place we always speak of, here’s a quick geography lesson: Door County is a peninsula off the east side of Wisconsin with Lake Michigan on one side and Green Bay on the other, connected to the rest of the state by 3 bridges. Door County’s natural breathtaking beauty is reflective of its location and the geology of the region, running along the Niagara Escarpment – a massive limestone cliff. The escarpment actually runs for 900 miles up through Canada and into New York State, where it supports the waters of Niagara Falls. So, this means a mix of rugged cliffs and soft white sand beaches make up the shoreline, with magnificent views of vast water (Lake Michigan may as well be an ocean, you know), and amazing sunrises and sunsets!

You could plan an entire trip around the 11 historic lighthouses, 5 state parks, and 300 miles of incredible coastline here, especially if you’re into hiking, camping, fishing, boating, water sports, photography, or outdoor fun of any kind!

[Photos above via Matt Sampson Photography]

These are the 5 state parks to explore:

• Potowatomi
• Whitefish Dunes
• Peninsula
• Newport
• Rock Island

Let's not forget about all of the beautiful nature preserves and county parks! Two of our most frequented are Cave Point County Park (Jacksonport) and Ridges Sanctuary (Bailey's Harbor). 

Music and theater are not only plentiful here, they’re actually really good! There are so many performances going on in the county throughout the summer season, it’s hard to choose where to go and what to see. 

We recommend seeing a show at:

• Peninsula Players Theatre
• Northern Sky Theater
• Door Shakespeare
• Third Avenue Playhouse
• Door County Brewing Co. Taproom and Music Hall
• Door County Auditorium
• Sister Bay Bandshell
• Peg Egan Performing Arts Center

[Photo via Door County Brewing Co.]

One of the most attractive things about the county for us has always been its arts and culture. Having lived in Chicago for years with access to places like the Art Institute and countless amazing galleries, you get a little spoiled, but we continue to be impressed by the diverse art scene.  

There are many studio-galleries to browse, like:

• Edgewood Orchard
• Fine Line Designs Gallery
• TR Pottery
• Martinez Studio
• Linden Gallery
• The Hardy Gallery
• Margaret Lockwood Gallery
• Blue Dolphin House
• Balancing Mother Nature Gallery at Sister Golden (This is us! Come in and say hi, we'd love to see you!)

If you want to get your hands dirty, you can take all types of classes at places like:

• Peninsula School of Art
• The Clearing
• Hands on Art Studio

[Photo via Matt Sampson Photography]

Let’s talk FOOD – one of our favorite subjects! For us, having a great food experience is part of what keeps you coming back to a place, right?! Before living here permanently, every time we would come up for the weekend to visit Door County, we’d leave saying, “well, we ate our way through DC again”. There are all types of delicious food experiences here, and we’ve participated in a majority of them. Our tried and true lineup is as follows.

Our best places to eat in Door County:

Breakfast/Coffee (from South to North)

• 5 & J Coffeehouse (Sturgeon Bay)
• Bearded Heart (Bailey’s Harbor) – Don’t be surprised if you see us here in the morning. We stop for our morning coffee here multiple times a week. Plus, they just moved into a much larger building with tons of outdoor seating!
• Heirloom Cafe & Provisions (Bailey’s Harbor) – If we’re in Bailey’s and craving breakfast out, we’re stopping at Heirloom for awesome coffee and equally awesome breakfast and lunch dishes.
• Chives (weekend brunch – Bailey’s Harbor)
• Whistling Swan (Sunday brunch – Fish Creek)
• The Cookery (Fish Creek)
• Blue Horse (Fish Creek)
• Good Eggs (Ephraim) – Essentially a surf shack breakfast burrito bar. You can sit outside at one of their surfboard tables right across the street from the beach!
• Ephraim Coffee Lab (the best on the peninsula – Ephraim)

Lunch:

• Blue Front Cafe (Sturgeon Bay) – the perfect lunch stop if you’re too starving to make it north of Sturgeon Bay!
• Heirloom Cafe & Provisions (Bailey’s Harbor)
• Food Trucks (Bailey's Harbor) – Next to Chives!
• DCBC Eats (Bailey's Harbor) – Next to the Door County Brewery!
• Shiny Moon Cafe (opening Spring 2021 – Fish Creek)
• The Cookery (Fish Creek)
• Blue Horse (Fish Creek)
• The Creamery (Sister Bay) – Really great sandwiches and salads.
• Roots Inn & Kitchen (Sister Bay) – Best elevated brat and cauliflower tacos in town + so much more!

[Photo via Trixies]

Dinner:

• Chives (Bailey’s Harbor)
• Parador (Egg Harbor) – Tapas + sangria!
• Whistling Swan (Fish Creek)
• Wild Tomato (Fish Creek & Sister Bay) – Wood fired pizza, including gluten free pizza options!
• Trixies (Ephraim) – Amazing dinner + amazing wine = you'll thank us later.
• Sister Bay Bowl (Sister Bay) – Our favorite fish fry on the peninsula!
• Wickman House (Ellison Bay) – It’s worth the drive to the top of the peninsula for their food and cocktails. Make a reservation! 

[Photo via Wickman House]

Ice Cream:

• Wilson’s (Ephraim) – A Door County staple. Grab your cone and cross the street for the sunset!
• The Creamery (Sister Bay) – The best gelato.
• Door County Ice Cream Factory (North Sister Bay) – Homemade and so worth the drive a bit more north.

Drinks:

• Door County Brewing Co./Hacienda Beer Co. (Bailey’s Harbor) – You could hang here all day if you wanted to, especially when you claim a seat in the outdoor beer garden and take advantage of DCBC Eats, the fire pit, and live band!
• Hatch Distillery (Egg Harbor)
• Pearl Wine Cottage (Ephraim) – As cute and quint as you can get!
• Bad Moravian (Ephraim) – Right next door to Ephraim Coffee Lab. If you want the trifecta, hit Pearl, Bad Moravian, and Trixies one night!
• Roots (Sister Bay) – Happy hour, daily!
• Island Orchard Cider (Ellison Bay)

If you're staying somewhere with a kitchen and prefer to cook a few meals yourself, Waseda Farms Market (Bailey's Harbor) and Main Street Market (Egg Harbor) are bound to have most of what you need!

[Photo via Door County Brewing Co.]

You guys, you can’t NOT have a blast in Door County. You’ll never get to all of the food, music, art, shops, theater and outdoor adventures in a weekend or even a week. We still haven’t seen everything and seriously discover news things every time we’re out. But the places above we’d highly recommend adding to your list.

[Photos via Matt Sampson Photography]