How to spend a weekend in historic Fish Creek, Wisconsin

With an abundance of outdoor activities, unbeatable restaurants, and historic sites, a weekend trip can be packed full of things to do in historic Fish Creek.

Every year, Door County receives more than 2.5 million visitors who travel to the peninsula to experience the county’s waterfront views, state and county parks, and its fantastic culinary offerings. While there are several different towns and communities that visitors can stay in, Fish Creek, on the peninsula’s western side, offers an opportunity to stay in one of Wisconsin’s historic communities.

Much of Fish Creek’s history remains and is accessible, like the Skyway Drive-In Theatre, a 75-year-old drive-in movie theater, or the White Gull Inn, an inn and restaurant that’s been around for more than 120 years. While some of the community’s other great sites are recent additions—including a new environmentally conscious mini golf course—Fish Creek offers the best of both worlds when it comes to appreciating history and exploring new and innovative things to do.

Even though it’s not a large community, with a year-round population of just under 1,000 residents, there are still plenty of things to do in Fish Creek. From mini golf, to catching a movie at a drive-in theatre, to an abundance of outdoor activities and parks, there is more than enough to fill up a weekend in historic Fish Creek.

What’s the history of Fish Creek?

Fish Creek has always been named for its ideal location as a fishing spot, but it hasn’t always gone by the same name. The unincorporated community sits on the site of a Menominee and Ojibwa village that was called Ma-go-she-kah-ning, which means “trout fishing.” The area’s first settler was Increase Claflin and his family, in 1844, and the area, which attracted loggers and fishermen, had its first dock built in 1855 by Asa Thorp, who owned most of the land in the Fish Creek area. One of the community’s oldest buildings, the Alexander Noble House, was constructed in 1875. The building is still standing today, and is available to tour. By the start of the 20th century, seasonal tourists started arriving, and Fish Creek became a resort community.

Where is Fish Creek?

Located in Door County, Fish Creek is an unincorporated community that’s located within the town of Gibraltar. Door County has more than 19 communities, including a city, Sturgeon Bay, as well as several villages and towns.

How to get there

Fish Creek is on the western side of Door County, a peninsula in eastern Wisconsin that separates Green Bay and Lake Michigan. The unincorporated community can be reached by WI-42, a 135-mile state highway that spans the length of Door County.

Friday

Late afternoon activity

Sunset Beach Park

Main St.

Depending on how long it takes to get to Fish Creek, it might be nice to have a relaxing first night in the Door County community. That’s why spending the evening exploring Fish Creek’s Sunset Beach Park makes for an ideal activity before dinner. As its name suggests, the park and beach offers one of Door County’s best views of the picturesque sunset over Green Bay. The small park lies near downtown Fish Creek, at the end of the community’s Main Street.

Dinner

Pelletier’s Restaurant & Fish Boil

4199 Main St.

Normally, if your dinner is bursting into flame while it’s cooking, it’s not a good sign. But if you’re at a Door County fish boil, it’s a sign of great things to come. Visitors to Door County haven’t fully experienced a trip to the peninsula without attending a fish boil, so stop by Pelletier’s Restaurant & Fish Boil in downtown Fish Creek for dinner on the first night in. Traditional fish boils are an important part of Door County’s culture, as a large pot filled with water, salt, and of course, fish, is placed over an open fire. As the fish cooks, its oil rises to the surface of the water, and fuel is continually put on the fire, which results in something that looks like a massive inferno, and one of the most delicious meals you can find throughout the state. The restaurant serves breakfast and lunch as well, while reservations are required for the highly popular nightly fish boil. 

Dessert

Not Licked Yet Frozen Custard

4054 Main St.

What meal is complete without dessert? Not Licked Yet Frozen Custard, located on Main Street in Fish Creek, makes for a perfect post-dinner treat. The frozen custard shop was first opened in 1982 by Susie and Clay Zielke, when it solely served the frozen dessert, but in the four decades since it opened, the restaurant’s menu has expanded to also include sandwiches, burgers, and pies, which can be purchased by the slice. Not Licked Yet Frozen Custard sources its ingredients from local producers, and has a unique flavor of the day every day that the frozen custard restaurant is open throughout its season.

