In July, we had the best family vacation in Door County. This post includes the activities we did, the restaurants we ate at, and some personal anecdotes so we can remember this great trip in the future. I hope this post helps you get some ideas for your next trip to Door County, WI.
Read More: Door County – The Perfect Wisconsin Getaway (+ Bucket List)
My mom and step-dad generously rented a house for the week and we were so happy my sister and her family could come for part of the trip as well. Having six adults to handle a toddler plus two babies was great! Each couple even got to spend a night out on a date night. All the kids received plenty of attention. Plus, with the children being similar ages the nap schedules were the same (hallelujah!).
The house was right on the water so our toddler Cora could go fishing with her dad every day. It was also situated steps away from an awesome playground and small beach.
The beach (Ellison Bay Beach) was never crowded and not extremely affected by the high waters all the other beaches in Door County seem to be this year. A few mornings we even had the beach all to ourselves. We may try to go again next year!
Another bonus was that the house was a ranch style. We didn’t have to deal with any baby gates.
Mom Travel Tip: If you are traveling with mobile babies make sure to remember to pack outlet plugs and portable high chairs.
Renting a house was ideal because then we didn’t have to eat out for every meal. We indulged in a few meals at restaurants but they were strategically planned around the kids’ nap schedules and spaced out throughout the week. Schlepping children out for every meal would have been a nightmare, plus expensive! One exception is that we never limit our ice cream intake on vacation.
Mom Travel Tip: If traveling with extended family make a tentative schedule of where and when you are going to eat out at restaurants. We all collaborated on a Google Doc to determine who was going to bring what food. You don’t want to end up with three loaves of bread and no peanut butter.
Here is the week-long itinerary that worked perfectly for our family in Door County with a toddler and a baby.
Read More: This is last year’s post – Door County with a Young Toddler.
Through perilous rain and wind (we could tell we just missed a few small tornados) we drove up to Door County. It was approximately a four-hour drive.
Being the planner I am, I had planned a stop at Bay Beach to let the toddler have tons of fun and get some energy out. Unfortunately, our timing had gone completely out the window when we woke up and realized our home air conditioner was broken.
The air conditioner had to be fixed immediately as one of my amazing cousins had agreed to house-sit for the entire week and we weren’t going to leave him and our dog without a/c during a hot week in July. Thankfully, my husband was able to get ahold of the person who initially installed our super weird air conditioner many years ago and he was able to come and repair it that morning!
In the end, Bay Beach probably wouldn’t have been doable in the storms. I’m hoping we’ll get to the amusement park next time we drive to Door County.
Mom Travel Tip: Speaking of dogsitting, it was my first time using Rover. I will absolutely be using this service again! You can pick local people to walk, board your dog, or house-sit during your vacations. We hired a lovely college girl to come in during the week to walk and give Benny some attention. This was the first time in many trips that our dog hasn’t anxiously bitten himself to the point of infection – you have no idea what a relief this was to me. If you look into Rover use this referral code to get $20 off your first booking!
Once we arrived at the house and unpacked, we called in our pizza order to Wild Tomato so we could pick it up to eat at the house. Make sure to call ahead to place your order early, especially on a weekend in summer!
For our first full day in Door County, we had to go to the beach. My toddler only asks to go to the beach five times a day in summer. It was so nice not to have to pack up the car full of all the beach essentials. We could walk down to the beach and if we found we needed more items someone was able to walk back to the house and get them.
Read More: Summer Essentials for Babies
Autumn (our 10-month-old) did eat a lot of sand. Thankfully, she loves her pacifier and it kept her from eating tons more sand than she already had consumed.
Though the water was cold, Cora didn’t mind one bit. We finally had to tell her it was time to go back once she was noticeably shaking from being in the water for so long.
We then enjoyed delicious cherry margaritas at Fred & Fuzzy’s while listening to great live music. I still can’t get over how high the water level currently is. In my entire life, I have never seen the lake this high. Entire piers were under water!
After appetizers and drinks, the whole family headed back to the house for a homemade meal of tacos.
Mom Travel Tip: When planning meals to cook on vacation keep them simple and fast to make, especially if traveling with children.
While my sister and her family were still with us on vacation we had to have our traditional breakfast at Al Johnson’s. We went very early so there was no wait!! Cora saw the goats on the roof (a super big deal for her). Everyone’s meals were delicious and we browsed through the fun gift shop before we left.
Across the street from Al Johnson’s is a great playground for the kids and the Sister Bay public beach (though a lot of it is under water this year).
On the way back to the house we all stopped at Seaquist Orchards to pick up a few gift items (and maybe to enjoy some food samples). Alex, I, and our girls ended up staying for a while because their outside area has a fun playset, ropes course, and pedal bikes (all free!!).
We dined on another homemade meal for dinner while my sister and her husband went on a date night. After our baby was in bed, Alex and I got to go to the playground with Cora (yay for grandparents!). I think she loved having both her parents give her undivided attention at the same time – she’s not used to having it.
Cora finished up the night by getting in some fishing with Alex right in the backyard.
Originally, I wanted to start the day by hiking The Ridges. We have never hiked there before because we usually have our dog with us in Door County. I didn’t even think to consider it wouldn’t open until 10. Our days with a baby and a toddler start much earlier than they used to.
