October 10–13, 2025 · Door County, Wisconsin
I put quite a bit of planning into our 25th anniversary trip to Door County. I’d looked over my Wisconsin county map to see what I could fill in along the way, and I’d picked out EarthCaches for International EarthCache Day. Somehow, after all that planning, I managed to make apple cider and leave it behind.
bapierson and I were celebrating a little early. We had a long weekend for fall colors, lighthouses, sunsets, and whatever else looked interesting once we got there. The prep meant I already knew which geocaching stops were worth working in. We still had time to pull over for a view or stay out late looking at the stars.
The long way to Door County
On Friday, October 10, the long way up filled in four blanks on my Wisconsin county map. In Sheboygan County we stopped at Holland (GCD88B), a Virtual that took us to a memorial. It was a sobering story to read while we were in the middle of a much easier journey of our own. A park-and-ride stop at P&R 05-07 - Dyckesville (GC15D83) added Brown County. PP #7 - Dan Majkowski (GCB6A0B) added Kewaunee County, and I got my first finds in Door County that day too.
Geocaching HQ’s International EarthCache Day window ran from October 10 through 12 that year. I’d made time for a couple of lessons right out of the gate. The Walloons And The Peshtigo Fire (GC47BAJ) paired local history with a geology stop. An Ice Cream of a Different “Flavor” (GC1PN8N) used ice cream to explain how granite forms. I was happy to do further research on at least one of those subjects, especially after dinner at Wilson’s in Ephraim.
We caught the sunset in Ephraim and spent part of the night at Newport State Park’s Dark Sky Park. A Dark Night in Newport-A Virtual Reward (GC7B76R) gave us a reason to be there after dark. Looking up together at all those stars was one of my favorite parts of the trip. bapierson called the view amazing in her log, and I remember feeling like we were a million miles away.
Taking the ferry to Washington Island
Saturday was our Washington Island day. We took the ferry across and worked on an Adventure Lab as we explored. The stop that stuck with me was Washington Island Stavkirke (GC3JMNZ). The wooden chapel was modeled after a medieval Norwegian stave church. With its dark timber, steep roofs, and trees all around it, it felt like stepping into another place entirely.
After lunch at Jackson Harbor Soup, we did a bit more of the Adventure Lab and picked up Before Benchmarks (GC2TAEE) near the water. We also found Going To The Dogs (GC3JER8). Cache sat this trip out, but of course a cache with that name made us think of him.
Sunday on both sides of the peninsula
At Baileys Harbor Ridges on the “Quiet Side” (GCKJJ0), the boardwalk gave us a straight view from one range light to the other. The two lights at The Ridges Sanctuary once guided boats into the harbor. A captain who could line one light up directly above the other knew the boat was on the right course. I wish getting my numbers to line up for the geocache had been that easy. A look at a few previous logs helped, and bapierson and I got the find.
We climbed all the way to the top of the Cana Island Lighthouse, which was built in 1869. On the shore, Lake Michigan’s Lake Level Fluctuations (GC1YTXD) had us thinking about how different that same stretch of rock might look when the lake is higher. Later, on the Green Bay side, Weborg Point (GC3VMXC) took us to a marsh shaped by the area’s glacial history. WI - Glacial Erratic in Fish Creek Park Earthcache (GC23G40) gave us another clue to that history in the form of a rock carried there by ice.
We took in the views from Eagle Terrace and Eagle Tower, above the Niagara Escarpment in Peninsula State Park. It was crowded, but once I saw the view I understood why. bapierson made the find at An Eagle’s View (GC2PXK0). Good thing I brought the better searcher. We finished the day in Fish Creek with Sunset Beach Trail (GCAEGYP) and pizza at Wild Tomato.
Three more EarthCaches and one missing cider
We had time for one more look around Sturgeon Bay on Monday. The official EarthCache Day weekend was over, but there were three more stops I wanted to make. Door Counties First Export (GC1GDK7) was about the local stone quarrying industry. Bradley Lake: Strange Beginnings (GC3EGEE) looked at how lakes form, and The Hanging Valleys of Door County (GC330TX) tied the shape of the land back to the glaciers.
Some of the best bits of the weekend never made it into a cache log. We saw the goats on the roof at Al Johnson’s in Sister Bay and made our own apple cider. bapierson remembered wrapping up the getaway with glow-in-the-dark mini golf. I’m pretty sure I was the one who forgot the cider. Apparently I need one more waypoint on the trip plan for “put it in the car.”
I was glad to fill in those counties and get to all those EarthCaches. The first thing I’d do again, though, is go back to Newport and spend another evening looking up at the stars with bapierson.
Field Notes
- Trip · October 10–13, 2025, with bapierson to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary
- New Wisconsin counties · Sheboygan, Brown, Kewaunee, and Door, all on October 10
- Finds · 32 logged geocache finds, including eight EarthCaches. Five of the EarthCaches fell during the official October 10–12 window. Adventure Lab stops are separate.
- Highlights · Stargazing at Newport, the ferry to Washington Island, the Baileys Harbor range lights, and the climb at Cana Island
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