Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Swimming
Do not take swimming lightly here. The concave bend of Whitefish Bay focuses all the
current, forming tough riptides. Predicting where these form is never entirely possible, and
there are no lifeguards.
You can always tell those who have explored the bay side of the peninsula first and then
backtracked through Sturgeon Bay to come back up this side. Generally, these are the ones
who race right through Jacksonport as if they didn't know it was there and then slam on the
brakes to turn around to try to find what they missed.
At one time, Jacksonport rivaled Fish Creek as epicenter of economic booms on the
Door. Once the local lumber was depleted, Jacksonport's docks were relegated to fishing
boats. The last community to be settled in the county, Jacksonport caught one of the Ger-
manic immigrant waves, and its annual
Maifest
(
www.jacksonport.org/maifest
)
is among
the larger shindigs held throughout the summer.
Somnolent Jacksonport today sports a few antique shops and gift cottages selling wares
and crafts from dozens of Door County artists. A lazy strand of sand acts as a beach, and
top-notch fun comes in the form of the sweets at the
Town Hall Bakery
(6225 WIS 57,
920/823-2116).
Right downtown is the pinnacle of Jacksonport's developmental ambition: the
Square
Rigger Lodge and Cottages
(6332 WIS 57, 920/823-2404,
www.squareriggerlodge.com
,
from $80/100 s/d). More than a dozen basic but comfortable modern motel/condo units
overlook the water (some do not), and most have private balconies or patios. One- to three-
bedroom cottages also line the waterfront. They have lively fish boils here nightly in July
and August, and four times a week in the off-season.
The supper club of choice is
Mr. G's
(5890 WIS 57, 920/823-2112, lunch and dinner
daily, $6-14), two miles south of downtown, with a ballroom that has in the past had live
entertainment,thoughmostentertainmenttodaycomesfromtalltalesatthejoint'sTikiBar,
which is more Jimmy Buffett than America's Cup to be sure.
