The other season of Door County

We had an ice fishing charter trip planned up in Door County for the first weekend in March (which is normally a fine time for such a trip), but the weather conditions this winter did not support much ice coverage in most places that normally see pretty good conditions.  Many events in the region, such as the Battle on the Bago ice fishing tournament and the famous American Birkebeiner cross county ski race up in Hayward, were uncharacteristically canceled this year.  So naturally, but not unexpectedly, our ice fishing trip was also cancelled the the week of the trip.

Nonetheless, we went up to Door County anyway since the plans and lodging were already in place. Overall it was a great time to visit with reduced crowds and traffic, but many stores, restaurants, and farm stands were (of course) closed for the season.  The weather was mostly cloudy, but very tolerable in the upper 30s and low 40s.

We started our visit at Cave Point County Park and Whitefish Dunes State Park for some hiking.  Both sites had really limited ice coverage as compared to even the last couple of years we have been here.  There were not too many people out compated to summertime- we even were able to walk on the beach at Whitefish where the ice shoves normally would be piled high by now.

Cave Point County Park

Whitefish Dunes State Park 

Anyone want to take a dip in Lake Michigan?  Icy water!

Next we stopped at Stone's Throw Winery for a tasting, a new winery for us.  Their grapes are mostly sourced from California, so they have a lot of the drier wines that Scott likes.  It was a neat winery in an old barn, and a nice property.  They have boccie ball courts and a pizzeria that are open in the summertime.  We then stopped for some delicious sandwiches at Coyote Roadhouse right on Kangaroo Lake, the largest interior lake in Door County.

Stone's Throw Winery near Bailey's Harbor

Next up was Door County Brewing Company in Bailey's Harbor- a favorite for Scott!  They were actually quite busy and we had to use overflow parking.  While we were there, we started planning out the rest of the day- I discovered that there was an Aldo Leopold Weekend reading event of A Sand County Almanac at The Ridges Sanctuary just down the street.  Although we've been by the visitor center a number of times, we had never stopped in to see the nature center, so it was a good excuse.  We enjoyed the nature center and store, and then popped into the reading event, intending to stay for about 15 minutes, but stayed over an hour until the end.  Good thing we did because the last reader became a bit emotional and grabbed me in the front row to finish his reading for him.  We will definitely be back later in the year to walk the trails!

Door County Brewing Company, Bailey's Harbor

We checked in to our condo at The Landing Resort in Egg Harbor, which was very nice (and the off season price was too).  We had a view of the woods and a nice living room and kitchenette.  We ventured out after dark for dinner intending to hit up a restaurant that was supposed to be open for the off-season, but it was closed so we went with Wild Tomato as an alternative for pizza.  We got there late enough that there was some seating, and the wood fired pizza hit the spot!

The next morning, we were off to the famous Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant for breakfast and lucked out that there was immediate seating- we were also lucky they were open because they had been closed the previous week for renovations.  Lingonberry tea and eggs benedict, as usual!  Next up was a quick ride through Peninsula State Park, one of the hottest spots in Door County in season, but very quiet this time of the year.  Half of the park roads are closed for winter (including the area where the lighthouse is located), so we just auto-toured and stopped a few times to check things out. Two more winery stops, Harbor Ridge Winery and Simon Creek Vineyard & Winery, proved to be the best ones of the trip!  Harbor Ridge actually has a cheese tasting shop right next door- yum!  After tasting some award-winning cheeses from Wisconsin, your standards will be high enough that other cheeses will just not suffice.  Expensive habit, but we did buy a small piece of merlot cheese that was too good to pass up.  Simon Creek actually had some of their vineyards on site, so it reminded me of a lot of wineries I have been to in Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Eagle Panorama Overlook, Peninsula State Park- open water in the distance

Cheese tasting, anyone?  We tasted a couple of the world champions inside! 

Last stop of the trip was a 3 mile hike at Potawatomi State Park from the campground up to the viewing tower (which is closed) and back.  We didn't see another person- or any wildlife, other than tracks. A nice solitude winter hike to enjoy a quiet park.  The overnight trip provided a great chance to visit our parks and check out lots of new places!  Until next time...

 Ice Age Trail in winter

Sturgeon Bay still looking frozen, but lots of cracks and thin ice visible