Saturday

Breakfast

Shiny Moon Cafe

4164 Main St.

Fish Creek is beloved for its history, but some of the community’s newest additions are worth a visit as well. Shiny Moon Cafe, a breakfast eatery with a lengthy coffee menu, first opened in 2021. The restaurant is located above the Fish Creek Market, and focuses on creating menu items that were grown through sustainable agricultural practices and produced by local farmers. Shiny Moon Cafe offers breakfast items like biscuit sandwiches, served with a selection of greens, egg skillets, and baked goods.

Mid-morning activity

Fish Creek Scenic Boat Tours

9448 Spruce St.

As the peninsula is surrounded by both Lake Michigan and Green Bay, there are plenty of ways to get out on the water in Door County, including taking a tour with Fish Creek Scenic Boat Tours. The tour boat company, which has been operating since 2011, offers four tours that explore the nearby islands and Fish Creek’s scenic coastline. In addition to its regularly-offered tours, Fish Creek Scenic Boat Tours also offers several specialty tours with limited availability on holidays or during special events, including a 2.5-hour fireworks and live music cruise to Egg Harbor around the 4th of July holiday.

Lunch

Bayside Tavern

4160 Main St.

A lot has changed at the Bayside Tavern since it first opened in 1975, including the restaurant’s decor—they’ve removed the shag carpeting and harvest gold paneling. But one thing that’s always remained over the restaurant’s five decades in business is its family-friendly atmosphere (it’s been owned by the MacDonald family for 50 years), and its dedication to providing Fish Creek with hearty lunch and dinner options, and a bevy of beers and sodas to sip on as well. Try the Hot Turkey MJ sandwich, filled with turkey, Monterey jack cheese, lettuce, and mayonnaise, or go for a locally-sourced option, like the whitefish cakes, served with sauteed onions and greens.

Afternoon activity

Evergreen Miniature Golf

3865 WI-42

There are several golf courses throughout Door County, but if you don’t have time to fit in a regular round of 18 holes, why not try a miniature round? Evergreen Miniature Golf, which is open seasonally, places an emphasis on being environmentally-friendly. The course, which opened in 2022, is fully wooded and uses a permeable surface, which allows water to run through it, throughout much of the course. The family-friendly course is even open at night, when it offers Glow Ball, with illuminated golf balls that are visible along the 18-hole course even after the sun goes down.

The 18-hole miniature golf course is environmentally-friendly, and can be played at night. (Evergreen Miniature Golf)

Drinks

Lautenbach’s Orchard Country Winery & Market

9197 WI-42

Sitting on 100 acres, Lautenbach’s Orchard Country Winery & Market is a family-owned farm that’s also home to a cider mill and winery. That’s why it’s an ideal spot to grab a glass of wine before dinner. Enjoy a glass, bottle, or make your own tasting flight of Lautenbach’s wine samplings. Lautenbach’s has two parts of its name, though, and isn’t just a winery. It also is a marketplace, serving up some of the finest locally-sourced food within Door County, including bread mixes, jam, and pie filling.

Dinner

Wild Tomato Wood-Fired Pizza & Grille

4023 WI-42

Many of the most beloved restaurants in Door County are old-school supper clubs, but there’s at least one that bucks that tradition: Wild Tomato Wood-Fired Pizza & Grille. The Fish Creek pizzeria first opened its doors in 2008, and is located directly across from the main entrance of Peninsula State Park. In the years since opening in Fish Creek, Wild Tomato Wood-Fired Pizza & Grille started operating a second location in Sister Bay. Both locations are well-loved for their creative selections of pizza, including the Old School, which has grilled chicken and caramelized onions over a barbecue sauce base, or The Green & Gold, named for the nearby Green Bay Packers, which comes with grilled chicken, bacon, grilled broccoli, spinach, and is topped with Wisconsin cheese curds. Customers can also create their own custom pies, or try one of the restaurant’s sandwiches or salads, along with a selection of appetizers.

