Places to Stay : Baileys Harbor

Gordon Lodge Resort
1420 Pine Drive
Baileys Harbor
800-830-6235 or 920-839-2331

There’s so much to do in the comfort of Gordon Lodge, you may not want to leave your room to enjoy all Door County has to offer.

This rambling resort sits on the waters of North Bay and Lake Michigan and features lodge rooms, waterfront cottages and villas. Also here are the Gordon Lodge Restaurant (a full hot breakfast is included with your stay) and Top Deck - a bar and restaurant. There are two tennis courts, outdoor heated pool, hot tub and more.

Gordon Lodge is tucked away from the fray, so you really have the feeling of seclusion along with the benefit of everything at your beckon call.

“This is really old Door County—it is private, unobtrusive, not noisy,” says Kenny Kuchar of Racine, a Gordon Lodge guest, who was looking into availability for another stay with wife Jody, during our tour.

As you head north on Hwy. 57 past the town of Baileys Harbor, turn right on County Rd. Q. Take this beautiful winding road for about five miles to Pine (there is a Gordon Lodge sign at the corner of Q and Pine). Turn right on Pine, and follow it until it ends at the resort.

You can park under the Lodge’s carport as you unload luggage.  You will be checking into your choice of accommodations. You can stay inside the lodge building in one of 16 rooms or in the privacy of one of the 20 cottages and villas.

Lodge rooms

The lodge offers two types of rooms in a single-level building. Choose from a room with two double beds or accommodations with a king-size bed and pull-out sofa sleeper. 

Every lodge room has a beautiful water view of either North Bay or Lake Michigan. 

“It is great to see sunrises here in the morning; that is very cool,” says Gayle DeClark, manager.

All accommodations have refrigerators, televisions and coffeemakers and private baths with tub/shower combination (except the duplex cottage which has shower only).  

Blow dryers are available at the registration desk for use.  The cottages have woodburning fireplaces, and some of them have microwaves. 

Waterfront cottages and villas

Leave the lodge building to find the cottages and villas, nestled all around Gordon Lodge’s woody property.  Birds sang and waves crashed as we followed a paved pathway to these cedar-sided accommodations—each with a water view and private patio.

The waterfront villa—two bedrooms and two baths--comfortably sleeps as many as six people.  A king- size bed is found in one bedroom, and two double beds are in another. 

The spacious living room has a pull-out double sofa sleeper as well as a woodburning fireplace.   On the private patio there is plenty of wood stacked up for burning in the fireplace.

The waterfront cottage has two bedrooms—one has a double bed and another has two twins.  Although there is one bath, the bedrooms have a vanity/sink, so dad can get a start on shaving while someone else is in the shower.

There’s a living room with a fireplace, desk and seating area, and this cottage comfortably accommodates as many as four people.

But if it’s just the two of you, or you prefer cozy accommodations, the duplexsleeping cottage may be just right.  As the name applies, these are like attached townhomes with your own private entryway.

Inside, there’s a queen-size bed and a sleeper style chair in a sitting area.  Very charming.

Gordon Lodge staff calls an area of waterfront villas “adult only.”  That’s because these six villas sit on the edge of a bluff with the North Bay water below. 

The living room of these waterfront villas offers stunning bluff views and corner stone woodburning fireplaces. 

You actually enter the villa’s bedroom (with a king-size bed and day bed). There’s one bath adjoining the bedroom, and the villa layout makes sense after you take in that view from the living room.

Most cottages and villas are situated at least 20 to 30 feet from the next, so you have a feeling of privacy here.  There is parking right outside your cottage or villa entry.

But which do you choose—lodge room, cottage or villa?  DeClark advises guests to reserve a cottage or villa “if you want to be more remote and not in and out of the lodge. They are more secluded.  It depends on what people are looking for.”

Dining on campus

When you are looking to eat, just head over to the Gordon Lodge Restaurant (also called the Dining Hall by the staff). You can order breakfast off the menu as it is included with your stay at the Lodge. They have also installed a new bar and floors in Top Deck at Gordon Lodge, which has floor to ceiling windows and sits right on the water. What a great place to have a drink or order bistro-style food for lunch or dinner!

They have also installed a new bar and floors in Top Deck, which has floor to ceiling windows and sits right on the water. What a great place to have a drink or order bistro-style food!

Of course, there’s a great deck, too.

Nearby fun

If you do choose to leave Gordon Lodge, there’s plenty to do. Bikers rave about rides on the winding County Road Q.  Also nearby are restaurants, unique shops and galleries in the quaint lakeside town of Baileys Harbor.

The Ridges Sanctuary, also in Baileys Harbor with an entrance on County Road Q, is an internationally recognized rare natural area offering a glimpse at native orchids and plants listed on the Wisconsin Threatened and Endangered Species List. Nature trails are open to the public; donation is requested. 

So if you want to stay near interesting attractions yet away from the fray in pleasant accommodations on the water, give Gordon Lodge a call or visit the Gordon Lodge website right now – we think you will like what you find there! And please mention the helpful information you garnered from DoorCountyNavigator.com. 

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