Top Things to do in Door County
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The 5 Best State Parks in Door County, Door County
Discover the best top things to do in Door County, United States including Peninsula State Park, Whitefish Dunes State Park, Ellison Bluff State Natural Area, Newport State Park, George K. Pinney County Park.
Restaurants in Door County
1. Peninsula State Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,680 reviews
This park's 3,775 acres have miles of hiking and biking trails, and clean, uncrowded beaches.
Reviewed By snorthey05 - Milwaukee, United States
Peninsula State Park is a Wisconsin treasure. Biking and hiking trails, a comfortable beach, a historic stop at the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse, serene drives and camping grounds. It is a must stop for us every single time we visit Door County.
2. Whitefish Dunes State Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 279 reviews
Reviewed By ChicaGracie
Lovely state park with beach access near protected sand dunes. There are multiple hiking paths, all of which are hilly, past dunes and through woods or wildflower fields. Lots of birds and insects to observe. A lovely park for a walk, job or run. So Much Poison Ivy! But if you stay on the trails, you will be fine.
3. Ellison Bluff State Natural Area
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 135 reviews
Reviewed By laurajuarez - Gurnee, United States
Quick detour off highway 47 leads you into a beautiful road with more than one tree bisecting the road. The overlook is right off the parking lot and breathtaking view of Lake Michigan. There are other longer paths that can be hiked too.
4. Newport State Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 161 reviews
Reviewed By ChicagoHiker2 - Naperville, United States
This was our first trip to Door County, Wisconsin. My wife and I enjoy walking, or hiking, so we decided to explore Newport State Park, on the Northeast end of the Door County peninsula. It was described as a Wilderness Park, and I would say that is an accurate statement. There are developed trails, throughout the park, including some wider paths that could be used for biking or a service vehicle, as there are several pit toilets that I'm sure need servicing, occasionally. We arrived in the morning, about 9:00 AM, and parked at parking lot P1. This was on a Tuesday, and there were approximately six cars parked at P1 on our arrival. There is a fee for parking in the Wisconsin State Parks. It can be purchased on-line and costs $38.00 for an entire year, (this is the fee for out-of-state travelers, it's less for state residents.) The state of Wisconsin will send you a sticker, for your car, within 30 days. If that's to long to wait, print out the receipt and display it on the left side of your front window dash. Back to our walk ... we noticed a "Poetry Trail" starting at the P1 parking area. Not being sure where it led or if it was a loop trial we walked down the road to P2 parking area, then found the Newport Trail and followed it along the Lake Michigan shoreline, passing Newport Bay, Sand Cove, Duck Bay and Varney Point. I had printed a map of the trails and park on-line, to help guide me. The same map was available from a kiosk, near the P1 parking area. (The kiosk was not staffed due to Covid-19.) As you proceed on the walk, you will come across a number of "wilderness campsites." A couple of these sites were being used by campers, but these are definitely "pack-in" sites, so if that was an interest, you would need to plan accordingly. Since this is a Dark Sky designated park, I would guess the stars would be amazing, there are no lights in this area. We ended up hiking a 6 mile loop route, that actually returned to P1 parking via the Rowley's Bay trail. This took us by the Poetry Trial, the one we had passed earlier, and led to P1 parking. By the way, there are Poetry Reading Stops along the Poetry Trail loop. We had packed a lunch, (sandwich, water, fruit, power bar), so we actually drove down to P3, and walked out to Lake Michigan, where we found a bench and had a beautiful view of Lake Michigan, while eating. The total time, (including eating lunch), was 4 hours. We will have to explore the trails to Europe Lake and Bay on a future trip. This was a great walk, I would definitely recommend!
5. George K. Pinney County Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 27 reviews
Reviewed By zeffantm - Dodgeville, United States
Towards the end of our trip to Door County we decided to find a good place to watch the sun set over Green Bay and this place didn't disappoint! After taking pictures we walked across the street and grabbed an easy geocache.
