Birch Valley Hideaway and Bay View Lodge are rental homes which afford you spacious and private accommodations as well as access to amenities at Bay Breeze Resort.

People who rent these homes in Fish Creek can also enjoy the heated outdoor pool, whirlpool and sandy beach on the Bay Breeze Resort property in Ephraim.

“There are not a lot of houses up here that have a pool, whirlpool and a sandy beach,” says Debbie Krause, co-owner of the homes and Bay Breeze Resort with husband Gary.

But perhaps the nicest feature of all is the welcome you receive from Debbie and her husband, Gary, who genuinely love what they do and want to help you enjoy your stay in Door County.

“People work so hard, and when they come here, I want to make sure they have a good time,” Debbie says. “Gary and I grew up in this business; both our families are in tourism. I love this business.”

Birch Valley Hideaway

The couple’s Birch Valley Hideaway is located just one mile south of Bay Breeze Resort. The sprawling 2,000 square foot, ranch-style home is tucked away from the fray on 13 woody acres with - you guessed it - a lot of birch trees.  But it also has a convenient location within walking or biking distance to Peninsula State Park.

As you approach the home, you’ll wind through trees on a paved driveway. There’s a flagstone patio in front of the home and enough space for a game of basketball.

Inside, the décor is inspired by the outdoors.  There’s a vaulted cedar ceiling in the living room and cedar walls in the entryway.  Throughout the home, the use of birch on lampshades, candles and baskets is very sweet.

After enjoying television or a roaring fire in the natural stone fireplace, you can fall asleep on the sofa sleeper in the living room, or head to one of the four nicely sized bedrooms with queen-size and king-size beds.

Three bedrooms have a view of the backyard—the one that faces the front is adorned with a lovely antique rocking chair and dresser.

There are two baths. One has a Jacuzzi tub and separate shower.  Another, adjacent to the master bedroom, has a shower only. 

A pair of large corner windows infuses natural light into the master bedroom.  The nature-inspired décor continues with a pine cone theme here.

After checking out the bedrooms, you can enjoy putting dinner together in the fully equipped kitchen. There’s a stove, microwave, refrigerator, dishwasher, garbage disposal, coffeemaker and toaster. The dining room seats 10.

Or, you may decide to stage a barbeque using the gas grill on the cedar deck overlooking that beautiful yard. 

There’s a family room, but it’s small and narrow.

Sometimes Debbie enjoys a break, reading guests’ comments from the book kept in the entryway.

“We just love it here; the house is more than we expected,” a guest wrote. “We’d liked to stay at the log cabin next year.”

Indeed, many people alternate their stays in Door County, enjoying Birch Valley one time and Bay View Lodge the next visit.

Bay View Lodge

Bay View Lodge, located about six miles south of Bay Breeze Resort, is perched on a bluff in Fish Creek.  The 2,000 square foot pine log home affords an absolutely stunning view of Peninsula State Park jutting out into the waters of Fish Creek Harbor.

A cedar deck wraps around most of the home, so you can wander around and enjoy the view of natural surroundings as it changes during the day.

“You can see a sunrise and sunset. It is unbelievable; the best of two worlds. You are up so high,” Debbie says.

Inside, the home has a lodge-inspired décor with exposed pine logs walls, wooden ceilings, hardwood floors and skylights.  In the great room, there’s a stone fireplace and red and white checkered sofa and loveseat.

The great room is open to the dining room, which seats eight.  The fully outfitted kitchen has a stove, microwave, refrigerator, dishwasher, coffeemaker, toaster. There’s also a breakfast bar for additional seating for four.

“People love it here so much that we get phone calls asking, ‘Will you sell it to us?’” It just has such a homey feel,” Debbie says.

There are three bedrooms with king and queen-size beds on three levels of the house and additional sleeping in a lower level suite. The master is on the first level and has an adjacent bath with a shower only.

The second bedroom is tucked above. It has a pitched ceiling with skylights and a loft style entryway with a commanding view of the great room below and the outdoors.

From the main level, head down to a spacious suite---there’s an entertainment center with TV/VCR, a queen size bed, a table and seating for card games or puzzles. And there’s even access to the outdoors and a patio adorned with a wooden swing to take in that view.

Also on the lower level is a bedroom with a lovely rustic-style headboard and footboard and birdhouse theme décor. The bathroom on this level has one of the many Krause couple’s finds while antiquing—a framed copy of the October 1936 cover of “Comfort” magazine (picturing a moose).

Always decorated beautifully
“When Gary and I travel, we go into cute little boutiques to find things for the homes,” Debbie says. “We love to decorate, and it’s a good thing I have two houses.”

Although DoorCountyNavigiator.com was not here at holiday time, we saw many neatly stacked bins of holiday decorations in closets. Clearly, the Krauses make the rental homes merry throughout the year.

“We put a Christmas tree up in each house and pumpkins that people can carve for Halloween. At Thanksgiving, there are turkey centerpieces.  On Fourth of July, we decorate with flags and sailboats. It takes a lot of time, but people like it,” Debbie says.

And Debbie and Gary also take the time to give their guests advice on sites to see in Door County.  They encourage people to visit places off the beaten path such as town parks in Ephraim/Fish Creek like Peninsula State Park, in Ellison Bay, Kangaroo Lake in Baileys Harbor, Whitefish Dunes State Park in Sturgeon Bay and more.

“I am such a people person.  I will be their tour director and set up their week,” Debbie says. “They spend all day out and come back and say:’ That was so much fun.’”

Birch Valley Hideaway and Bay View Lodge are first-class, like everything Debbie and Gary do.  You will love these homes!   And Open in Winter too!

We enjoyed our tour of these beautiful homes, and we think you will find them to be wonderful! Visit their website now, and please tell them that DoorCountyNavigator.com sent you - by doing so, you help keep this site alive & well for you!  Thanks!

This is Property ID # DCNAV-H-1285

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