Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
You'll find the best views of the bay and solitude at the largest park in the county,
Door
Bluff Headlands,
almost 200 acres of wild trails and woodland. From WIS 42, take Cot-
tage Road to Garrett Bay Road.
Scuba divers come to Gills Rock for underwater archaeology. Beneath the surface
of local waters lie more than 200 wrecks, and the State Historical Society has ongoing
“digs” on its Wisconsin Maritime Trails project. (If you can't suit up, the local visitor cen-
ters have maps of land-based information markers pointing out wreck sites from shore;
link up at
www.maritimetrails.org
.) The
Shoreline Resort
(920/854-2606,
www.theshorelineresort.com
)
has dive charters, though you must have your own gear and
alreadybecertified.Theresortalsooffersdailynarrated
scenic boat tours
($40)ofDeath's
Door.
Accommodations
Prominent in Gills Rock, the
Shoreline Resort
(12747 WIS 42, 920/854-2606,
www.theshorelineresort.com
,
$119) offers waterfront rooms with patios and a popular
rooftopsundeck;theviewsaregrand.Charterfishingtoursandassortedsightseeingcruises
(the sunset cruise is perennially popular) also leave the on-site marina. It also rents bikes.
Unheard-of
On the Rocks Cliffside Lodge
(849 Wisconsin Bay Rd., 920/854-4907,
www.cliffsidelodge.com
,
Apr.-Nov.,$350andup)ispossiblythemostprivateDoorCounty
experience;yousimplyhavetoeyeballitforyourself.Thisjewelisamassive3,500-square-
foot A-frame lodge with fieldstone fireplace atop a 60-foot cliff. It was overwhelming
enoughfor
National Geographic
tofeatureit.Ratesstartat$350anightfortwopeople,but
this sucker holds up to 18 (for $775).
Food
The best food you're going to get in Gills Rock is some of that grand smoked Lake
Michigan fish at
Charlie's Smokehouse
(12731 WIS 42, 920/854-2972,
www.charliessmokehouse.com
)
, whose proprietor or family have been doing it since 1932.
The
Shoreline Resort
(12747 WIS 42, 920/854-2606,
www.theshorelineresort.com
,
lunch
and dinner daily May-Oct.) is the other dining option, with good whitefish and basic hearty
fare.
