# The Best Boat & Water Tours in Door County

_Updated July 2026 · https://www.doorcountyguide.com/best/boat-tours/_

> The Washington Island Ferry is the essential ride — 30 minutes across the Death's Door strait to a quieter island. For a narrated cruise, Fish Creek Scenic Boat Tours passes lighthouses and Millionaire's Row; Lakeshore Adventures paddles clear-bottom kayaks over 1800s shipwrecks; and Door County Kayak Tours threads the Cave Point sea caves. Most run late spring through fall.

Half of Door County's best views are from the water — sea caves, shipwrecks, lighthouses, and the Death's Door strait that gives the peninsula its name. Whether you'd rather paddle or just ride, here's how to get out on it.

A few things worth knowing:

1. **Paddle vs. passenger.** Some of these are guided kayak trips; others are sit-back cruises. We've flagged which is which.
2. **Book ahead in July.** Tour spots fill in peak summer, and weather can cancel a departure — build in a backup day.
3. **The water's cold.** Even in August, Lake Michigan runs chilly — dress for spray.

## 1. Washington Island Ferry Line — Best ride
*Gills Rock · $$*

Not a tour exactly, but the most essential boat trip up here: a 30-minute crossing through Death's Door to Washington Island, car deck below and open water all around. It runs year-round and breaks ice in winter.

Take bikes for the flat island roads once you land — the crossing plus a day on the island is one of the county's best outings.

[Full details](https://www.doorcountyguide.com/places/washington-island-ferry/)

## 2. Fish Creek Scenic Boat Tours — Best narrated cruise
*Fish Creek*

The sit-back option: a 69-passenger boat off the Fish Creek town dock, gliding past Eagle Bluff Lighthouse, the Peninsula State Park shoreline, and the cottages of Millionaire's Row while a guide narrates. The sunset cruise adds live music.

The easy pick if you'd rather ride than paddle. Cruises run late spring through fall.

[Full details](https://www.doorcountyguide.com/places/fish-creek-scenic-boat-tours/)

## 3. Lakeshore Adventures — Best for shipwrecks
*Baileys Harbor*

Book the clear-bottom Shipwreck Tour — a guided kayak trip in Baileys Harbor that paddles directly over the bones of 1800s wooden schooners you can see straight down through the hull. They run zip lines and standard rentals too, but the shipwreck paddle is the one to plan around.

Guided, so first-timers are fine.

[Full details](https://www.doorcountyguide.com/places/lakeshore-adventures/)

## 4. Door County Kayak Tours — Best for sea caves
*Jacksonport*

Out of Jacksonport, the guided paddle to the Cave Point limestone sea caves is the draw — threading the arches and grottoes where Lake Michigan has cut into the shoreline. Genuinely dramatic, and a bucket-list Door County paddle.

Guided trips take beginners; the caves are the reason to go.

[Full details](https://www.doorcountyguide.com/places/door-county-kayak-tours/)

## 5. Door County Kayak — Best north-end paddle
*Ellison Bay*

At the tip in Ellison Bay, the Death's Door Bluff tour visits the highest point in the county and the sunken Schooner Fleet — the far-north, big-water version of a Door County kayak trip.

For paddlers who want the wilder end of the peninsula. Seasonal.

[Full details](https://www.doorcountyguide.com/places/door-county-kayak/)

## 6. Shoreline Scenic Cruises — Best lighthouse cruise
*Gills Rock*

The peninsula's oldest sightseeing line, sailing out of Gills Rock toward the Death's Door strait — past the Pilot and Plum Island range lights with a stop at Plum Island. A ride for the lighthouse-and-shipwreck crowd.

Seasonal; cruises return in spring.

[Full details](https://www.doorcountyguide.com/places/shoreline-scenic-cruises/)

Would rather paddle on your own than join a tour? See our [best kayaking & paddling spots](/best/kayaking/) for launches and quiet water.

### A few tips from us
- **The ferry is cheapest and most flexible** — no reservation, runs all day, and the island rewards a bike.
- **Guided trips suit beginners.** Cave Point and the shipwreck paddle both take first-timers.
- **Weather calls the shots.** Big-water tours cancel for wind, so keep a flex day.

More on and off the water: [things to do](/things-to-do/).