Chasing cherry blossoms in Door County
Month of May is right time to catch fruit trees in bloom
Door County cherries are right up there with beer, cheese curds and kringle in Wisconsin’s culinary claims to fame.
But before the little red fruits are harvested in July and turned into pies, pastries and jams, cherry trees have another treat in store: beautiful white and pink blossoms that fill 2,500 acres of orchards throughout the peninsula with a dazzling spring display.
They’re complemented by more than 500 acres of apple trees that produce billowy pink flowers a week or two later, plus dozens of wildflowers that begin their journey above ground around the same time.
It all makes for a fertile backdrop for a spring road trip around the peninsula to see the blooms and experience the Door before full-blown tourist season sets in in the summer.
The cherry blossoms usually bloom in mid-May, and they’re on track for that again this year, said Jon Jarosh, director of communications and public relations for the Door County Visitor Bureau.
“Typically the apple blossoms are usually up to a week later, but because the peninsula is so long, sometimes what we’ll see happening is maybe apple blossoms in the southern part of the county will be out while there’s still cherry blossoms in the northern part of the county,” he said. “It’s not like all the cherry blossoms in the county go in the same week. It’s kind of like a wave, and usually they start in the southern part of the county and work their way north.”
Because the blossoms hold on for about a week, that means there’s a two- to threeweek period where visitors could see blossoms throughout the county — weather-dependent, of course.
“It really is a sight, and it’s not just for viewing — you can get your sense of smell into it as well. The cherry blossoms have a nice aroma to them,” Jarosh said.
The visitor bureau publishes a guide to spring that includes blooming times for many of the peninsula’s flowers, from hepatica, daffodils and marsh marigold in April to trillium, jack-in-the-pulpit, dwarf lake iris and the cherry and apple blossoms in May.
The guide also includes potential spots for seeing the various wildflowers, including Highways 42 and 57 — part of the Door County Coastal Byway — and the aptly named Cherry Lane north of Forestville and south of Sturgeon Bay.
Last year the orchard there, Kielar Akers Orchard, reported full cherry bloom on May 15. The orchard offers pickyour-own cherries in the summer.
Continuing north past Sturgeon Bay, follow County Highway HH, also known as Cherry Road, to Dunn Road. Turn right, then left onto Walker Road to pass the apple and cherry trees of Choice Orchards, which is open July through October.
Farther north, Lautenbach’s Orchard Country Winery & Market at 9197 Highway 42, Fish Creek, offers tours of its orchards, vineyards and production area at 11 a.m., 1 and 3 p.m. daily, May 1Oct. 31. The winery’s orchards are next to the parking lot, so it’s possible to take in the sights and smells even without a tour. The market and tasting room is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday and Thursday through Saturday, and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday.
Near the peninsula’s northern tip, Seaquist Orchards, 11482 Highway 42, Sister Bay, opens for the season on May 16.
The multigeneration family-run orchard was one of the first to mechanically harvest cherries. Before that in the ’50s, the peninsula’s 10,000 acres of cherries, which made it the nation’s top-producing cherry region and earned it the nickname “Cherryland USA,” were harvested by hand.
Now, machines can harvest a tree in about 7 seconds, with 90% of the county’s trees being harvested in this way, Jarosh said.
And while the peninsula isn’t the cherry leader it once was, it still produces the country’s fourth most cherries.
“The cool thing is, some of the family traditions of people coming up to either see the blossoms or pick the cherries are still in place,” Jarosh said.
For a trip through orchards that’s faster than walking and slower than driving, hop on a Segway tour with Glide N.E.W. The company’s two-hour Rural Egg Harbor Tour includes a jaunt through a cherry orchard. Tours start at $79 per person for a group of seven or more.
Or hop on a Door County Trolley Spring Blossom Tour. The five-hour tour includes tastings at two wineries, a carriage ride through Fish Creek and lunch at the English Inn. The tour costs $64.95 and is offered at 10 a.m. on Saturdays in April and May.
While you’re there: While cherries aren’t harvested until July, you can still find last year’s crop in jams, jellies, pies and more around the county. Fill up on pancakes with cherry sauce or toast topped with cherry jam at The Cookery in Fish Creek, finish a traditional New England lobster boil with Door County cherry bread pudding at the Harbor Fish Market & Grille in Baileys Harbor, or pick up all kinds of cherry goodies — from chopped cherry jam to cherry salsa — at the Wood Orchard Market in Egg Harbor.
The peninsula’s parks are good spots for seeing wildflowers. Look for trilliums along the Eagle Trail in Peninsula State Park, dwarf lake iris on the Brachiopod Trail at Whitefish Dunes State Park and more than two dozen native orchid species at The Ridges Sanctuary in Baileys Harbor.
Extend your stay with lodging and dining deals through the Door County Visitor Bureau’s Season of Blossoms packages, which are available through June 4.
On May 13, Egg Harbor plays host to the Door County Y’s Blossom Run. Runners and walkers can choose from distances of two or five miles. Registration is $10 for kids and $20 for adults.
Visit May 25-28 for special field trips, classes and activities throughout the peninsula as part of the Festival of Nature.
More information: For more on seeing cherry and apple blossoms in Door County, call the visitor bureau at (800) 5273529 or see doorcounty .com.
Getting there: Door County is about 150 miles north of Milwaukee via I-43 and Highway 57.
Reach Chelsey Lewis at clewis@ journalsentinel .com or on Twitter at @chelseylew.