You have to understand that I live in a landlocked state, Colorado. So when I see the ocean, I get giddy. I love my home state, don’t get me wrong, but seeing something so different is a real treat. Get me to a coast and I’m happy, marveling at the great expanse of ocean. But an autumn trip to Door County, Wisconsin, flying in over the massive Great Lakes, showed me that I didn’t HAVE to fly to one coast or another to enjoy the benefits of a water-centric area. Located on a peninsula between Green Bay and Lake Michigan and known for its long shoreline, Door County provides lots of big water enjoyment.

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While Door County, Wisconsin offers year-round fun (I hear cherry-picking time is pretty smashing), I visited in October. I was worried I was going to miss displays of fall leaves on all of the many tree-lined roads, but due to an unusually warm fall, most of the leaves hadn’t turned yet, leaving lovely shaded drives. As the week progressed though, more and more colors emerged and we anxiously pulled over to capture the colors with our cameras as proof that we really had visited in the fall! The scenes of reds and golds towering over red barns and vast farm fields was just beautiful. Here, then, are my recommendations for the makings of 3 perfect days “falling” for Door County.

If it’s Wisconsin, it has to be cheese curds. But not everyone does them quite the same way. We loved these, cheese-drizzled-with-cheese, at Sister Bay Bowl.

Day 1 on the Door County itinerary:

I like arriving places in the afternoon, in time for an early dinner, a low-key evening and the chance to turn in early since travel days are usually tiring. Plus, I like to be raring to go for the first full day. My travel companions and I did it up right, starting with dinner at Sister Bay Bowl, an authentic, family-owned supper club. The Supper Club concept was very popular in the 1950’s and 60’s as places where people dressed up a bit, and made an entire evening having drinks, dinner and conversation with regulars. It was often the main opportunity to get together with friends after a busy week. It’s Wisconsin, after all, so pretty much every restaurant offers Cheese Curds and Fried Perch, but Sister Bay is known for theirs and with good reason. The Curds come drizzled with a little cheese and the mild Lake Perch benefits from the breading and a nice, golden fry.

We watched the sun set over Sister Bay itself, on a leisurely cruise from Sister Bay Scenic Boat Tours. With cocktails served and a gentleman playing guitar and singing, along with beautiful views of lighthouses, cliffs, twinkling county lights… I was in love with Door County before I’d even begun exploring.

Enjoy a sail on the Sister Bay Scenic boat during your autumn in Door County.

Day 2 in Door County in the Fall:

To fuel our day, we grabbed some quiche, homemade pastry, strong coffee and lively conversation at A Little Bit of Coffee, a charming shop on the water.

Door County is famous for its lighthouses and maritime existence so we toured the Door County Maritime Museum on the working waterfront of Sturgeon Bay. Here you’ll get to try your hand at guiding a boat into the dock, virtually (it’s a lot harder than you think), see beautiful model boats, big and small, learn about the history of the area and see how the actual lights of light houses, using the Fresnel lens, really work (it’s more complicated than you think).

Although there’s an entire lighthouse tour you can take, with the time we had, we focused on the Sturgeon Bay Canal Station Lighthouse. Right on Lake Michigan, the pier was constructed in 1991. The light guided ships into the entrance of the canal. Equipped with alternating red and white flashes, ships could see it from as far as 50 miles away. Walking the pier was  interesting and dramatic, especially with occasional waves hitting it.

The Sturgeon Bay Canal lighthouse, viewed looking back from the dock.

A view from the dock of the bay. Watch your step, it can get slippery.

Grab a bite at the Bistro at Liberty Square where you can not only get a plentiful lunch (best Tuna Melt I’ve ever had), but you can fit in some shopping too.

Wisconsin is known for cherries but apples also reign supreme. A stop at Seaquist Orchards is a must, with actual apple and cherry orchards surrounding the property (which were hanging heavy with beautiful apples mid-October). The farm store carries produce, of course, but also baked goods (fresh apple pie, anyone?), jams, sauces and salsas, made on-site. Being so close to Halloween, the front of the store was especially charming with pumpkins galore, hay bales and scarecrows to greet us.

A tree heavy with apples in the orchards of Seaquist Orchards.

We stopped at Island Orchard Cider in Ellison Bay where they make Wisconsin Hard Apple and Hard Cherry Ciders. They follow the Normandy tradition creating sparkling, dry sips. We sampled an experimental lavender-infused cider that was heavenly.

After dinner of salad and wood-fired pizzas at Wild Tomato Wood-Fired Pizza, with their water-side patio, we headed to a real treat of a theater experience. The Peninsula Players Theatre in the Garden is America’s oldest professional resident summer theater, having started in 1935. Plan to arrive early and step down from the parking lot, into a forest oasis with a meandering tail, twinkling white lights strung in the trees, and the waters-edge glow of a bonfire. Watching a red sunset, sitting in an Adirondack chair on the rocky shore, with the warmth of the fire behind me, it  was an evening I’ll never forget. With every new piece of wood (some from old sets) thrown on the fire, ooo’s and ahhh’s from the crowd celebrated the new rush of flame. I put my worry-wart tendencies aside to take in this rare, theatrical evening. And that was before the play, which occurs in the theatre itself with sides that raise or lower depending on the weather. Performances are top-notch with professional actors who spend the summer in residence.

