Memorial Day Weekend is Jam-Packed with Fun in Door County, Wisconsin

Fuel prices being what they are, Midwesterners might find themselves sticking closer to home instead of taking the big trip to the Grand Canyon this summer in the gas-guzzling motor-home. Door County offers many reasons for upper-Midwesterners to travel to the Top o' the Thumb.

Located between the waters of Lake Michigan and Green Bay, Door County is just a narrow spit of land that looks like the thumb of the mitten that is Wisconsin. However, it offers about 300 miles of shoreline, many parks and recreation areas, several quaint towns, and many terrific places to eat.

Perched at the end of the month-long Blossom Festival, when the tulips, daffodils, and cherry orchards are in full bloom, Memorial Day Weekend is when the summer season gets into full swing in the county. Whether you are day-tripping or planning a longer visit, you can take part in many of the county's fun-filled events. Here is a small sampling:

Hop on the Door County Trolley for a ghost tour. Hear tales of sunken ships, haunted lighthouses, and strange events that have colored the peninsula for decades. Tours are available all weekend.

Get back to nature during the Door County Festival of Nature at the Ridges Sanctuary. Guided field trips, evening lectures, canoe, and boat trips will help you discover one of the most unique wild places on earth. (Register in advance, programs take place May 22 through 24.)

Visit the tenth annual Fine Art Fair in Sturgeon Bay. Many artists from around the peninsula will be gathered along the water at Sunset Park in Sturgeon Bay on Saturday and Sunday, May 24 and 25. There will be children's activities and entertainment, too.

Celebrate May in Jacksonport at Maifest, with food, music, art fair, and a parade to boot. May 24 and 25.

Enjoy baseball the old-fashioned way-- affordable! County league baseball games are happening on May 25 in Egg Harbor, Institute, and Baileys Harbor. Games begin at 1:30 pm.

Climb aboard the Washington Island Ferry for the Art and Nature Music Festival May 25 on what the locals call "the island." A buffet dinner, chamber music and silent auction awaits, reservations are required.

For a little "retro" fun, check out the Skyway Drive-in Theater. Double features nightly, and a very reasonable way to take a boat load of kids to the movies.

Enjoy a fish-boil. This Door County tradition is a must-experience for young and old. A large kettle of Lake Michigan white fish and new potatoes is brought to boil over an open fire, and at just right moment, the boilmaster pours kerosene on the flames to let it boil over, and voila! Fish boil! Dessert is usually cherry pie made with locally grown fruit. Not to be missed if you are a first-timer to the area, and almost every town has at least one fish boil nightly in the high season.

For those who just want to relax and have fun with an open-ended schedule, the county has venues a-plenty for outdoor-lovers. Among them is Peninsula State Park, which is Wisconsin's largest and "crown-jewel" of the parks system. Bluffs and shoreline, hiking trails and scenic vistas, and an impeccable golf course are among its amenities.

For the not-so-outdoorsy, the county has many galleries, museums and shops to browse and enjoy--many on the main routes, and some which require a little extra exploring of the peninsula to find. Getting there may be half of the fun!

Kick off the summer season close to home, in Door County, and play miniature golf with what you save in gas money! And, find out why Midwest Living Magazine chose Door County as the number one "small town getaway" in 2007.