10 ways to experience Door County in the fall

From fall foliage to ghost tours, these are the best ways to experience Door County in the fall.

Between all of its beaches, hiking trails, and opportunities to eat fresh cherries, Door County, a county and peninsula that lies between Green Bay and Lake Michigan, is a summer paradise. But it’s no slouch in the fall, either. Millions of people travel up to the Wisconsin peninsula every year to experience its summer fun, but it’s just as popular throughout the fall, too. 

Between fall festivals and some of the most beautiful fall foliage spots in the Midwest, there’s tons of traditional fall fun to be had. But there are also ways to uniquely experience the season in Door County, like taking a scenic boat tour or warming up from the chilly outdoors with one of Wisconsin’s most beloved beverages.

From fall staples like leaf peeping and apple picking to more unique opportunities that are only available in a place like Door County, here are some of the best ways to experience Door County in the fall. 

1. Go leaf peeping

If you’re heading up to Door County to take in the beautiful views of the peninsula’s fall colors, you won’t be alone. Every year, more than 2.5 million people visit Door County, and fall is one of the most popular and spectacular times of year to plan a trip, thanks to the fall colors.

One of the best drives to see fall foliage is leaving Fish Creek and driving along Skyline Road, stopping at Sven’s Bluff, a high peak that serves as an overlook for the fall colors below. Or, drive along Highway 42 in Ellison Bay—a highway that curves back and forth and offers a stunning view of foliage during the fall.

While there’s no shortage of beauty to be found anywhere in the peninsula, when it comes to leaf peeping, serious fans of fall colors should follow along with Travel Wisconsin’s fall color report. The report offers live updates on peak times and locations to see the best fall foliage. 

Photo courtesy of Jacob Kiesow/Unsplash.

2. Pick some apples at Door County Fruit Connection

5807 WI-42, Sturgeon Bay

Door County may be best known for its cherries, which are in season throughout the summer months. But that’s not the only fruit that’s worth sampling on the peninsula. Door County is home to plenty of apple orchards, including the one at Door County Fruit Connection, where visitors can pick their own apples to bring home.

The farm and orchard are open from July through October and grow several different types of fruit. Door County Fruit Connection updates its website weekly, listing what fruit is in season and able to be picked, and is open Fridays through Mondays, from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m.

3. Get lost in DENN’s corn maze

2050 County Road DK, Sturgeon Bay

It’s not typical to recommend a home decor store as a must-see fall destination, but DENN isn’t a typical place. The store is packed with Wisconsin-themed decor, including cheese curd-scented lip balm and locally-produced lotions, but also has so much more to offer in terms of fall fun, including its massive corn maze. This year, the maze is themed around the board game Chutes and Ladders and has several games inside the maze to play while you try and find your way through, like Plinko and a mini golf hole.

The maze costs $10 for ages 16 and up, $8 for kids ages 3 to 15, and is free for anyone under the age of 3. The price also includes access to a picnic area, playground, a collection of yard games and a swing set for adults, because the fun’s not just reserved for kids. 

4. Take part in the Door County Fall 50

Some people run 5K races in the fall to celebrate holidays like Thanksgiving. Others run 50 miles through Door County as part of the Door County Fall 50. Kicking off in Gills Rock and finishing in Sturgeon Bay, the lengthy race, which is held Oct. 26, hugs Door County’s shoreline throughout its duration.

You don’t have to be an ultramarathon runner to participate, either. Although the race is 50 miles long, it can be broken up, and participants can run it as a team of between two to five members. Or, the daring (or seasoned ultramarathon runners) can take on the race solo, running the entire 50-mile distance. The race has been an autumn staple in Door County since its inaugural run in 2006. Participants can sign up on the Door County Fall 50’s website.

Photo courtesy of Mike Roemer/Door County Fall 50.

5. Sip on some cider

You can drink ciders all year long, but they’re arguably at their peak in the fall when seasonably appropriate. Sample some locally-produced ciders at the Island Orchard Cider taproom in Ellison Bay, which has classic ciders on tap, including the apple cherry ($3 for a flight, $6 for a glass), and apple lavender ($3 for a flight, $6 for a glass). There’s also non-alcoholic apple cider available from a local orchard for non-drinkers and kids.

