Pretty Homes and Scenes in Door County’s Fish Creek
Last week the whole family headed up to Door County, Wisconsin for a five-day vacation in a beautiful modern farmhouse. We stayed in Baileys Harbor but the first place we visited was scenic Fish Creek.
I snapped some photos while walking around because this bayside town is so quaint and charming. A charming white church with limelight hydrangeas was one of the first points of interest I fell in love with.
Fish Creek is located on the bay side of the Door County peninsula, about an hour or so northeast of Green Bay. All of Door County is a vacationer’s delight. Fish Creek is probably the most bustling of the towns located here.
Along the main drag you’ll see pretty cottages and houses that have been turned into stores. Lots of flowers and nice landscaping makes Fish Creek pretty and inviting.
A two-story porch adds loads of charm to this downtown inn. One of the benefits of staying in Fish Creek is that you can walk to pretty much anything – parks, stores, coffee shops, the waterfront, and oodles of restaurants.
Here’s yet another inn located on the main drag. This is White Gull Inn where they host popular fish boils. We didn’t make it to any of the fish boils since most of my family doesn’t like fish and there were so many other things competing for our time.
I did capture a photo of vacationers enjoying the fish boil behind the inn. I don’t feel like I missed anything since we enjoyed a low country fish boil at our recent farm dinner.
To me, this image is iconic of summers in the U.S. As a kid, I always enjoyed a cold bottle of Orange Crush. The sign is perfectly placed above a flower container garden, with the American flag flying proudly above it. I wish all towns would consider their aesthetic appeal and make every corner and commercial building interesting like this one.
Even the apothecary shop is quaint and charming!
Gallery of Gold, which sells handcrafted jewelry, is housed in this charming white clapboard building with an amazing window and cupola. I didn’t go in many of the shops because that’s not what I do while vacationing. I did enjoy walking the main street and seeing the quaint buildings though.
The Alexander Noble House serves as a museum depicting life in Fish Creek during the late 1800s. Alexander was one of the founders of the town after immigrating from Scotland.
I’m not sure what’s housed in this building, but I like its simple architecture. It almost looks like it’s a place to stay overnight.
Near the water’s edge are plenty of single family homes and other places to rent. It’d be fun to own a home in Door County and rent it out when you’re not using it.
Some of the homes are big, and some are small and charming like this quaint cottage.
The sun started to set while walking around Fish Creek so I got a couple of pics with landscape lighting. The water is just behind this house so they have an amazing view.
Before leaving Fish Creek, I had to get a photo of the sun starting to set on the bay side of the peninsula. So pretty!
I hope you enjoyed my tour of Fish Creek. We ended up staying in Baileys Harbor which is on the Lake Michigan side of the peninsula. It’s known as the “quiet side” and I’ll share some photos of it in an upcoming post.
Have you been to Door County? I’d love to hear what some of your favorite places or activities are.
what a beautiful little place!
Glad you enjoyed it Charmaine!!
Thanks, this was so fun to see. you can show all of these kind of pictures you want. No i have never been but it looks like a lovely place to go and relax, i bet it’s pretty in the Fall.
Thanks, Marlene! When I first started my blog I wanted to share points of interest but that didn’t seem to happen as frequently as I had hoped. I need to work on that. 😉
I’m from Wisconsin and adore Door County – it was such a fun surprise to see this pop up on your blog! I’m glad you had a good time and look forward to more pictures & stories from your trip!
Thanks for sharing with all of us!
Thanks, Colleen! My cousins used to live in Baraboo so I’ve been up that way many, many times. I don’t know why we never went to Door County. I’m glad we visited though!
Loved this tour of a wonderful country town, all the pictures are great! You captured the small town living!
Thanks, Laura! I wish all towns were this quaint and charming. Every corner was so pretty!
I have been going to Door County for over 20 years during the month of October. Our group of ladies go for the Pumpkin Patch Festival that is held in Egg Harbor.
There are so many things to do and see, we still have a bucket list of sights to visit. You can find something new every time you visit.
Hi Cheryl! I’ve heard it’s beautiful in the fall. A friend of mine also goes to that Pumpkin Patch Festival and loves it. Egg Harbor was pretty – we briefly visited there and will need to explore more next time.
I have been visiting Door County all my life and even worked up there one summer in college. You captured some great shots of Fish Creek. The White Gull in was voted best breakfast in the U.S. by Good Morning America several years ago. I would suggest going there for that meal, but expect a wait. If you want natural beauty, I suggest Cave Point on the lake side of the peninsula. Taking the ferry to Washington Island is great too. There are so many things I love about this place!
