Door County offers a wealth of activities! With so much to do, it is the perfect setting for a day trip. Check out below to help plan yours!
We are so fortunate to only live about 45 minutes from Door County, otherwise known as Wisconsin’s wine country. With multiple parks, and even more wineries and unique restaurants, it is the perfect setting for a day trip. We recently took a fall getaway in Door County and had an amazing day! Keep reading for inspiration on activities for your next Door County day trip or weekend getaway.
Door 44 Winery
Door 44 is only one of eight wineries in Door County. It is one of the first you come across when you are taking the main highway north. We decided to stop here because we could see that there was an abundance of outdoor, socially distanced seating. Inside, you can purchase a flight of wine to take outdoors to enjoy. The flights were $7 for four generously-sized pours. Some of our favorites were the Discover, which is a dry red, and the Red Frosting and White Frosting, which are both sweet. If wine tasting is your thing, be sure to check out the Door County Wine Trail to make sure you don’t miss any stops! Some of our other favorite wineries include Door Peninsula, Harbor Ridge, and Lautenbach’s Orchard Country Winery.
Wood Orchard Market
Wood Orchard Market is a market that sells local produce, specialty foods, and fresh bakery products. This was a priority activity on our Door County day trip because of their fresh apple cider donuts. For $4.99, we got six apple cider donuts that were so fresh, the package was still steamed up! They were hands-down some of the best apple cider donuts I have ever had. They had a wide variety of other delicious looking desserts if you are more of a pie or turnover person. Be prepared for long lines, since this is a pretty popular place to stop!
Peninsula State Park
Peninsula State Park is considered Wisconsin’s most complete state park. It offers 460 campsites across three campgrounds, an outdoor theater, a golf course, a beach, bike trails, and a light house. Because it has so much to offer, it is a popular Door County activity and tends to get quite busy! If you have the option to visit on a weekday, that might be preferable if you would like to avoid the crowds. The entrance fee is $10 a day for Wisconsin residents, or $28 a day for an annual pass (also for Wisconsin residents). We enjoyed checking out the hiking trails with our dogs, and driving down by the water. There is so much to do that is you live nearby, it would likely be worth it to purchase an annual pass since it is good at all other Wisconsin state parks as well.
Whitefish Dunes State Park
Speaking of annual park passes, you can use that same pass for unlimited visits at Whitefish Dunes State Park. Otherwise, the cost is $8 a day for Wisconsin residents. Further down on the peninsula, this park is an affordable Door County activity if you aren’t into wine tasting. It is very pretty, much less crowded than Peninsula State Park, and offers hiking trails down to the beach. There is even a trail to a beach that allows dogs! Our boys enjoyed checking out all of the smells along the trail and splashing in the water. After this park, we decided that we will be investing in an annual state park pass in the near future.
Cave Point County Park
If you are trying to keep your visit as cheap as possible, you may want to check out Cave Point County Park. The park offers free admission to the trails, beach, and picnic areas. The park features cavernous stone, which has been carved out by years of waves crashing against the shore. There are dozens of underwater caves to check out if you are interested in kayaking or canoeing. As this is a county park and free, it tends to get quite busy on nice weekends. As with Peninsula State Park, you may want to plan your visit for a weekday if at all possible.
PC Junction
Jason is not a picky eater and usually doesn’t express an opinion about where he wants to eat. So when he mentioned PC Junction twice prior to our day trip, I knew this restaurant was a must-do Door County activity. PC Junction is located in Bailey’s Harbor and is a truly unique experience. The restaurant features a train that runs around the bar seating continuously. It frequently carries different toys, such as action figures, Disney princesses, or a bubble machine. When your food and drinks are ready, it brings them out and delivers them right at your “stop”, which is named after a town in Door County.
There is also seating around the bar and upstairs, but try to get a seat at the bar if possible–it is worth the wait! Note: the restaurant placed plexi-glass between the group seating at the bar, and all of the staff wore masks, so we felt pretty safe dining here even during the pandemic.
If you are thinking there are too many things to do in Door County for just a day trip, you are right! If you want to turn your trip into a full weekend, check out Hotels.com for deals on Door County hotels. A weekend room at the Open Hearth Lodge is only $96 a night on Hotels.com, plus you can usually find additional discount codes at Retailmenot.com. To learn more about getting the best deals on your hotel, read our post here.
Book Now and Save at Hotels.comWhat are some of your favorite activities in Door County? Please share below!
Traveling with Pennies 