Door County is a truly special place.
Its peaceful beauty and cultural heritage are what draw so many adventurous spirits to this place we call home. It is in our nature and wholesome midwestern genes to share what we love with others.
With 300 miles of peninsula shoreline, Door County, Wisconsin, is a place where families have come for generations to enjoy the area’s natural beauty. Fish boils, wineries, orchards, lighthouses, and forests call to visitors — to the tune of about two million tourists annually.
Two million visitors can do a lot of good for the region’s economy, but they can do a lot of damage to the great outdoors. Destination Door County embarked on an initiative to involve both locals and visitors in protecting the shorelines and communities by signing a pledge to honor the land and history.
In addition to the pledge, the destination management organization’s (DMO) website offers lots of “Care For Door County” content, including:
- Door County’s Leave No Trace 7 Principles video series
- Information about its effort to become a certified Green Destination within three years
- Ways to participate in voluntourism
Along with a video, the pledge is front-and-center on the DMO’s website:
- I will respect the water’s vast and unpredictable beauty and practice water safety at all times
- I will honor the local culture and traditions by exploring with an open heart and mind
- I will follow the trails and paths letting only my mind wander
- I will discover my sense of wonder while finding new and undiscovered places
- I will embrace nature’s wild spirit leaving it perfectly unchanged
- I will do my part to preserve, protect, and care for Door County, always
To date, 4,118 people have signed the pledge to explore Door County responsibly. There’s also a partner toolkit to encourage destination-wide support. We asked Michelle Rasmusson, director of marketing and sales at Destination Door County, to share what went into creating the Door County Pledge and how it’s going.