UPDATE: We hiked The Ridges in 2020 and it was fantastic. There is a boardwalk if you want to bring a stroller but we wanted to hike more of the sanctuary besides just the boardwalk so we brought a hiking backpack for the toddler when she got tired.
Waiting until 10 was not a great option so we decided to hike at Newport State Park instead. Walking along the beach was great but hiking through the woods did have a lot of mosquitoes (my sworn enemy).
UPDATE: Newport also has a great secluded beach, Europe Bay Beach. We stayed for hours playing in the water and the sand.
Mom Travel Tip: At all times in the summer I carry mosquitos repellant wipes, sunscreen, sun hats, and baby powder (for getting sand off feet) in the diaper bag.
My step-dad suggested we stop at Uncle Tom’s Candy Store on the way back from Newport. I had never heard of this place. You can go to Door County your whole life and there will still be new places to discover. The chocolate bark samples were completely addicting. We had to turn down the free popcorn because Cora would have flipped over not being allowed to have any.
Next, we went into Sister Bay again. More time was spent on the playground. Then we all got gelato at Door County Creamery (so so good!!). Alex, I, and the girls played Jenga and Bags at the beer garden next to Al Johnson’s while enjoying some adult beverages.
During nap time I snuck away with my parents to go cider tasting. It was fun to try all the different flavors.
Dinner at The English Inn went surprisingly well with the kids in tow. There was so much food – lobster tails even came in addition to our meals. Cora loved seeing the koi fish outside the restaurant and we spent a lot of time looking at them before and after dinner. In the future, I would love to sit outside on the patio to dine but we didn’t want to annoy more people than we already were with our loud children.
For the first time ever, we decided to try putting the girls in a Burley. Alex and I rented bikes and a Burley at Nor Door, biked across the street, and completed the Sunset Trail through Peninsula State Park.
Autumn was definitely better behaved than Cora (shocker – not!) but we took breaks at the lighthouse and at the beach for snacks.
Mom Travel Tip: Always pack more snacks than you think will be necessary. Great snacks to keep in the diaper bag include; Goldfish, applesauce squeeze pouches, raisins, baby “puffs”, graham crackers, etc. Don’t forget separate sippy cups or water bottles.
I insisted on stopping for custard outside the park at Not Licked Yet. Cora thought Alex’s sundae looked far better than her plain chocolate custard so they switched. We pushed nap time a little too much because Cora was enjoying the ducks and playground at the restaurant.
That night Alex and I were able to go on a date to celebrate our 5 year anniversary.
I had planned a sunset sail for what I thought would be the perfect date night. Of course, the only time it rained our entire vacation was the two hours before we were scheduled to leave the dock.
By raining I mean it poured and there was lightning. Clearly, our sail was going to be canceled right? Nope – we called to check. Surprisingly, the weather did clear up and we had a great time on a small sailboat with two other couples.
I had borrowed my sister’s picnic backpack and we brought wine and snacks. The sail was wonderful. The sunset, not so much. Seriously, every other night of our entire week had a phenomenal sunset – oh, well. We didn’t mind, at least it didn’t rain.
Mom Travel Tip: It’s always better to pack too much wine than not enough.
In the future, it would be super fun to do the same sail with two other couples we know. We lucked out and had a fun group, but I could see if you ended up with lame people how it could hurt your experience.
Finally, Alex and I ended our date night with drinks and live music at Husby’s.
As a family, we spent more time at the beach.
My mom and stepdad had a well-deserved kid-free night and went on a date night themselves.
Alex, the girls, and I made dinner at the house and ate out on the back patio.
We then drove into Sister Bay for more ice cream (obviously) and gave Cora some time to run around the playground.
On our last full day, we had to take advantage of the beach again. For a while, we were the only ones there. The entire beach was ours – awesome!
During nap time, Alex and I were able to get in numerous tennis matches. He kicked my butt but I still loved playing. Also, to my defense, I’ve never even had tennis lessons except in gym class during which I spent most of my time flirting with the student-teacher/soccer coach (my flirtation was never reciprocated to my dismay).
Afterward, we all went to Wilson’s for our last ice cream of the trip. A bonus is that there is a playground directly next to Wilson’s.
Mom Travel Tip: Kids need a lot of exercise every day. Always scope out where you can find a great playground during your travels. Google usually has pictures of the playground equipment at each location so you will know if it is a good fit for your kids or not.
Cora was able to fish once more back at the house.
After packing up we made our way to Julie’s for breakfast. I see they now have wine/dessert hours, I will be putting that on my must-do list for next time.
On the drive back, we swung by my sister-in-law’s house to meet our brand new niece. The cherry (ha – get it?) on top of a great Door County vacation.
Wow, did I read a wide variety of books this month. Which means there should…
My children are all fans of the Trolls movies so when my daughter requested a…
September felt like a mediocre reading month. I had high expectations for a number of…
I guess it was the month of romance books but my absolute favorite read of…
Summer is going fast as always! Have you been fitting in some summer reading? I…
June wasn't the best reading month for me. I had no five-star reads. Plus, there…