Click Here to read the October 20, 2006 New York Times article about the Door County real estate market.
What is Door County like?
With more shoreline than any county in the United States, there’s no place quite like Door County…think Cape Cod before it was overrun by chain stores and strip malls. A premiere tourist destination, national magazines and major metropolitan newspapers regularly feature the county and its wide range of natural and cultural attractions. Door County has done a remarkable job of providing modern conveniences without spoiling its wonderful old-time charm. Money Magazine calls Door County "One of the Top 10 Vacation Destinations in North America." With miles of shoreline, breathtaking scenery and quaint towns and villages, Door County is a traveler's respite. For year-round residents the ebb and flow of life revolves around tourism. The small population of the towns and villages, swells in the summer season and returns to normal by November.
Door County is a 65-mile peninsula on the northeastern tip of Wisconsin bordered by 250 miles of shoreline. Located approximately 230 miles north of Chicago, Door County is paradise to the 2.1 million vacationers who visit the area throughout the seasons. The peninsula appeals to everyone from the sophisticate to the outdoor survivor because of its combination of performing arts, picturesque parks, and remote beaches.
Five state parks lie along the water offering campers white sand beaches and miles of hiking trails. Peninsula, Newport, Whitefish Dunes and Potawatomi State Parks offer skiing, ski skating, snowshoeing and hiking trails. Backpackers and boaters will enjoy a trip to Rock Island State Park, accessible only by water, because of its 10 miles of hiking trails, solitude, and pristine, sand beaches. Another Door County wild place is the Ridges Sanctuary, which owns and manages 1,200 acres appreciated for its delicate wildflowers and rare and threatened plants.
Door County's beauty demands painting. As a result, the county attracts hundreds of emerging and established artists making it a nationally recognized arts community. Tucked away on every side road, the multi-media artists exhibit their work in numerous galleries dispersed throughout the quaint villages and in their homes. Art lovers can immerse themselves in art receptions or spend the week taking classes in literature, painting, music, history or more at Bjorklunden or The Clearing.
The quaint villages of Sister Bay, Ellison Bay, Ephraim, Fish Creek, Egg Harbor, Jacksonport and Baileys Harbor provide visitors specialty shops, restaurants or a respite on a park bench overlooking the water. Many resorts of Door County are family owned and managed establishments with individual style and charm. Each inn or resort upholds high standards of uncompromised personal service, discriminating elegance and attention to detail.
Door County is known for growing cherries and in mid-May the pink cherry blossoms fill the landscape signaling the beginning of the village festivals. Parades and art fairs are accompanied by art demonstrations, good food, and impromptu performances by actors and musicians. Sister Bay's Blossom Festival and Fall Festival attract thousands of visitors to enjoy the color of the seasons.
Performing arts are a major attraction in Door County. In summer, theatre under the stars from American Folklore Theatre or Door Shakespeare is part of the magic of the peninsula. Enjoy the sunset prior to the curtain rising at The Peninsula Players or enjoy the talent of internationally known musicians at the Peninsula Music Festival held each August at the Door Community Auditorium. Isadoora Theatre Company performs thought-provoking plays and musicals throughout the winter.
Door County is a rural area where the “locals” support themselves by tourism, farms both dairy and orchards, and industry heavy on ship building. There is limited logging from our forests. Most of the industry and ship building is located in Sturgeon Bay, the county seat and the largest populated community. Southern Door, south of Sturgeon Bay is mostly agricultural with a scattering of privately owned cottages along the Green Bay and Lake Michigan shores. Most of the tourism is located north of Sturgeon Bay and on the Green Bay shore. The center of the peninsula north of Sturgeon Bay as well kept dairy farms, apple and cherry orchards. it is not unusual to find the Lake Michigan side foggy and cool when the Green Bay side is sunny and nice. However, the best sand beaches are located on Lake Michigan at Newport and Whitefish Bay state parks. The Green Bay shoreline is rocky although each of the villages, Peninsula State Park and a very few resorts or motel do have sand beaches. Most of the Green Bay shoreline facilities do not have swimming beaches, Do not expect long strands of beaches with the motels lined up along them. That is simply not the case. There are ample beaches throughout the county to make swimming very enjoyable. The vast majority of places of accommodation are not directly on the shore.
Door County is exactly that, it is not just one place or village, it is the entire county. You will not find a two mile stretch with all the activities lined up and one fantasy land after another. We in the county simply do not want it that way and hope you do not either. Door County is a kind of “seek it out for yourself area”. You can be as active as you want to be or it’s a great place to loaf around an relax. There are probably more golf courses, tennis courts, beaches, riding stables, hiking trails, boating and fishing facilities, state parks, shops galleries, music festivals, summer theater and restaurants than anywhere in the midwest and no fantasy lands. Occasionally I hear hear someone say “well we drove up to the end and back today and I guess we’ve seen it all.” Well, Door County is not like Niagara Falls where you drive up, take a look and you have seen it. Door County is very scenic with its harbors (each village is on a harbor), forests , farms and orchards, and once your acclimatized to it, it almost becomes a state of mind.
During the ‘season” highway 42 gets quite busy and yet you can turn off on any side road and be the only car. Explore, it can be fun and scenic an you may just turn up that most interesting shop or gallery sitting off by itself.