Warm up by the fire before the show at the Peninsula Players Theatre.

Day 3 of a Door County itinerary for Fall:

Breakfast at Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant. We’d been waiting for this, having seen what makes the restaurant a standout from the road – goats on the roof, depending on the weather! What started out as a prank, grew into one adorable draw to this restaurant that specializes in Swedish pancakes with real lingonberries and Swedish meatballs. A couple passed me out front, saying “that’s cute that they have fake goats up there.” When I told them they were real and encouraged them to watch closely as one goat’s chinny-chin-chin fur waved in the breeze, they just couldn’t believe it.

Why, yes, those are goats on the roof of Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant. And on a grass roof, no less.

Hungry for more? Consider Al Johnson’s Restaurant through the eyes of a Swedish patron.

After breakfast, why not a nibble of cheese? Door Artisan Cheese Company was started by Mike Brennenstuhl, who, in his mid-life, decided he wanted to make cheese. That he does, with his crew of fellow master cheesemakers, in plain view of shoppers. You can ask them questions from behind the glass, as they stir and strain different cheeses each day. We got a peek downstairs into Brennenstuhl’s stunning cheese cave where more staff take the next important steps in aging, turning, and finishing the cheeses. It was an amazing site. The Door Artisan Cheese Company is also a place to buy cheese, meats, drinks and other staples (plan a picnic!). But there’s also a coffee shop and a restaurant that are all part of this grand building. I was very impressed that Brennenstuhl took on this massive project out of a passion for it all.

The cheese cave at Door Artisan Cheese is where the aging process happens for all of the cheeses made upstairs in the shop.

Hungry for more? Hear our podcast with the owner of Door Artisan Cheese.

Nearby, take a tour and do some sampling at Door Peninsula Winery and Door County Distillery housed in an historic schoolhouse. It’s unusual to find a winery and distillery under one roof.

We lunched at Wilson’s Restaurant & Ice Cream Parlor, another quintessential Door County stop (there are so many!). This is truly an old-fashioned soda fountain experience. Be sure to try their home-brewed draft root beer and their flame broiled burgers while playing the tune of your choice on the juke box.

Work off the food of the day (so far), with some gallery-hopping. The Francis Hardy Center for the Arts is a box of a place, jutting out into the water. People are encouraged to write names and important dates on the side of the building, creating an unusual work of art in itself. Inside, find daring and interesting, rotating exhibits. The Fine Line Designs Gallery & Sculpture Garden offers a variety of paintings, ceramics, jewelry and sculptures. Clay Bay Pottery is a husband-wife team plus fellow artists who focus on beautiful pottery, in a charming house. Turtle Ridge Gallery feels as much like a boutique as art gallery, with a working studio upstairs making wearable art and home décor.

The Frances Hardy Center for the Arts, in Door County, Wisconsin.

Dinner was a highlight. We’d been seeing plumes of smoke rising here and there since we arrived and were told “you’ll see, you’ll see.” At Rowleys Bay Restaurant, we got a front row seat to a traditional Door County fish boil that features Lake Michigan whitefish, steamed potatoes and other vegetables. Done just the way Scandinavian settlers did it 100 years ago, the whole shebang is cooked outside in a big pot. Boiling away, hot oil meets flames and whoosh! Make sure you’re standing where the cooks tell you to or you’ll have singed eyebrows. It’s a mild-tasting meal but includes a full buffet of many other flavorful items and a pre-dinner, one-man-history show. Don’t do Door County without this experience.

Hungry for more? Learn the heritage of the Fish Boil.

Views of the water are never far, wherever you’re driving on this narrow peninsula, which was thrilling for me. Long stretches of tree-lined country lanes allowed peeks of shimmering waters. Those roads led us up and down the strip, discovering the quaint and traditional along with modern and exciting, all with the sweet smells of fall in the air. I hope to explore Door County in other seasons too, but for now, I can highly recommend a bounty of things to do and see in the autumn.

— Article and photos by Courtney Drake-McDonough for RealFoodTraveler.com

If you have more time:

Take in the great outdoors in Door County. There’s Peninsula State Park with rocky bluffs and great hiking, biking, boating, golfing and swimming to be done. The Walk Sentinel Trail is a leisurely walk that goes past stands of maple and red pine stands. The Sunset Trail is a 10-mile easy bike path through marshland, cliffs and trees.

Where to sleep:

High Point Inn overlooks the water from its hill-top vantage point, offering elegant hominess.

Orphan Annie’s Schoolhouse Inn is literally in an old schoolhouse. You won’t mind staying after school in one of the old classrooms converted into a bedroom and bathroom.

Bailey’s Harbor Yacht Club feels like a beachside cottage with spacious rooms, many of which have their own patio overlooking lush grounds.

Learn more about Door County, here.

Hungry for more? See what the connection is between Wisconsin and Frank Lloyd Wright.