The Road to Summer
Warm-Weather Getaways for Fun, Romance, and Adventure
(page 3 of 4)
Key to Summer | ||||
 |  |  |  |  |
Where To Stay | Dining | Amenities | Things To Do | How To Get There |
The Chanticleer Guest House
Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
The French, wary of shipwreck along the treacherous strait that connected Lake Michigan and Green Bay, called this place Porte des Mortes-Death's Door. Today the surrounding land is known simply as Door County, and there's nothing dead about this lovely and lively Wisconsin peninsula, particularly at the height of the summer season. The Chanticleer Guest House, created from a 91-year-old farmhouse and barn, sits secluded on 70 pastoral acres, but is only three miles from the shops, restaurants, and other activities centered around downtown Sturgeon Bay. Guests can book a suite in the beautifully renovated house or barn (starting at $130 a night), or slip off to one of four cabins (starting at $220 a night). Each suite and cabin has its own fireplace and whirl-pool. There is a two-night minimum on weekends, and neither children nor pets are allowed (4072 Cherry Rd.; 920-746-0334).
Breakfast is delivered to your suite each morning. For lunch, try Perry's Cherry Diner, a fun, 1950s-style restaurant (230 Michigan St.; 920-743-9910). Some locals say you shouldn't leave Door County without partaking of a traditional fish boil; by popular acclaim, the best on the peninsula is the fresh whitefish cooked over an open fire and served to the accompaniment of accordion music four nights a week at the White Gull Inn, some 20 miles north of the Chanticleer, in Fish Creek (4225 Main St.; 920-868-3517). For more sophisticated dining, try the continental American cuisine at Sage Restaurant and Wine Bar, which features live music on weekends (136 N. Third Ave.; 920-746-1100), or the Inn at Cedar Crossing, which also offers high-end in-town lodgings (336 Louisiana St.; 920-743-4249).
Home to Wisconsin's tallest sand dunes and a family-friendly beach, the 865-acre Whitefish Dunes State Park curves for three miles along Lake Michigan and has 11 miles of trails for hiking and biking (3275 Clark Lake Rd.; 920-823-2400). Delve into the region's watery past at the Door County Maritime Museum (120 N. Madison Ave.; 920-743-5958). One of the peninsula's ten lighthouses, Canal Station Lighthouse, which was built in 1899, stands at the mouth of the Sturgeon Bay ship canal; you can get a map to all ten shoreline beacons, as well as details about other area attractions, from the Door County Chamber of Commerce (800-527-3529, www.doorcounty.com). Need a little culture? The Peninsula Players, one of the country's oldest summer theatres (since 1935), kicks off its 2006 season on June 20th with Terrence McNally's Tony Award–winning Master Class, followed by Noises Off, Cabaret, The Elephant Man, and The Mousetrap (4351 Peninsula Players Rd.; 920-868-3287).
Sturgeon Bay is 243 miles from Chicago, usually a drive of slightly more than four hours-though heavy summer traffic can sometimes slow things down. United and American airlines both make the one-hour flight from O'Hare Airport to Austin Straubel International Airport in Green Bay, where you can rent a car for the 45-mile drive to Sturgeon Bay.
Drummond Island Resort & Conference Center
Drummond Island, Michigan
Before falling into the hands of a powerful pizza potentate, Drummond Island, the 87,000-acre wilderness in northern Lake Huron, was inhabited by the Ottawa and Ojibwa, the French and the British, the U.S. army-and an oil tycoon from Detroit named Mel Rinehart, who carved out his own fishing and hunting lodge. After Rinehart's death, Tom Monaghan, the founder of Domino's Pizza, bought the camp, with plans to build a private corporate retreat. He brought in Charles Moore, the former dean of the Yale School of Architecture, to craft a lodge and a bowling alley, and called on Harry Bowers, a protégé of Robert Trent Jones, to create an 18-hole golf course called The Rock. Monaghan himself even designed a few Frank Lloyd Wright–style homes and cabins before selling the property in 1991 to a couple of locals, who opened Drummond Island Resort & Conference Center to the public. Guests can stay in the 40-room lodge (called Woodmoor) or rent one of 27 comfortably outfitted cabins or cottages. From June 10th to September 6th, rooms in the lodge cost $154 a night, while cabins or cottages cost between $200 and $500, depending on the number of bedrooms (33494 S. Maxton Rd.; 800-999-6343).
