Visiting Wisconsin: Road Trip To Door County and Washington Island
By Joel Hartz | Republished & Updated July 3, 2025
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Road Trip to Door County, Wisconsin
We began our drive starting from Hudson, Wisconsin (where we have been staying with Michelle’s parents) and we literally drove across the entire state to Green Bay before making our way Northeast up the peninsula that is Door County, Wisconsin. It was about a five hour drive through lots of corn fields and picturesque farms with red barns. We traveled with Michelle’s parents and I have to give a big shout out and thank you to Michelle’s dad for driving!
The Village of Ephraim
At first glance Door County reminds me a lot of the movies I’d watch as a kid where the families would go “upstate for the summer”. We passed through quite a few small towns that dotted the roadside until we made our way to our destination in Ephraim. The village of Ephraim is known for its charming white buildings, beautiful views of Peninsula State Park’s Eagle Bluff and Horseshoe Island.
The peninsula opens up to the vastness of Lake Michigan which seemed more like an ocean than a lake. I was already at home. Ephraim has an old time feel mixed with a good deal of resort town shlockiness.
Ephraim Shores Resort
Arriving on the weekend we found the side of the streets packed with parked cars and people filled the sidewalks. We arrived at our hotel the Ephraim Shores Resort, an old motel with amazing views of the water. It’s location is within walking distance to multiple restaurants and shops. We were hoping to get some work done while we stayed, which is what we do, work remotely, but unfortunately it was quite difficult to do anything that required a connection to the internet.
Unfortunately the Wi-Fi connection during our stay at the hotel was not the best. I ended up having to rely on using my phone’s data which was slightly better but still truly abysmal. To that end, the cellular and data service for our phones was really spotty and scarce even just a mile outside of any town at the top of the peninsula.
We were using T-Mobile and our service constantly reconnected to either AT&T or US Cellular. Our data connection speed was at best 2g despite claiming 4g on our phones. It felt like 2005 all over again! If you are on AT&T or Verizon you may have better coverage than we did.
Our room overlooked the bay and between the five quite large trees that unfortunately block 60% of the view, however we could still see a bit of the lake. Our small balcony was nice in the early morning before the summer sun would wrap around. Michelle enjoyed her morning coffee on the balcony and we both had sundowners there after watching the sunset along the shore.
There are several Adirondack chairs across the street at the water’s edge and a few more on the hotel lawn. Definitely make it to the shore for fantastic sunset views!
Wilson’s
Once we settled into our accommodations we ventured out to one of my in-laws favorite places to eat, Wilson’s Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlor. This is a fun kitschy type place with a hefty amount of 1950’s nostalgia complete with oldies music and jukeboxes. Wilson’s is known for their home-brewed draft root beer so considering myself a root beer aficionado I had to try one and it was quite tasty!
Before heading back to our motel for the night we drove up to Sister Bay to walk around the marina, look at the boats, and enjoy the sunset.
WASHINGTON ISLAND
The next morning we were up early to head out to Washington Island located just off the end of the peninsula. Before we made our way to the ferry we stopped at The Old Post Office Restaurant in Ephraim, just a 2 minute walk from our motel. Breakfast was simple and satisfying and we sat outside on their large patio with nice views overlooking Eagle Harbour. The real standout here though is the fish boil, which I’ll get to later on.
Getting To and Around Washington Island
There are several ways to get around the island, you can take your car across which will cost you $30 for a roundtrip ticket plus another $15 per person, or just pay the $15, walk on and rent transportation near the dock on the island.
On the island there are several transportation options available, bikes, ebikes, UTV, and scooters. All of the Washington Island options are overpriced, for instance a scooter will run you $45 an hour, $80 for 2 hours or $95 for all day. The UTV is like a gas powered golf cart with seating for 6 or 7, but it is quite loud, so unless you want dirty looks, rightfully so, I’d just drive a car to save money.
Washington Island Eats
Washington Island was a nice treat. It is quite isolated, being only accessible by boat or a daily ferry service. There is not much in the way of food choices on the island, I counted only 8 or so restaurants or bars.
We had a quick bite at Albatross Drive-In which served basic American street/carnival food and ice cream. I had the corn dog and it was acceptable, Michelle had the bratwurst and it was insanely good, but if you didn’t know already they do bratwurst really, really well in Wisconsin. They also had burgers, fries, chicken fingers and the like, but definitely get the brat! A new addition was a little Tiki Bar just behind the main building featuring Door County craft beer and wine.
Stavkirke Church
After lunch we visited Washington Island Stavkirke, a Norwegian style Stave Church typically built with timber. It was closed for entry due to the pandemic, but it was quite beautiful and creepy at the same time from the outside.
