Port Washington, WI

Day Trip from Milwaukee: Port Washington, WI

Memorial Day weekend, 2023

Quick summary: Sometimes you just need a stay-cation that involves leaving your house, but not driving for hours.

Where we stayed

We stayed in the charming Port Hotel, built in 1902. If you’re looking for a run of the mill hotel or need a pool, this is not the place for you. This is a quint hotel and I don’t think there’s an elevator to get to the 2nd and 3rd floors so if you can’t do stairs, this likely isn’t for you either. If you prefer the bed and breakfast, more historical setting, this IS the place for you. The rooms have the old school “inn” type charm and the showers are all updated with some of the best Kohler has to offer. Be ready for a tube TV – we giggled trying to remember the last time we watched TV on a tube TV. But it worked great and we found something to watch as we wound down from the day. The fireplace in our room was such a nice touch. It was chilly outside and a great way to relax as we settled in. We loved The Port Hotel and recommend, if what we described is your style.

What we ate

There are a lot of great options in Port Washington, depending on your mood and budget. We couldn’t try everything so we chose a few that sounded best to us.

Breakfast: Although we could have had a continental breakfast at the Port Hotel, it wasn’t quite what we were in the mood for. It was also not going to be available until 9am and we’re early risers. We chose The Beacon instead. Another cute little place, located on the ground floor of a hotel. The restaurant also faced the marina and lake so we had a nice view. We were there around 8am so we didn’t need reservations. Sean had scrambled eggs and fruit. I had the avocado toast with a poached egg. I know – we’re a bit boring for breakfast. It was great though! There were also a few coffee shops around if you prefer that. There was also an adorable bakery on the main drag that looked scrumptious. We couldn’t try everything but darn, I wish we could!

Bloody Mary Lunch: After a big breakfast and hiking around the area for about 5 miles, we worked up a thirst but weren’t terribly hungry. What fits the bill better than a Bloody Mary! On Sundays, most restaurants and shops don’t open until 11am, some not opening until noon. We thought Schooner Pub would have the best view of the lake so that’s where we chose. We arrived at 11am on the dot and were lucky enough to score a spot on the deck, overlooking the marina. We asked for really spicy bloody mary and that’s what we got! They used Rush Creek jalapeno vodka and it was just the right amount of spice. Garnished with a spicy dill pickle – not quite all of the acutrament we’re used to in a Milwaukee bloody mary, but it was still great. It hit the spot and the view was exactly what we were looking for!

Dinner: We had dinner and drinks at The Twisted Willow. We started with the crab cake bites, red wine and a local beer. There are three of them sitting on cucumbers – three little bites. They were fantastic! Sean had the pan seared atlantic salmon, honey soy style and I had the twisted caesar salad with blackened chicken. Sean thought his salmon was seasoned to perfection and the blackened chicken was not only cooked perfectly, it was also perfectly seasoned. They end the meal with a small packet of fennel candies to cleanse your pallet and aid in digestion. Nice touch. We very much enjoyed The Twisted Willow and recommend if you’re looking for a nice dinner in a nice setting. As a FYI, they only take reservations by phone and we do recommend you make a reservation.

What we did

We like a balance of activity and social or leisure. Activity usually involves hiking, biking, or kayaking. Social or leisure usually involves checking out local breweries, wineries or art. Here are the things we were able to do in our 24 hours in Port.

Drinks: On the ground level of our hotel is the Moonlight Tavern. The restaurant recently reopened and we hope you’ll visit. It’s wonderfully charming with great service. We stopped in for pre and post dinner drinks. The bartender was was great and had some recommendations from the drink special list for us. I tried a tequila based drink before dinner. Heavy on the tequila, light on sweetness – just the way I like it! Sean did a special release of Woodford Reserve, neat. We met a lovely older couple while we enjoyed our drinks, then headed out for dinner.

On Sunday, we stopped into Vines to Cellar Winery for a wine tasting. I’ll be honest, I was expecting only fruit based wine and I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong! They had a wide range of the fruit wines, white, red, rose and dessert wines. They offer 5 tastings for $10 and bottles are very reasonably priced. We were greeted by two “shop pups”, Cabernet and Vino. They were the sweetest dogs and kept us company while we tasted. The owner was super friendly and helped guide the tasting. We’re so glad we stopped!

If beer is more your gig, we recommend stopping into Inventor’s Brewpub. We both did flights and really didn’t have a beer we didn’t like. I preferred the Easy Breezy and Strawberry Shandy. Sean liked the barleywine. We’re convinced you can’t go wrong with any choice. Service was great and the flight comes in a model airplane – we loved it! We were able to sit outside on the picnic tables and enjoy the view of Veteran’s Park and the lake. I might have also left with a t-shirt – always a sucker for a good brewery t-shirt. Highly recommend a stop if you enjoy a good beer!

Biking: And by biking, I mean bicycling! We brought the bikes along and jumped on to the Ozaukee County Interurban Trail. We took the trail north out of Port and rode out about 7 miles (14 round trip). The trail is nice, lots of farm land and overall pretty flat. If you’re someone who avoids cycling on hills, this is a good one, great for all levels.

Walking / Beach: We walked all around the city, harbor and parks. We wanted to check out North Beach and walked a good mile or so out. It’s a beautiful beach and the water clarity was stunning. Not something we’re used to in Milwaukee! As I worked on this blog post, I see that North Beach was closed due to a land slide in 2022. It was open when we were there but maybe something to check before you go. They did open a South Beach Park, maybe so there’s an alternative should that happen again? Either way, it was lovely and if you enjoy a beach, definitely check it out!