For a less expensive alternative, consider staying at Drummond Island Yacht Haven, which has 19 cottages starting at $83 a night or $415 a week (33185 S. Water St.; 906-493-5232).
Drummon Island Resort offers an array of amenities (without extra charge) to its guests, including mountain bikes, canoes, kayaks, sailboats, tennis courts, an outdoor pool, a hot tub, a gym, a Scandinavian sauna, and a fitness room. There are two ponds, 12 miles of trails, an eight-lane bowling alley, a 15-station skeet-shooting course, and The Rock, the secluded, 400-acre par 71 golf course that takes full advantage of the island's ponds, lakes, and limestone outcroppings.
The resort's Bayside restaurant is an oasis of fine dining (nightly from June 9th through October 15th). More casual offerings-burgers, pizza, salads, and sandwiches-can be had at the resort's Pins Bar and Grill. Nearby, the Bear Track Inn is a good breakfast or lunch spot (33655 S. Townline Rd.; 906-493-5090).
With more than two-thirds of its acreage owned by the state, Drummond Island remains a largely unspoiled paradise for fishermen, hunters, hikers, and bikers. It has 34 inland lakes, about 150 miles of shoreline, more than 20 species of orchids, some 200 varieties of songbirds, and a wide array of wilderness creatures, including black bears and eagles. The 2,017-acre Maxton Plains features a rare mix of arctic and prairie plants, including one of the finest alvar grasslands in the world. At the island's eastern edge, the dolomite crags of Marble Head offer splendid views into Canada. A favorite off-island destination is the cove of horseshoe-shaped Harbor Island, a national wildlife refuge in Potagannissing Bay. North Haven Rentals & Gifts rents canoes and kayaks, and is also a good source for maps (35409 S. Fairbanks Point Rd.; 906-493-5567). For more information, contact the Drummond Island Tourism Association (800-737-8666, www.drummondislandchamber.com).
Drummond Island is 496 miles from Chicago, and a ten-minute ferry ride from DeTour Village on the eastern tip of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. There is a private airport on the island, and Northwest Airlines flies from both O'Hare and Midway airports to Detroit and then on to Pellston Regional Airport, where you can rent a car for the 77-mile drive to Drummond Island.
The Inn at Black Star Farms
Suttons Bay, Michigan
A former horse farm, Black Star Farms has been one of the leaders in agritourism on Michigan's Leelanau Peninsula since 1998. Not that it's left the horses behind: the place has two stables, as well as ample pastures and indoor and outdoor training facilities. But most of the farm's 160 acres are given over to growing the grapes, pears, and other fruits for Black Star's award-winning wines, brandies, cordials, and ciders. There is also a creamery, home to the Leelanau Cheese Company. As for the inn, there are eight luxurious rooms, each named after a northern star; they all have private baths, and some have a whirlpool and a fireplace. During the summer, rates start at $280 a night and top off at $375. And, yes, guests are invited to bring their horses and use the equestrian amenities (10844 E. Revold Rd.; 231-271-4970).
Guests are welcomed with a complimentary bottle of Black Star wine, treated to a predinner wine and cheese reception and a postprandial brandy in the Pegasus bar, and encouraged to visit the winery and creamery to sample the wares. In Suttons Bay, Samuel's uses local ingredients to craft a fine-dining experience (111 St. Joseph Ave.; 231-271-6222); Café Bliss serves seafood, ethnic, and vegetarian meals for lunch and dinner (420 St. Joseph Ave.; 231-271-5000).
Guests can explore the wooded trails at Black Star Farms or decamp for Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (9922 Front St., Empire; 231-326-5134). Cyclists can ride through forests and orchards, past streams and lakes, on the rolling Leelanau Trail, which follows an old railway corridor for 15 miles from Suttons Bay to Traverse City (231-941-4300). The Bay Winds Pony Club presents its Stepping Stones Horse Show at Black Farms, with jumping on July 22nd and dressage on July 23rd. The 14th annual Suttons Bay Jazz Fest takes place July 29th (Suttons Bay Marina Park; 231-271-4444). To learn more about other area offerings, contact the Suttons Bay Chamber of Commerce (231-271-5077, www.suttonsbayarea.com).
Suttons Bay is 340 miles-about five and a half hours-from Chicago. United and American airlines offer a two-hour nonstop flight from O'Hare Airport to Traverse City, where you can rent a car.
Did you like what you read here? Subscribe to Chicago Magazine »
