Door County Winter Events: Holidays Through Winterfest

The Jacksonport Polar Bear Club Plunge is Door County's best-known winter tradition: every New Year's Day at noon sharp, somewhere between 500 and 800 people run into Lake Michigan at Lakeside Park. It started in 1986 with a single 14-year-old swimmer and has grown into one of the largest polar plunges in the country. Taking part is free, and spectators are welcome.

Registration opens at the park pavilion at 10:30 am; get there by 11 if you're swimming, and print the waiver from the club's website ahead of time. Wear old sneakers or water socks, and bring dry boots and a blanket for after. Parking is along Highway 57 through Jacksonport, so expect a walk.

Fish Creek Winterfest, usually the first weekend in February, is the most festival-like weekend of the Door County winter: a big tent in Clark Park with games like ice bowling and toilet-seat throwing, a chili cook-off, the Stumpf Fiddle Championship, a cherry pit spit, and fireworks over the ice on Saturday night. The 2026 edition was the 38th.

The same Saturday evening, Peninsula State Park holds its candlelight night from Lot 5 off Highland Road: a lit ski in 2026, a lit hike in other years. You'll need a state park sticker or the special-event pass, pets stay home, and it draws a crowd, so arrive early in the evening. The 2027 dates hadn't been posted when we last checked; Visit Fish Creek's calendar will have them.

Newport's Candlelight Ski, Snowshoe and Hike has run for more than 35 years, always on the second Saturday in February, which puts it on Feb. 13, 2027. Skiers get their own lit, groomed trail; hikers and snowshoers follow a lit loop on the Fern Trail, and there's a bonfire with hot drinks at the shelter. Entry is free with a state park vehicle sticker.

It runs with or without enough snow to ski; only extreme cold or unsafe trails cancel it, and cancellations go out on the Newport Wilderness Society's Facebook page. Launch from Lot 3 between 5:30 and 7:30 pm, bring a headlamp, and leave the dog home, since pets aren't allowed on the ski trail.

Crossroads at Big Creek runs luminary-lit evening hikes from October through February, and two of them anchor bigger Sturgeon Bay occasions: the mid-January Winter Sky hike ends at a campfire with hot chocolate, and the February hike kicks off Fire & Ice weekend. Leashed dogs are welcome on both.

Next door, at the same address, Heritage Village hosts A Glimpse of Christmas Past on Friday and Saturday evenings in December, starting Dec. 4, 2026: historic buildings decorated by local nonprofits, hot chocolate in the Greene Store, and free admission. Fire & Ice itself, on the weekend nearest Valentine's Day, brings ice carving downtown and free trolley loops.

The Cherry Drop moved from Sister Bay to Sturgeon Bay this year, and Al Johnson's is starting a tradition of its own: a first-ever Goat Drop. A heated tent on the Stabbur Beer Garden grounds opens at noon on Dec. 31, and at midnight a large illuminated goat comes down toward the restaurant's grass roof. Expect live music, food, and drinks; the lineup hadn't been announced when we checked.

The tent reopens from noon on Jan. 1 and 2, so it works as a New Year's Day stop too. If you'd rather ring in the year early with kids, the Cherry Drop's tentative schedule in Sturgeon Bay has a family mini drop and fireworks at 8 pm.

Third Avenue PlayWorks' holiday show for 2026 is It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Door County, running Dec. 2 through Dec. 27 in downtown Sturgeon Bay. With a month-long run rather than a single weekend, it's the easiest holiday night out to fit around the rest of a trip.

TAP also hosts indoor winter markets on Sturgeon Bay's busiest Saturdays: Christmas by the Bay parade day, Fire & Ice, and the St. Patrick's Day parade. Pair a show with the Dec. 5 parade for a full downtown day, and book December weekend seats early.

Egg Harbor's Holly Days fills the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving. In 2025, Santa arrived by fire truck at Harbor View Park on Friday afternoon and lit the village tree with carolers, followed by free cocoa and cookies; Saturday brought a kids' Elf Hunt, horse-drawn carriage rides, and breakfast with Santa. The 2026 schedule hadn't been posted when we checked.

Nearly everything is free. Christkindlmarkt in Sister Bay opens the same weekend, so the two together make a full Thanksgiving weekend without repeating a stop.

Thanksgiving weekend in Sister Bay starts with Capture the Spirit at Waterfront Park, Nov. 27–28, 2026: reindeer and elves, letters to Santa, ornament decorating, and hot cocoa. In past years, Santa has arrived on the Friday evening to switch on the village lights.

The bigger draw is a few minutes away: Christkindlmarkt, the Sister Bay Historical Society's European-style Christmas market at the Corner of the Past Museum, open three weekends (Nov. 27–29, Dec. 4–6, and Dec. 11–13, 2026). Artisans sell from historic cabins and barns, Santa holds court in the Anderson House, and two big winterized tents are new this year. Park at the free shuttle lots rather than trying to get close.

The quiet week after Christmas belongs to the Ridges: Holiday Luminary Walks light the sanctuary's trails each evening from Dec. 26 through Dec. 30, 2026, from 5 to 7 pm. It's the calmest event on this list, and a good one for a family that's had enough of crowds by then.

In past years the Ridges has also held A Natural Christmas in mid-December, with a softly lit boardwalk, marshmallows over an outdoor fire, and wreath-making in the decorated Kaye Cabin; check the sanctuary's calendar for 2026. Dogs aren't allowed on Ridges trails.

Whitefish Dunes holds its candlelight hike and ski on the fourth Saturday in January: a short candlelit loop around the picnic shelter, a lit ski trail when there's snow, plus a fire, refreshments, a naturalist program, and telescope viewing. In 2024 it drew about 250 people in the first hour, so come early or late in the evening.

It's free with a state park sticker, and leashed pets are welcome on the hiking trails. The park added a winter solstice sunset hike in 2024, with cider by the fire afterward; watch its calendar in December.

The White Gull Inn's winter concert series has run for more than 40 seasons: folk concerts in Fish Creek from December through April, with an optional fixed-price dinner at 5:30 before the 7:30 show. It's the coziest night out in Northern Door once the season winds down.

Tickets were $35 last season, with dinner separate. The 2026–27 lineup hadn't been announced when we checked, so watch the inn's site and book once it posts.