Washington Island
A 30-minute car ferry across Death's Door to a genuinely different pace: Schoolhouse Beach's smooth limestone stones, a lavender farm, Stavkirke church, and bars that founded the Bitters Club. Doable as a day trip; better as an overnight.
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Bars & Pubs
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Food & Drink
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Restaurants
8 places
Washington Island guides
Washington Island: The Complete Day Trip Guide
Washington Island works best as a full day, not a quick add-on: catch an early Washington Island Ferry Line boat from Northport Pier (about 30 minutes each way), bring the car so you can actually cover the island, and build your day around Schoolhouse Beach and Nelsen's Hall with time left for a lavender-farm or stavkirke stop if it fits.
All places in Washington Island
Albatross Drive-in and Tiki Bar
A Washington Island burger stand since 1977, with Alby's Nest tiki bar tucked in right behind it: order a hand-formed burger and a thick shake at the walk-up window, then wander around back for an Island orchard hard cider. Get the Alby, stacked with Swiss and hickory-smoked bacon.
Fragrant Isle Lavender Farm
A working lavender farm with a shop and cafe. Worth a stop if your visit lines up with the midsummer bloom.
Hotel Washington Restaurant
Ben Johnson cooked on a four-masted Great Lakes ship as a teenager before coming ashore to open this hotel overlooking Detroit Harbor in 1904. It runs today as a seasonal farm-to-table dining room out on Washington Island, a ferry ride past the tip of the peninsula, with a menu built from island farms and makers.
Island Popcorn Barn
Grab a bag of Lenny's Kettle Corn, hand-stirred with a wooden paddle in a giant kettle and the top seller at this family-run Washington Island shop. The 23 flavors run sweet to savory, including a Door County Cherry.
Jackson Harbor Soup
You get here by ferrying out to Washington Island and driving to the harbor where the Rock Island ferry docks, and the remoteness is the whole idea: descendants of Rasmus Hanson opened the place to greet travelers coming back off the water with a hot bowl. Order Grammy's Potato Soup and check the daily specials board on your way in.
K.K. Fiske & The Granary Saloon
Ken Koyen is the last commercial fisherman on Washington Island, and he cooks what he hauls in. Order the fried lawyers: burbot, a freshwater cod that tastes sweeter than it has any right to. The Parmesan-crusted whitefish holds up too, with bread and pie made in-house daily, and the Granary Saloon next door runs the same kitchen. Hours follow the season and the ferry, so call before you cross.
Karly's Bar
A Washington Island locals bar, family-run since 1945 and a short drive from the ferry dock. It calls itself the place where friends and fishermen meet, and the lunch crowd of islanders backs that up.
Middle Bar II
A Washington Island local's tavern where the U-shaped bar is built for easy conversation with whoever pulls up next to you. It's a family-run spot, a grandmother's pub now kept going by her grandson, that runs a Friday fish fry and turns out burgers reviewers happily come back for.
Nelsen's Hall Bitters Pub
Take the bitters shot, get your card, and join a club with a century of members: Washington Island's happiest rite of passage.
Pottawatomie Lighthouse
A real undertaking, not a casual stop. Go because you genuinely want to say you made it.
Red Cup Coffee House
Washington Island's year-round coffee house, a short way up Detroit Harbor Road from where the ferry lands. The Remke family has poured organic Fair Trade coffee and espresso here since 2000, alongside made-to-order egg sandwiches, gourmet pastries, and a boutique of pottery, jewelry, and art by local artisans.
Sailor's Pub
Dinner on a dock at Shipyard Island Marina, with what the marina bills as one of the best sunset views on Washington Island. Sailor's Pub serves seafood and steaks from 5pm, and the deck opens when the weather cooperates. Order the Great Lakes perch.
Schoolhouse Beach
No sand, no problem. The water over white stones goes full Caribbean on a sunny day. Taking stones home is a fineable offense; don't.
Stavkirke
A hand-built replica of a Norwegian stave church, open to visitors: a quick, easy landmark stop.
The Point Grille
Order the in-house smoked brisket. This family-run smokehouse sits just steps off the Washington Island ferry, slow-smoking its own pulled pork and beef brisket and scooping hard ice cream for the walk back to the boat.
Washington Island Art & Nature Center
The island's arts-and-nature hub, pairing rotating exhibits with nature trails and summer programming — an easy, worthwhile stop once you've taken the ferry across. A quiet cultural anchor for a day on Washington Island.
Washington Island Farm Museum
An open-air heritage museum on Washington Island — nine buildings of farm tools and homestead life, a log cabin, a blacksmith shop, a sawmill. Come on a July Wednesday for craft demos and free wagon rides. A good island stop, and admission is modest.
WIS-CO
Always open before the first boat, this Washington Island coffee house pulls espresso that regulars rank above the big chains. Order the bacon, egg, and pepperjack breakfast sandwich, with gelato waiting in summer.