# The Best Kayaking & Paddling Spots in Door County _Updated July 2026 · https://www.doorcountyguide.com/best/kayaking/_ > Bay Shore Outfitters is the pick if you just want a kayak for the afternoon, with locations in Sturgeon Bay, Sister Bay, and Ephraim. For a guided tour, Lakeshore Adventures' clear-bottom Shipwreck Tour in Baileys Harbor paddles you directly over 1800s schooner wrecks, and Peninsula Kayak Company, Door County Kayak, and Door County Kayak Tours cover Eagle Bluff, Death's Door Bluff, and Cave Point from the water. Door County's coastline rewards a kayak in ways a car never will -- sea caves you can only reach by water, a bluff the county bills as its highest point, and more than a dozen shipwrecks sitting in fifteen feet of water off Baileys Harbor. These five outfitters cover the county from Sturgeon Bay to Ellison Bay, whether you want to rent and go or book a guided tour. A few practical notes before you go: 1. **Rentals and guided tours are different products.** Bay Shore Outfitters and Peninsula Kayak Company do straightforward hourly-to-daily rentals if you want to explore on your own. Lakeshore Adventures, Door County Kayak, and Door County Kayak Tours are guided-tour operations -- you're paying for a route and a guide, not just a boat. 2. **Two similarly named businesses are genuinely different companies.** Door County Kayak (Ellison Bay) and Door County Kayak Tours (Jacksonport) are separate operators with separate owners -- don't assume a booking with one covers the other. 3. **Most tours run around $69 for two hours.** Pricing is fairly consistent across the guided-tour operators; rental pricing runs more like $20-35 for the first hour. ## 1. Bay Shore Outfitters — Best rental fleet *Sturgeon Bay* Bay Shore Outfitters is the county's rental workhorse -- a Sturgeon Bay flagship store, a second location in Sister Bay, and an Ephraim Kayak Center, so you can rent close to wherever you're actually staying. Single and tandem kayaks, canoes, and SUPs are all available by the hour, day, or week, with paddle, PFD, and roof-rack pads included, and the company will deliver county-wide for an added fee if you don't want to strap a boat to your own car. They also run daily guided tours to Cave Point if you'd rather not navigate the sea caves solo the first time. This is the pick when you want a boat on your own schedule rather than a fixed tour time. [Full details](https://www.doorcountyguide.com/places/bay-shore-outfitters/) ## 2. Peninsula Kayak Company — Best variety of tours *Sister Bay* Peninsula Kayak Company runs rentals and guided tours out of Sister Bay, Ephraim, and a Sturgeon Bay-area location, and the tour menu is the most varied on this list: Eagle Bluff, a 200-foot rock face the company calls the largest in Door County; the Clark Lake wetlands off Logan Creek; and Cave Point itself. Standard rentals are first-come-first-served, no reservations needed. They also run stand-up-paddleboard yoga classes right off Sister Bay Beach, which is either exactly your thing or a fun thing to watch from the sand. This is the pick if you want tour options beyond the standard shipwreck-or-bluff choice. [Full details](https://www.doorcountyguide.com/places/peninsula-kayak-company/) ## 3. Lakeshore Adventures — Best shipwreck tour *Baileys Harbor* Lakeshore Adventures' clear-bottom Shipwreck Tour is the single best two hours on this list: you're paddling directly over 1800s wooden schooner wrecks in under fifteen feet of water, with a stop at the 1820s Bird Cage Lighthouse along the way. Baileys Harbor has more than a dozen accessible shipwrecks, and this is the easiest way to actually see one without diving gear. The same operation runs SUP and pontoon rentals, a separate zipline canopy course, and Lake Michigan charter fishing if you want to build a bigger day around the tour. Open daily, May through October. [Full details](https://www.doorcountyguide.com/places/lakeshore-adventures/) ## 4. Door County Kayak — Best for Death's Door Bluff *Ellison Bay* Door County Kayak launches guided tours from the Garrett Bay Boat Launch in Ellison Bay, and the signature route -- the Death's Door Bluff Kayak Tour -- visits the highest point in the county and the Schooner Fleetwing shipwreck. If open water and dramatic bluffs aren't quite your speed, their Mud Lake Nature Preserve eco-tour trades it for a sheltered, wind-protected creek instead. Worth double-checking before you book: this is a separate business from Door County Kayak Tours in Jacksonport, despite the near-identical name. Fat-tire e-bike rentals are also available if you want to split the day between water and land. [Full details](https://www.doorcountyguide.com/places/door-county-kayak/) ## 5. Door County Kayak Tours — Best for Cave Point from the water *Jacksonport* Door County Kayak Tours operates out of the Cave Point Paddle & Pedal shop in Jacksonport, a few miles from the park itself, and has been running kayak tours here for more than two decades. The Cave Point tour takes you through the same limestone sea caves you'd otherwise only see from the shoreline trail -- a genuinely different perspective on the county's most photographed landscape. Their separate Door Bluff tour, up near Ellison Bay, adds pictographs and the Fleetwing shipwreck to the route. Guided tours only, no self-guided rentals. They also rent fat-tire e-bikes if you're pairing the paddle with some trail time. [Full details](https://www.doorcountyguide.com/places/door-county-kayak-tours/) Want to see the shoreline these outfitters paddle without getting in a boat yourself? Our [best beaches](/best/beaches/) and [hiking trails](/best/hiking/) guides cover the same stretches of coastline on foot. ### A few tips from us - **Book the Shipwreck Tour at Lakeshore Adventures if you do only one guided tour.** Paddling over a visible 1800s wreck in clear, shallow water is the single most memorable hour on this list. - **If you want to go it alone, Bay Shore Outfitters' three locations make logistics easy** -- rent near wherever you're staying rather than driving to one central shop. - **Confirm which "Door County Kayak" you're booking.** The Ellison Bay and Jacksonport businesses have almost identical names and both run bluff tours -- double-check the address before you show up.