Words and photos by Chicago North Shore Moms cofounder and site curator, Ellie Ander.
Our family just got back from a 3-night escape to Sister Bay in Door County, WI, and I’m already planning our next trip back. Between goat-topped roofs, cherry pie hunting, and a kayak adventure gone slightly rogue, this quick getaway (just 4 hours from the North Shore!) delivered the perfect mix of adventure and small-town charm for our 11 and 14 year old. Here’s our full day-by-day recap, including exactly where to eat, where to skip, and why Sister Bay might just be your family’s new favorite home base.
Day 1 Door County Getaway
We got on the road around 8am and arrived 4 hours later to our hotel, The Dörr Hotel. Initial impressions: Clean, bright, modern, conveniently located in the middle of Sister Bay, with shops and highly-rated restaurants, across the street from Sister Bay public beach. This hotel is one of the nicer hotels in Door County (if not the most upscale) and we were looking for quality and convenience for this trip.
First stop was lunch. Our hungry bellies were looking forward to the iconic Al Johnson’s for a look at the adorable roof-hosted goats and, more importantly, delicious swedish pancakes topped with a generous heap of fresh strawberries and whipped cream. We then headed back to the hotel to get settled and change into swimsuits. The concierge escorted us to the equipment room where we checked out beach chairs, grabbed a few luscious beach towels and headed across the street to Sister Bay Beach. My 14-year-old daughter and husband immediately rented a jet ski while I stayed back with my 11-year-old son taking the occasional dip.
For dinner we ate at Boathouse on the Bay and took advantage of the freshly caught white fish. Of course, where vacation is concerned there is always the call for ice cream so we hopped in the car and headed over to Wilson’s Restaurant & Ice Cream Parlor in Ephraim WI. Honest opinion of the ice cream at Wilson’s is it’s overrated. Waits are 30+ minutes to order ice cream and the ice cream just wasn’t my favorite. But you can eat dinner here, and it’s directly across the street from another little beach with great sunset views.
Day 2 Door County Getaway
We arose early to make it to our 9am Door County Kayak Tours – Cave Point. After a complimentary grab-n-go breakfast of muffins and and charcuterie we were ready for the two-hour excursion. I highly recommend a kayak tour, however, Cave Point is on the Lake Michigan side of Door County, not the bay side, which meant for rougher waters. We made it to Cave Point but the waters were too choppy to go in – we headed back against the current and fighting off biting flies. I would try it again, though!
After this excursion we lollied around town looking for souveigners and stumbled upon Door County Confectionery for trendy and nostalgic candy.
For dinner we ate at Wild Tomato Wood-Fired Pizza & Grille for some of the best pizza I’ve had then hopped in the car to Door County Ice Cream Factory and introduced to the kids to a good ole fashioned banana split. The line moved quickly and ice cream was a 10/10.
Day 3 Door County Getaway
Another early wake up for the kids but the sunny day helped get us all out of bed for to catch one of the first car ferries over to Washington Island. First stop was Schoolhouse Beach, which is one of only five, or a very small handful of, similar sand-less, white limestone pebble beaches in the world!
We then stopped for lunch at the fragrant lavender farm restaurant called Fragrant Isle. I had the caprese sandwich, which featured a lavender-infused chutney – so good! The kids kept it simple and sweet with pretzel bites and macarons. We did not feel the need to pay an entry fee to see the gardens but if you have some downtime as adults I’d recommend paying the fee to chill in the beer garden area. After sampling some of the fun confectionery flavors, we headed over to Mountain Park Lookout Tower, which features a challenging climb of 186 steps to reach a panoramic view of the island and Lake Michigan.
We then stopped in the little town for.. more ice cream.. at the Albatross Restaurant. This concluded our time over at Washington Island, next time we’ll venture over to Rock Island when we have more time. One more fun place we stopped at on our way back from the ferry to the hotel was Bea’s Ho-Made Products for a ridiculou strawberry apple rhubarb pie!
For dinner back at Sister Bay we ate at a restaurant that was not great so I won’t mention it here because if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it at all 🙂 We then scoured the area for Door County cherry pie and found an excellent slice at Sister Bay Bowl and Supper Club. This establishment is so dated that it’s actually back in style again. Honestly? Really really great pie!
Day 4 Door County Getaway
Time to head back. We broke up the 4 hour drive by stopping at Glorioso’s Italian Market for Italian-styled sandwiches. What a cool place this was.
Door County is a great weekend getaway with the kids in tow. I want to point out that this would have been wonderful as a couples getaway as well. The four hour drive isn’t bad, and is a pretty easy drive from the North Shore with a route in close proximity to Milwaukee and Green Bay, WI. I think we’ll try another town in Door County next year! Which one should we go to and why? Send me an email at [email protected].
