It happened. Cherry season is officially here.

After a cooler than usual spring (including some weather we want to forget), had the harvest running a few days behind schedule. But the heat dome that settled over the county in late June and early July did exactly what it was supposed to do. The cherries caught up.

Sweet cherries have been open for picking since early July at several orchards, and the tart Montmorency cherries, the ones that make the pies worth traveling for, are set to open this week.

Some orchards are open - or close - for u-pick season, including Seaquist Orchards in Sister Bay, Alexander's in Brussels, Choice Orchards in Sturgeon Bay, and Schartner's in Egg Harbor.

Call ahead before you go, because pick-your-own windows can close fast and the best orchards fill up on weekends. But if you have been waiting for the signal that summer has fully, completely, unmistakably arrived, this is it.

Get a pail. Buy a pie. The season does not last long enough.

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This week in The Best of Door County Weekly:

One of our readers did something worth talking about.

Nancy L. wrote a letter to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame making the case for a Door County woman who most people outside the county have never heard of. With Nancy's permission, here is her story.

Mary Jane (Van Duyse) Sorgel grew up in Southern Door County, rooted in the Belgian community that settled that part of the peninsula generations ago. These were farming families, church builders, people who worked hard and took care of their own.

Mary Jane carried all of that with her when she stepped onto the field at Lambeau as the original drum majorette of the Green Bay Packers. She didn’t simply perform, she transformed the atmosphere.

She did not stop there.

Mary Jane founded the Golden Girls, a program that opened the gates of Lambeau Field to generations of young Wisconsin women.

For decades, girls across the state grew up dreaming of becoming what she invented. That is a legacy, not a footnote.

Nancy's plea is simple. The Packers have always been more than the men on the roster. They belong to the communities and the people who made them special, and Mary Jane is one of those people.

She came from Door County. She deserves to be recognized.

There is a version of a Door County trip that does not involve rushing anywhere.

Just a slow morning, a good massage, and lunch somewhere with a view.

This week on The Best of Door County we published a complete guide to the spas, salons, and nail studios spread across the county, and we’ve already had feedback with readers telling us it is one of the more useful things on the site.

My wife, Kelly, told me I had to get that article done, so that’s exactly what I did.

If a spa day has ever crossed your mind up here, this is the guide to bookmark before you book.

Read the Door County Spa and Salons guide here.

Last week we asked how often you visit Door County, and the results told us something about you.

The overwhelming majority (nearly 95%) of you are visitors, coming up once, twice, or multiple times a year, with a small but loyal slice who call Door County home year-round.

In other words, almost everyone reading this is either planning a trip, recovering from one, or quietly scheming the next one. That tracks.

That is exactly who this newsletter is for.

Every week we spotlight a recently sold home and an active listing to give you a feel for what the Door County real estate market looks like right now.

Whether you are actively looking or just dreaming, this is your weekly peek at what is changing hands up here.

JUST SOLD: Baileys Harbor

A brand new three bedroom, two bath home on Cedar Ridge Road in Baileys Harbor went under contract this month at $887,500. Built in 2026 on five acres just north of the village, the house reads like someone designed it specifically for people who come to Door County to disconnect.

Massive windows for natural light, quartz countertops, a large cherry wood island, a soaking tub in the primary suite, and a fireplace for the cool nights. This is the kind of property that makes you pull up Zillow at midnight and start doing math.

FOR SALE: Ellison Bay

Some houses in Door County are just houses. This one is a piece of the county's history.

Built in the 1860s, this three bedroom, three bath log home on Mink River Road in Ellison Bay has been thoughtfully restored while keeping everything that makes it extraordinary intact.

The property includes a detached garage, a gazebo, and a flagstone firepit for the evenings when you want to sit outside and remember why you fell in love with this place.

Listed at $795,000. Showings begin July 16.

Cherry season and Seaquist Orchards belong in the same sentence. They always have.

Seaquist is the largest cherry producer in the county and one of the largest in the state, with sweet cherry pick-your-own open now and tart Montmorency cherries coming in the next week or so.

The market is the move if picking is not your thing. Jams, preserves, cherry juice, dried cherries, cherry salsa, and pies baked on site. The cherry pie alone is worth the stop. Get one warm if you can and find somewhere to sit outside.

For the full picture on cherry orchards across the county, we put together a complete cherry orchard guide.

Seaquist Orchards is on Highway 42 between Sister Bay and Ellison Bay. seaquistorchards.com.

Thirsty Cow hosts Charity Music Bingo on Thursday, July 16 in Baileys Harbor. A fun, low-key night out for a good cause. Good reason to get out on a Thursday.

The Lodge at Leathem Smith welcomes the band Wild Horses on Saturday, July 18 in Sturgeon Bay. Waterfront, outdoor, and one of the better live music settings in the southern end of the county.

Glas Hamr plays live at Kitty O’Reillys Irish Pub on Saturday, July 18. If you caught them at the Sturgeon Bay Fourth of July and want more, here is your chance.

The Plein Air Festival runs July 19 through 25 at the Peninsula School of Art & Guenzel Gallery in Fish Creek. It is one of the most genuinely interesting summer events up here and worth planning a day around.

If you know of an event, a market, a concert, a festival, or anything happening up here worth sharing, send it our way.

The Belgian settlers who built Southern Door County first arrived in the 1850s, drawn largely by land availability and the promise of farming in a landscape that reminded them of home. They came from the French-speaking Walloon region of Belgium, settling in townships like Brussels, Rosiere, Duvall, and Namur and building a community so tight-knit that French remained the primary language in some households well into the twentieth century.

They were farmers and church builders, and their cultural footprint in southern Door County is still visible today. The Belgian Heritage Center in Brussels preserves that history.

Mary Jane came from this heritage. So did generations of Door County families who never made it on to Lambeau Field but who built the county into what it is today.

Summer is running hot this week and that is not a complaint. Highs are scheduled to hit the upper 80s on Tuesday, which is truly warm by Door County standards, before settling back into the low to mid 80s through the rest of the week. Rain chances are minimal this weekend.

Sunrise on Tuesday July 14 comes at 5:32 a.m. Sunset lands around 8:30 p.m. That is just under 15 hours of daylight, and with temperatures like this it would be a shame to waste a minute of it indoors.

Green Bay water temps are pushing into the low to mid 70s this week. That is swimming weather by any standard. Lake Michigan on the east side runs cooler but is climbing.

This week's newsletter was written to Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites by Talking Heads, a 1992 compilation that pulls together some of the most interesting music of their run. Psycho Killer, Once in a Lifetime, Burning Down the House. Songs that somehow still sound ahead of their time thirty-plus years later.

I know it’s a compilation, but it’s my favorite Talking Heads vinyl to throw on the record player. I know I’ve been giving you hints in my top 5, and Talking Heads is close… they probably sit somewhere in the five to ten range. So close.

David Byrne is one of those artists who makes me feel like I’m discovering something new every time I listen. Great music for an afternoon of writing about cherry orchards and Golden Girls.

We are building something fun here and we need your help. Send us a photo of your pet enjoying Door County. On the beach, on the boat, on the porch of a cottage with a view.

Whatever the moment is, we want to see it. The best photos will be featured right here each week with a little story behind them.

Send your photo to [email protected]. Tell us your pet's name, where you were, and what was happening. We will do the rest.

Cherry season is short. The warm weather is here. The orchards are open.

Without a doubt, this is the week to make your way up.

That’s it for this week. Thank you for reading.

I’ll drop into your inbox every Tuesday morning. Make sure to let me know what you think.

See you up here,
Brian

thebestofdoorcounty.com