Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the inn offers knotty pine cottages and one super loft cabin. Rooms are simple but clean;
impromptu campfires typify the family atmosphere. Breakfasts here are legendary.
For a few more dollars than at Sunset Resort,
Jackson Harbor Inn
(920/847-2454,
jacksonharborinn.com
)
,overlookingRockIslandonthefarsideoftheisland,isperhapsthe
nicest place on the island. It's meticulously kept by very friendly owners. You'll find myri-
ad lovely rooms (all different) and a cottage.
Food and Drink
You'll hear quite a bit about the potent “bitters,” an antifreeze-proof Scandinavian tradition
still served in local pubs. If you can stomach a shot, you're in the club.
An island delicacy is a “lawyer.” No, not the counselors, but rather another name for the
burbot, a mud-dwelling gadid fish with barbels on the chin.
To-live-for Icelandic pancakes and Norwegian
barkram pankaka
—cherry and cream
filled pleasures—are the house specialties at breakfast at
Sunset Resort
(Old W. Harbor
Rd., 920/847-2531, 8am-11am daily July-Aug., Sat.-Sun. only June and Sept., $2-7). This
local hot spot serves morning grub, including homemade breads.
Landmark
Bitter's Pub and Restaurant
(Main Rd., 920/847-2496) is in Nelson's Hall,
a century-old structure in the center of the island. Famed for its Bitter's Club, initiated in
1899, it draws about 10,000 visitors annually. Bitter's is the best elbow-rubbing option on
the island; the restaurant is classic Americana—steaks, seafood, and chicken. A $5 break-
fast buffet, lunch, and dinner are served daily. Fish boils are held three days per week.
Information
The
Washington Island Chamber of Commerce
(920/847-2179,
www.washingtonisland.com
or
www.washingtonislandchamber.com
)
has all the informa-
tion you might want; it often has folks to greet you on the mainland side.
Getting There and Around
GETTING THERE
Ferry lines run to and from Washington Island via the “top of the thumb.” Ferries have
made the seven-mile crossing somewhat quotidian, but it wasn't always so. Winter cross-
ings used to be made by horse-drawn sleigh or—unimaginably—car, but weather condi-
tions could change the ice or eliminate it altogether within a relatively short period. Today
the ice freezes the crossing nearly solid for just more than 100 days each year, but modern
ferriescantakemuchoftheicethrownatthem.Whenicefloespileupduringextremecold,
the ferries either “back up” and try to make an end run, or “back down” and run right at the