The building is stained black with dragon head carvings everywhere which kinda creeped me out, but I had also just watched the horror movie Midsommar the night before so that could have been the source of my unease.
Schoolhouse Beach Park
Next it was onto a really beautiful bay on the North end of the island and a beach called Schoolhouse Beach Park. The “beach” is covered with white limestone rocks and clear blue water. There are a lot of great camping sites amongst the lovely cedar trees. The campsites are really close to water and there are even a few nice benches on the water’s edge where you can sit and marvel at the view.
I would recommend some water shoes if you make your way into the water as the stones can be difficult to walk on with bare feet. The rocks are so white they look bleached, but they are also very round and flat, excellent for skipping. This is a great place for families and kids and there was a decent amount of people there for a Monday afternoon.
Lavender Fields
As we made our way back to the ferry we happened upon several lavender fields and stopped to check one out. The smell was amazing and the lavender was really quite lovely. Peak season is from July and August so we were there just before Island Lavender started harvesting.
A gift shop is located on the property along with a really cool Scandinavian building where bouquets of lavender were hanging to dry.
Having spent the day on Washington Island we made our way back to the peninsula. We arrived at the terminal with plenty of time before the scheduled departure. Be sure to get to the ferry terminal at least 15 minutes prior to departure to get on the ferry. It is first come first served and it can get busy in the summer months.
The return trip leaves approximately every 30 minutes with the last ferry at 6pm. Check the Washington Island Ferry line website for the current schedule.
We enjoyed the 30 min ferry ride back, taking in the summer air and thinking about dinner.
Back on the Peninsula
That night we decided to try Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant and Butik in Sister Bay. It’s one of the most famous restaurants in Door County so we wanted to see what all the fuss was about. If you do find yourself here, definitely try it out, they’re known for Swedish pancakes with lingonberries and even have goats grazing on top of their sod roof!
Like any good traveler we had a backup plan that led us to Fred and Fuzzy’s, a fun waterfront bar and grill with lots of outdoor seating, excellent food and stunning views of the water. I had a bratwurst and it was fantastic. I am really getting into the summers in Wisconsin.
Our last full day was spent exploring Ephraim and Sister Bay. Breakfast was a leisurely stroll over to Chef’s Hat Cafe. The food and service was great and they had extra seating nestled among the outside garden.
Fish Boil and Fire oh my!
The rest of our afternoon was spent working on some projects back in our room. By dinner time we were more than ready to head out. Michelle’s mom had made reservations for us at their favorite fish boil so I was excited to experience an authentic Door County tradition! It was another short walk over to Old Post Office Restaurant.
Behind the restaurant they had a huge kettle and fire set up with benches surrounding it. I got the hint that something cool was about to happen. We were sure to arrive early so we could listen to the boil master explain the process and also learn about the origins of the fish boil. Scandinavians are credited with bringing this tradition over to the country almost 100 years ago.
The menu included fresh caught, and boiled, white fish from Lake Michigan, red potatoes, onions and cherry pie. I was pleasantly surprised by how tasty the food was and the melted butter and seasoning provided made the fish really stand out.
Anderson Dock
As we left Door County on our fourth day we stopped by Anderson Dock. As you can see from the picture graffiti is welcomed on this building. It all started with boater’s signing their boats name and the year they docked. The building also houses an art gallery inside that is worth a look.
Cave Point County Park
We made one more stop on our way back to Western Wisconsin and that was Cave Point County Park in Sturgeon Bay. The park is known for its underwater caves, hiking trails and limestone cliffs that overlook Lake Michigan. Kayak tours are a cool way to see the caves, dunes and even a shipwreck that is visible on a calm day.
Wrapping it all up
Door County was everything I expected and more and we had a really great time. Luckily the weather in Wisconsin during the summer is so amazing its hard to not want to be outside all of the time.
If you live in the Midwest or visiting, taking a road trip to Door County is definitely worth it.
Midwest Road Trip Travel Times
- Milwaukee, WI to Door County: 2 hour and 15 drive
- Madison, WI to Door County: About a 3 hour drive
- Chicago,IL to Door County: 3 hour and 45 minute drive
- Minneapolis, MN to Door County: About a 5 hour drive
- Cedar Rapids, IA to Door County: 5 hour and 30 minute drive
- Grand Rapids, MI to Door County: About 6 hour drive
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I transitioned from being an award-winning film and video producer to embracing the life of a full-time slow traveler and digital nomad. In 2019, my wife and I took a bold step by selling our home in Nashville along with most of our possessions to embark on this adventure. Since then, we've been capturing our experiences around the globe through videos for both YouTube and this platform. Our journey as slow travelers has allowed us to live an abundant life abroad, and we’re passionate about inspiring others to pursue their own adventures too.
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