The Kook Aunty Guide to the Perfect Summer Camping Trip in Door County, Wisconsin

Getting to Door County, Wisconsin from San Francisco was not exactly my idea of fun. Our plane was stuck on the tarmac causing us to miss our connecting flight to Green Bay and United was not feeling our frantic phone calls. In the end, we decided on the kook alternative and decided to rent a car to drive four hours in the middle of the night rather than staying in a hotel for two nights in the Windy City.

Luckily, this traumatizing travel scenario was followed by the perfect Wisconsin workday from a friend’s cabin in Sister Bay AND the perfect summer camping trip!

 Curious how you can recreate the most idealistic campsite experience (even if you’re scared of spiders and are in the Wisconsin wilderness)?

8 Tips for Camping in Newport Park on Lake Michigan:

Tip 1: Canoe in

Out of everything that was used to entice me to visit this summer, my friends’ new canoe may have been what won me over. Having spent most of my youth convinced I was Pocahontas I envisaged a romantic trip across a crystalline lake, where I would decide which beaux (the handsome but serious one or the hot dummy one) I should marry.

In reality, my arms and shoulders were aching about five minutes into the paddle (my outrigger racing days were about fifteen years in my past) and I had no such beaux to speak of.

Still, moving across the water with the dock behind me and the jagged shoreline dotted with trees ahead was exactly the experience I had in mind. Plus, canoeing enabled us to bring in luxuries that walking in would not: camping chairs, firewood, a filled with sparkling drinks and beers, plus our packs.

 We unloaded at Rowley’s Bay Boat Ramp and paddled out and around to our campsite at the Wagon Trail Campground.

 Tip 2: Bring extra toilet paper to the crazy box

A couple of years ago, we went camping for a friend’s birthday in Northern California. A few of the campers took some shroomie goomies and when they went into the campsite’s outhouse, the spiders and other insects that clung to the wall made them feel as though they were in a “crazy box.” Thus, we have since referred to all such outhouses as the “crazy box” ever since.

 The crazy box near our campsite, luckily, only had a splattering of flies attached to the grated wires near the top. As someone with an acute fear of spiders, this felt much “safer” than previous crazy boxes I’d been in.

 However, there was clearly a sign that stated the outhouses were not maintained daily. Luckily, my friend had camped there many times before and brought a spare roll of toilet paper to have on hand when the original roll in the crazy box ran out.

 As a true kook with a love of camp food and coffee, this was an essential for camping in this spot overnight.

 Tip 3: Become one with the spiders

During that same previous trip, spiders had not only been in the crazy box, but they’d suddenly come crawling all over the ground toward our picnic bench. Knowing that there were quite a few people who could be sent into a bad trip if I allowed my baser instincts to kick in and freak out, I had adopted a zen-like attitude and pretended to be just fine.

The same can be said for camping in Wisconsin.

As soon as I let slip how terrified I was of the long-legged insects, both of my friends gave me a grim look.

 “If you’re afraid of spiders, Wisconsin is not the place for you.”

 It was too late, but something to keep in mind for any arachnophobes out there. They didn’t bother me, in the end, and my tent was zipped up tight so none got in at night.

 Tip 4: Play a board game with a beer

We were endlessly entertained with another round of HaiClue played on the bottom of the canoe which we’d flipped over to form a table.

 What’s great about that board game is that all the little pieces could be put into individually baggies and brought without the big box it comes in.

 After a full day, a good paddle out, setting up of the tent, and a short walk around the trails, sitting down for some ice cold beer and a game night was absolutely perfect.

Tip 5: Catch the sunset

After our game, we needed to walk off the haze that the beers had left on our mind. We headed down the trail along the coastline of the Peninsula until we reached a shoreline of rocks that gave us the perfect vantage point of water and horizon.

To be honest, I sometimes wonder why I have a desire to camp. I can do a day hike if I want to hike. I can cook a better meal on my own stove. I can sleep more comfortably in my own bed. I can avoid spiders (for the most part) in my apartment.

The answer: getting to experience all the wonders of a day without the rush to get home or do the next thing.

We took our time watching the radiating white, yellow, and orange hues, sending soft gray shadows against in contrast to the bottom of the clouds that fluffed against the sky that refused to darken to black.

 Tip 6: “Talk story” around a fire

In Hawaii, we refer to sitting around and telling stories/reminiscing/gossiping as “talking story.” It is an activity and is deeply engrained in the culture. I don’t get to see these friends often, so there’s a lot to catch up on during any trips together.

 With a fire crackling, the sun having disappeared for the night, we got to talk about nothing and everything at the same time.

 It’s the perfect activity for winding down before going to sleep for the night.

 Tip 7: Wake up for a jog

I tend to wake up fairly early while camping, which was perfect because it allowed me to go for a short jog along the trails and still make it back to our campsite in time for coffee before packing up to journey back to town.

Having canoed in the previous day, I hadn’t spent too much time exploring the woods the day before, so this jog was the perfect way to see more of the area. Soft sandy soil trails, dappled sunlight, endless trees, clear signs – it was ideal!

Tip 8: Enjoy coffee with a book before heading back to shore

Arriving back at the campsite, I had some camp coffee and sat in one of the camping chairs to read until we were ready to pack up and head back to town. I was leaving Wisconsin that evening and driving down to Green Bay to do so.  

We packed up, canoed across the lake, and arrived back at the cabin in Sister Bay before ten in the morning.

 There’s really nothing better than completing a full day before the day has really begun in my opinion, but I am a kook, so I suppose it’s important to take everything I say with a grain of salt.

 Still, the above is a pretty fool proof guide for the ultimate summer camping trip in Door County, Wisconsin.