Have even more cider, and fall fun, at the Fall Fun Fest and Cider Pressing Party on Washington Island. The event will be held on Oct. 12 and 13, at the Washington Island Farm Museum. It will feature wagon rides, games, and plenty of fall foods, including chili, caramel apples, and of course, freshly-pressed cider.

6. Take a ghost tour of the peninsula

8030 Highway 42, Egg Harbor

Fall’s not just the time of year to enjoy pumpkin-flavored treats and admire the fall foliage— it’s also the perfect time to get spooked. As Halloween inches closer throughout the fall, there are more and more opportunities to find a good scare, too. An ideal way to do that in Door County is by taking Door County Trolley’s Trolley of the Doomed Door County Ghost Tour. 

Each tour kicks off at the Door County Trolley station in Egg Harbor, and travels throughout the peninsula for the tour’s two hour and fifteen minute duration. The tour doesn’t just operate for the spooky season, it runs from May through the beginning of November each year, and costs $39.95 for adults and teenagers over the age of 16, and $34.95 for children between the ages of 5 and 15.

Photo courtesy of Door County Trolley via Instagram.

7. Take in a brandy old-fashioned at a supper club

In Wisconsin, you can go to a regular restaurant for dinner and have an everyday dining experience. Or, you can go to a supper club and have some unforgettable Wisconsin cuisine. Supper clubs are set apart from typical restaurants because they offer a more intimate experience with limited seating and a fixed menu. There are more than 250 supper clubs throughout Wisconsin, including a handful located in Door County.

One of the area’s best is Donny’s Glidden Lodge in Sturgeon Bay. The supper club serves a wide range of fresh fish, steaks and other entrees to choose from, but there’s one non-negotiable when ordering at a supper club: a brandy old-fashioned is a must.

8. Hike through the county’s state parks

One of the best ways to see Door County’s famous fall colors is by getting out and walking among them, and that’s easy to do at one of the county’s numerous state parks. The county is home to five of Wisconsin’s 51 state parks, the most of any individual county in the state, as well as a state trail, the Ahnapee State Trail, which runs for 48 miles between Algoma and Kewaunee.

All of the county’s state parks are along either the Lake Michigan or Green Bay shoreline, and are ideal for venturing out on the water, and they all have plenty of hiking and biking trails, where visitors can enjoy the last bits of fall weather before winter begins. One of the standout trails at Potawatomi State Park in Sturgeon Bay is Tower Trail, which climbs to its highest point at 120 feet, offering a tremendous view of the fall foliage below.

9. Go camping on Rock Island

For some, fall is the time of year when much more time is spent indoors rather than outdoors. For others, that couldn’t be further from the truth. For outdoors lovers, it’s an ideal time to pitch a tent and go camping — and if you’re in Door County, there are few better places to camp than Rock Island State Park.

Unlike other state parks in Door County, Rock Island State Park encompasses an entire island. It’s also bare bones — no cars are allowed on the island, which offers 40 primitive walk-in campsites. The island has 10 miles of hiking trails, including the Thordarson loop trail, which spans Rock Island’s 5.2-mile-long circumference. Plan an early fall trip because the Rock Island ferry only runs until the second Monday in October.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Mayer/CC BY-SA 2.0.

10. Hop aboard a fall boat tour

There’s something so fun about hopping on a boat in Door County in the summer, going island hopping, and enjoying the waves found in Death’s Door Crossing. But boat rides can be even more enjoyable in the fall. When all of the colors of the leaves have changed along the peninsula’s shoreline, taking a scenic boat ride can be the perfect way to check out the fall colors. You don’t need a boat to head out on the water either — take a tour with Sister Bay Scenic Boat Tours.

The boat tour company offers either two or three different tour options to choose from: a 90-minute tour that passes the Peninsula Park caves and the Eagle Bluff lighthouse, a two-hour tour that goes to the county’s famous Death’s Door Crossing, where the waters of Green Bay meet with the waters of Lake Michigan or a nearly two-hour long sunset live music cruise. Make sure to schedule a tour in the early weeks of the season, as Sister Bay Scenic Boat Tours doesn’t offer any tours past Oct. 15.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.