One of the highlights of our family road trip through Wisconsin this summer was a trip to Washington Island. Washington Island is a small island town located about 5 miles off the tip of Door County, Wisconsin. It’s about 35 square miles, and is accessible only by ferry. Even though the island is small, it is very spread out and not easily accessible by foot, so it’s best to have a vehicle with you. We traveled here to experience the beautiful pebble beach at Schoolhouse beach, and let me tell you, they did not disappoint! If you are looking for tips on visiting Washington Island with kids this summer, you’re in the right place!
The drive up to Northport Pier, where the ferry leaves from, is beautiful in itself. We took one of the first ferries of the morning, and the roads were nearly deserted at this time of day. Make sure to snap a picture of Winding Road on Highway 42, one of the most famous stretches of road in the Midwest.
Once you arrive at the ferry line, you park and wait until they start loading the boat. When I was researching this trip beforehand, I had read that the ferry fills up fast during peak travel season. Since the boat isn’t huge and we didn’t want to risk it being full, we got there about 30 minutes before its scheduled departure and were one of the first cars in line. Once you board the ferry with your vehicle, you are able to get out of your car and climb up to the top of the boat, where there is plenty of seating. The ride is a little over a half hour each way, and we loved looking out at the lake during the ride.
After we got off the ferry, we headed straight to Schoolhouse beach. This is what Washington Island is most well known for, and the whole reason we traveled to Wisconsin! This breathtaking beach has no sand, but instead is covered in smooth, limestone pebbles. It looks like it came straight out of a magazine. In order to preserve its beauty, you are not allowed to remove the stones from the beach (this includes throwing them in the water, as we were kindly reminded by some friendly locals) or you could face a hefty fine. We brought our beach blanket and chairs (there are lots of spiders crawling in the rocks) and enjoyed the beautiful scenery while the storms rolled in. I packed some watercolor paints and some paint brushes in our beach bag, and my kids had so much fun painting the beautiful stones and then washing them clean in the water.
There were several large yachts and sailboats anchored out in the bay that were fun to watch, and there were people snorkeling. We really wanted to rent a paddleboard and go out in the bay; there is a shipwreck about 100 yards from the beach that you can paddle out and see. But the weather wasn’t great the day we visited, and we didn’t feel confident enough that it wouldn’t start pouring on us any minute, so we skipped it. We spent a couple of hours at this beach before the storms finally hit us, but I would have loved to spend a couple more!
When the rain started, we packed up our stuff and took shelter in our car. Once we realized the storm wasn’t going to pass quickly, we loaded back into the car and drove around the small town to check it out. We ended up stopping at a small souvenir shop and wandered around, and by the time we were done the rain had temporarily let up. We didn’t feel confident enough in the weather to head back to the beach (you get zero cell service on the island by the way), so we drove around the island and enjoyed the scenery.
We stopped at the Mountain Park Lookout tower. Even though everything was very wet from the rain, there were sturdy handrails and the stairs were in good condition, so we felt safe climbing to the top. My 4 and 6 year old had no problem climbing the stairs independently, and we carried my 2 year old. What a beautiful view at the top!
After the lookout, we drove past the beautiful lavender farms. We were just past peak season when we visited, so we decided not to stop at them. But they were still lovely to look at even from afar. We drove around the whole island, taking in the beautiful scenery. We saw lots of wildlife, and so much lush, green foliage. When you near the edges of the island, you can see lots of boats and the sweetest little cottages right near the water.
Just before dinnertime, we could see more storm clouds rolling in once again, so we decided it was best to head back to the ferry before the weather got bad again. Since the island is pretty small, one day is definitely sufficient, and the ferry ride is rather expensive (I think we paid $75 for our family and vehicle to ride roundtrip). But to see Schoolhouse beach in person is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. The natural beauty of this island is breathtaking, and definitely a place worth visiting.
Have you been to Washington Island with kids before? Let me know your favorite things to do there in the comments!