Door County Coastal Byway
A 67-mile loop around Wisconsin's Door Peninsula on WIS 42 and 57, between Green Bay and Lake Michigan, past state parks, lighthouses and harbor villages.
Also known as WIS 42 and WIS 57
Photo: Royalbroil, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Length67.1 miles[1]
- Drive timeNot verified
- RoadsWIS 42 and WIS 57[2]
- Start and endA loop from the WIS 42/57 junction north of Sturgeon Bay, north on WIS 42 to Northport and back on WIS 57 through Baileys Harbor and Jacksonport[2]
- Fees and passesNone for the byway[1]State parks charge a vehicle admission.
- Best seasonNot verified
- SurfaceNot verified
- Vehicle notesNot verified
- Seasonal closuresNot verified
Before you go
Road status and weather can change quickly. Check the official road-conditions link before you go.
Facts last checked against the sources on October 22, 2026.
About the drive
The Door County Coastal Byway loops around the northern Door Peninsula, between the waters of Green Bay and Lake Michigan. It runs north on WIS 42 along the bay side to Northport, where the Washington Island ferry leaves, and comes back down WIS 57 on the Lake Michigan side through Baileys Harbor and Jacksonport.
FHWA counts three state parks, ten county parks and more than 25 nature preserves along the route, and the peninsula is known for rare plants and animals. Newport State Park near Ellison Bay is a 2,400-acre wilderness park.
We haven't verified a complete route line for this byway yet, so the map shows the stops only.
Stops along the way
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Sturgeon Bay
Start of the loop, just south of the WIS 42/57 junction.
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Sister Bay
Village where Highways 42 and 57 meet.
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Newport State Park
2,400-acre wilderness park near Ellison Bay.
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Northport
Northern tip, with the ferry to Washington Island.
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Baileys Harbor
Lake Michigan village on WIS 57.
Stops are listed in order along the route; the numbers match the map. Stop locations come from the National Park Service, the U.S. Geological Survey place-names database, the stop's own official page or, where noted in the data, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors).
Sources
- America's Byways: Door County Coastal Byway (FHWA) (checked 2026-10-22)
- Explore Wisconsin's Scenic Byways (Wisconsin Department of Transportation) (checked 2026-10-22)
- Door County Coastal National Scenic Byway (Travel Wisconsin) (checked 2026-10-22)
- Route line: U.S. DOT scenic byways map service (geo.dot.gov), retrieved 2026-10-22.
Written by VanillaGoods from the cited official sources. This is a drive to know, not a ranking. Road status and weather can change quickly; check the official road-conditions link before you go.
Spot something out of date? Email help@vanillagoods.com (help@vanillagoods.com).