Amy, you are so lucky to have visited (and worked in) Door County so many times. We did visit Cave Point and Washington Island. I’ll share some of that later. We went to Alexander’s restaurant and it was really good. Our favorite place for coffee was Bearded Heart in Baileys Harbor. Such a beautiful place!
Enjoyed the entire picturesque town! The homes are beautiful and I am partial to the cottage with the lights….my dream home right there! Thanks so much for sharing your vacation.
Yes, Char! I loved that cottage with the lights too. It was right on the water and right on the main street through town. Perfect location!
Oh my goodness! Our cousins’ reunion is in Fish Creek at the end of September! Most of us have never been and we can’t wait to visit. It’s just the girls this time so it looks like we’ll be enjoying ourselves from the moment we arrive! Thank you for this timely article.
Hi Monica!
You will love it there! So glad you’re getting to go for a reunion. It’s hard to do everything you want in one trip – so you might find yourself going back again. 🙂
I just love the architecture of these buildings. So beautiful. I would love to visit there. So glad you did and were able to let us enjoy these great photos!
Vicky, if you can make it to Door County sometime, you should go. There was plenty to see and do!
Been to Door County many times and stayed different locations, but found our favorite place, the Ephriam Motel, privately owned and comfortable. We love hiking in Newport Beach State Park and takng the ferry to Washington Island and exploring the island on bicycles or mopeds. Many opportunities for boat and lighthouse tours in Door County.
Hi Gail!
I thought Ephraim was beautiful – probably my favorite area from a “curb appeal” point of view. We didn’t make it to Newport Beach State Park, but I did take the ferry to Washington Island and rode the moped! I’ll put Newport Beach on my list for the next time we visit Door County. Thanks!
Hi Jennifer,
My daughter is the landscaper at Stones Throw Winery.
Thank you for noticing and sharing her beautiful gardens.
I have two daughters who live in Door County so I love so many places, Baileys is beautiful, but Ephraim is probably my favorite along with Red Pine and Toft walking trails.
I like the white houses they are so homey looking! I wouldn’t mind having one
Door County is on a peninsula not an island.
Hi Jennifer, I really enjoyed this post, as we have visited Door County several times pre-Covid, and always have had a wonderful time. We usually base in Sturgeon Bay, and take day trips up and down the peninsula. I love hunting through the thrift shops and scoping out a good bargain. The Colonial House Inn, White Lace Inn, and the The Chantacleer Bed & Breakfast (which is a real working sheep farm) are some of our favorite spots to stay. Browsing through your post helped me to relive some great times, as we haven’t been able to travel yet, for health reasons. I’m anxious to get back on the road and make some more memories. Stay safe in your travels!
I only visited Door County once during the time I lived in Chicago and the suburbs, but those fish boils are better tasting than they look and a lot of fun.
We have been to Door County several times. We stayed at the White Gull Inn a few years back and thoroughly enjoyed it. We experienced their famous fish boil and also their amazing breakfasts. I even bought their cookbook from their gift shop area so I can make their delicious recipes at home. In the summer all the flowers are so pretty outside all the shops and restaurants, and you can’t beat the Fall colors. Peninsula State Park is also not to be missed. Always something new to experience whenever we visit.
I grew up in Green Bay and day-tripping with my girlfriends to Door County was a yearly summer event for us ladies. You captured everything that is dear to my heart about the area. Especially Fish Creek which is my all-time favorite town to visit. I absolutely love this quaint little town. There is so much to see and do in Door County, you can’t go wrong with a visit to this area.
I highly recommend a trip to this beautiful area that we call the the “Cape Cod” of the Midwest!
If anyone is looking for an easy, sweet book to read, here is a great fictional book about Fish Creek:https://www.amazon.com/Bitter-Sweet-LaVyrle-Spencer-ebook/dp/B004WBJ4VY
I’ve added to my places to go when I eventually travel overseas again. So, so lovely Jennifer thank you for showing me somewhere I didn’t know existed.
I love your photos and your „report“!
Love these homes and business photos. I would like to visit…so scenic. Having lived in Santa Fe for awhile, years ago, I could never again live in a place that has a lot of tourism. You just don’t see a lot of this style of home around here and I do like them. Lol, glad I’m not the only person around who does not care for fish.