Charleston Living Magazine Nov-Dec 2021

TRAVEL
Occupying a narrow peninsula that juts into Lake Michigan
just above Green Bay, Door County is often referred to as the Cape
Cod of the Midwest, and it’s easy to see why. Atmospheric villages
with names like Egg Harbor and Sister Bay rim a coastline that’s
dotted with lighthouses and marinas; within the interior, shady
woodlands give way to cherry orchards (it’s one of the top sour
cherry-producing regions in the country) and neat farms where
cows graze beside red barns.
During the summer months, visitors come to hike and bike
through expansive state parks, swim in Lake Michigan’s bracing
water, and sail toward brilliant sunsets. Winter brings ice fishing,
snowmobiling, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and, during certain
weekends, candlelight tours of the woods on cross-country skis.
Holiday festivals such as Sturgeon Bay’s Festival of Trees, Ephraim’s
Luminary walks, and spirited gatherings in Baileys Harbor, Sister
Bay, Ephraim, Egg Harbor, and Ellison Bay are filled with hot drinks,
festive lights, sleigh rides, and lots of shopping at Scandinavianthemed
holiday markets. The northern lights also begin to make their
presence known with bright wisps of color in the nighttime skies.
But what sets Door County apart from other outdoor wonderlands
is the community of artists and makers who occupy its more
than 100 galleries, studios, workshops and theatres.
One of the first establishments to focus exclusively on Door
County artists is the Hardy Gallery, which opened in 1961 and occupies
a 19th-century warehouse set on the dock in Ephraim. Though
PHOTOS JOHN NIENHUIS
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