Wild Tomato Wood-Fired Pizza & Grille has two locations in Door County, Fish Creek and Sister Bay. (Wild Tomato Wood-Fired Pizza & Grille)

Nighttime activity

Skyway Drive-In Theatre

3475 WI-42

There aren’t that many drive-in theatres left in Wisconsin, and Fish Creek is home to one of the few that remains: the Skyway Drive-In Theatre. Everything feels nostalgic about the theater, which was first opened in 1950 by brothers Orville and Elton Voeks. In its 75-year run, the business has only changed hands three times, from the Voeks brothers to Darrell and Eileen Jacobson, who purchased it in 1981, and now the Jacobson’s children, Jeffrey and Dale, who took over in 1999. The theater has an old-school snack bar serving up treats like fresh popcorn with real butter, hot dogs, nachos, and an assortment of candy and soft drinks. It shows films nightly from June through Labor Day, and on the weekends in May, September, and October.

Skyway Drive-In Theatre was first opened in 1950, and has only had three sets of owners in its 75 years of operation. (Skyway Drive-In Theatre)

Sunday

Breakfast

White Gull Inn

4225 Main St.

The White Gull Inn has been in the Coulson family since 1972, but it’s been in existence for much longer than that. The inn and restaurant, which offers breakfast, lunch, candlelight dinners, and fish boils, was first established in 1896. While the year-round inn has 17 rooms, suites, cottages, and homes for guests to stay in, you don’t have to stay overnight to enjoy its delicious offerings. The White Gull Inn’s breakfast menu has several options that are filled with Door County cherries, including the Door County cherry-stuffed French toast, which is served with Wisconsin cream cheese and Door County maple syrup. 

The White Gull Inn was first established in 1896, but has been owned by the same family since the 1980s. (White Gull Inn)

Mid-morning activity

Alexander Noble House Museum

4167 Main St.

The Alexander Noble House Museum is one of the oldest structures in Fish Creek, and was formerly the home of Alexander Noble. The Fish Creek resident was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1829, and moved to Chambers Island in 1856. Noble built the first sawmill on the island, and moved to Fish Creek in 1862, becoming one of the small community’s founders. Today, his 10-room home is managed by the Gibraltar Historical Association, who operate it as a museum that showcases the history of Noble’s life, and what Fish Creek was like in the late 19th century. The museum is open Tuesdays through Sundays, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Coffee break and lunch

Blue Horse Beach Cafe

4113 Main St.

After a weekend jam-packed with activities, it makes perfect sense that any Fish Creek visitor would need a caffeinated boost. Stop by Blue Horse Beach Cafe, where you can enjoy year-round views of Green Bay while sipping on some java. The cafe’s all-day breakfast menu contains breakfast sandwiches, like Tuscan egg, with tomato pesto, feta cheese, pickled onions, egg, turkey, and provolone cheese. The Blue Horse Beach Cafe also offers all-day lunch, as well as several espresso options and signature drinks.

The Blue Horse Beach Cafe serves espresso drinks, breakfast sandwiches and baked goods on Fish Creek’s Main Street. (Blue Horse Beach Cafe)

Afternoon activity

Peninsula State Park

9462 Shore Road

There’s a reason that Door County has so many visitors during the summer—it’s a great place to explore the outdoors. There are few better places to be outside throughout the county than its state and county parks, including Peninsula State Park in Fish Creek. The state park was first established in 1909 and is more than 3,776 acres, including eight miles along the Green Bay shoreline. Visitors to the park can kayak, swim at Nicolet Beach, hike more than 20 miles of trails, and explore Eagle Bluff Lighthouse, which was built in 1868 and continues to guide boats through the Strawberry Channel. 

Dinner

The English Inn

3713 WI-42

The English Inn might sound as if it only serves British standards, but the Door County restaurant serves up some of the area’s finest supper club cuisine. The English Inn’s menu has summertime favorites, like fresh-caught Door County whitefish, which can be served four different ways. The restaurant’s food isn’t the only attraction—its lengthy history is as well. The site used to be a lumber mill more than a century ago, and the entrance, bar area, and one of its dining rooms are all housed in the original lumber mill building. Fish Creek isn’t the only spot where you can find The English’s Inn’s elegant supper club fare. Owner Randy Daubner opened up a second location in Green Bay in 2014, in case Fish Creek visitors want to grab dinner on the way back home after a weekend in Door County.

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