My family of three spent a few days in Door County, Wisconsin over the 4th of July holiday. For the past three years, we have traveled up north for a short vacation with family. July 1 marks the beginning of high tourist season in Door County and Independence Day weekend is a great time to visit. The best activities in Door County involve being outdoors – today I’m sharing three of my outdoor favorites from our trip.

Hiking in Peninsula State Park

We visited Peninsula State Park for a morning outdoors and a picnic lunch. Peninsula is located between Ephraim, WI and Fish Creek, WI in the northern half of Door County. The park includes beautiful views of Green Bay and feels like an enchanted forest on the hiking trails with birch, aspen and evergreen trees. Peninsula offers biking, hiking, beaches, camping and a golf course.

Baby C and I finished a two-hour hike with my sister-in-law, mother-in-law and three nephews, starting on the Sentinel Trail. The men of the family rode on Peninsula’s bike trails. Baby wearing can be quite a workout:

We packed peanut butter sandwiches for lunch and Lorissa’s Kitchen protein snacks for our hike. Thank goodness we had snacks because we took a wrong turn and ended up on a second and third trail. What should have been a 1 or 1.5 hour hike ended up at 2 hours, but we had a great time!

We all loved the Korean Barbeque flavor – especially the spicy kick at the end. I appreciate that Lorissa’s Kitchen snacks use 100% grass-fed beef with no preservatives or nitrates! Buy them yourself here.

Europe Bay Beach

Europe Bay Beach is located in Europe Bay Woods, between Europe Lake and Lake Michigan in northern Door County. I love this beach because the water is calm and the area is almost entirely undeveloped. The beach is perfect for relaxation and is extremely quiet compared to other beach areas in Door County.

Baby C enjoyed his time in the beach tent, watching his cousins play:

While Kristen and I spent 90 minutes kayaking on Lake Michigan.

After our kayak experience, we shared Ginger Teriyaki meat snacks. It can be hard to think of creative, non-perishable food items for a warm day at the beach but these snacks were perfect.

Sunset at Sister Bay Marina

K and I missed the fireworks show this year to put baby C to bed, but we went on a walk along the lake first to catch a glimpse of sunset. Sister Bay Marina offers an amazing sunset and Lake Michigan views, with boats and the beach in the background.

We also shared a meal at my absolute favorite place, Door County Creamery, for an impromptu anniversary dinner a few days late. I love my boys:

For more on Door County, check out these posts:

• A Weekend in Door County, Wisconsin
• 24 Hours in Door County, Wisconsin
• Door County Hairpin 5k Race Recap