When people hear the word “door,” I suspect that the first preposition that comes to mind is “through,” not “across.” But, Wisconsin has a door that was so dangerous to go through that it became known as Death’s Door or, please pardon my French, Porte des Mortes. If you want to know how it got that name, you can read about it on the Wisconsin Shipwrecks Website. Fortunately, going across the door is not much of a problem. That’s good because every summer I cross it on my way to Washington Island. Join me on a trip across the door.
It’s very easy to find your way to the door. You don’t need a yellow brick road, you just need Wisconsin Highway 42. Follow that road to the very tip of the appropriately-named Door County Peninsula and pull up at the ferry terminal in Northport. If you’re lucky, you might find a short line of cars waiting for the next ferry. If there’s no rush, the crew will wait for the official departure time, giving the last passengers ample time to stroll board.
(Mouse over any gallery photo to see a caption, or click on it to enlarge and then use arrows to scroll through the images.)
If you pick a more crowded time, like the Saturday before the 4th of July, you might have to wait a bit.
Once on board it’s time to enjoy the 30-minute ride that will transport you “North of the Tension Line.” The weather is usually quite calm, so you can relax, look at the scenery, and enjoy the ride. On a rare occasion there might be a breeze and a bit of a chop on the water. It can get a bit “splashy” but I’ve never had a dramamine ride.
While most of the people are standing around anticipating their vacation, some people like to walk around the ferry, look at all of the details and, you know, take a few photos.
As the boat approaches the dock, you wonder if the local tire dealer makes a lot of money. Then you get back in your car and head off to your vacation cabin. The row of flags make it obvious what the predominant nationalities are on the island. As the day wanes, some of the ferries are tied up for the night while some make their last runs. Then the last one is put to bed.
One last thing to point out, summer is nice but it’s also fun to go to Washington Island in the winter. The main differences, other than the weather, are that one ferry makes only two round trips each day and you need a reservation to get on.
It’s just another day in paradise!
PS: In case you’re curious, here are photos of the five ferries that currently make up the Washington Island Ferry Line. To keep the lighting the same, I photographed them as they left Detroit Harbor one after the other on a busy afternoon. Then, just for fun, I created this poster to help tell them apart.
