Sea Ballads with Judy Cook

This Labor Day Weekend is an especially eventful one here in Port Washington as we celebrate the city’s 175th anniversary and the 150th anniversary of the 1860 Light Station!

We are all hoping for nice weather for Judy Cook’s concert Saturday at 2:00 on the lawn of the Light Station (chairs or blankets are recommended).  The alternative indoor site is downtown in a former furniture store now being operated as a maritime museum.

The 1860 Light Station now houses a museum which attracts 3000-4000 visitors a year and is operated by the Port Washington Historical Society.   Restoration of the Light Station has made it a proud landmark within the city.

Visit www.portwashingtonhistoricalsociety.org for details.

Guests of the Port Washington Inn often comment about the city’s welcoming parks, a bonus to locals and visitors alike.   The parks include the 63-acre lake parks,  Rotary Park, a nature preserve, a community waterpark, a 30-mile recreational trail,  and numerous neighborhood parks.  Here is an overview of the parks most frequented by our guests:

Upper and Lower Lake Parks

Visit Lake Bluff Park, a 63 acre park, which includes Upper Lake Park and Lower Lake Park.  These parks offer picturesque views of Lake Michigan, the lighthouse and the harbor.   They are a great place to picnic, to hike, and to experience the allure of Lake Michigan.

Take the newly built stairway from Upper Lake Park down to the public beach, which is open year round.   Enjoy a leisurely stroll along the beach; dip your toes in the water to appreciate Lake Michigan’s “cool factor”!   Upper Lake Park is a new favorite with kids of all ages since it now includes the first universally accessible playground in Ozaukee County, aptly named “Possibility Playground”.

The band shell in Lower Lake Park is the place to gather for free concerts on Sunday evenings in the summer and free movies on select Friday evenings.   A playground is part of this park as well.

Rotary Park

Located at the south end of the marina, Rotary Park includes gardens, walkways, and a gazebo.  It serves as the festival headquarters for local festivals and as a popular place to immerse oneself in Port Washington’s Lake Michigan atmosphere.

Interurban Trail

Take a day exploring the old interurban rail line by venturing out on the Interurban Trail on foot, bicycle, in-line skate or cross-country skis.  Access to the trail is only three blocks from the Port Washington Inn (see other blog posts specifically about the Interurban Trail).  Port Washington is approximately at the midway point of the trail so it’s convenient to venture north on the trail one day and south on the trail another day.

Sauk Creek Nature Preserve

This 20+ acre nature preserve  along Sauk Creek offers excellent bird-watching, hiking trails and great fishing in the Sauk Creek rapids.

Port Washington Inn offers Gourmet Picnics as an add-on to a stay at the inn!

These picnics are often enjoyed at one of the local parks or taken along on a bike ride on the trail.  Guests can choose to have their picnic packed in an old-fashioned picnic basket or into backpacks to take hiking or biking.   All that fresh air can make you really hungry!

Harrington Beach

What fun to find Port Washington, Wisconsin, and Ozaukee County’s Interurban Trail highlighted in an article by Catey Sullivan writing for Chicago Magazine’s The Escape Artist July 2010!   Follow this link to read the article online  http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/July-2010/Exploring-the-Interurban-Trail-near-Port-Washington-Wisconsin

Locals all too often take for granted Port Washington’s exceptional setting, but we are reminded by visitors that what we have here is ‘a little piece of heaven’.

From Port Washington the Interurban Trail heads north through the countryside toward Harrington Beach State Park or south with a mixture of countryside and the towns of Grafton, Cedarburg, and Thiensville.

The 636 acre Harrington Beach State Park is a favorite destination for guests of Port Washington Inn to take one of the inn’s Gourmet Picnics to enjoy at a picnic table or on the beach.  The picnics can be packed in backpacks for guests doing the bike trail or in a picnic basket for those preferring to travel by car.   It’s homemade fare prepared in the inn kitchen!

NOTE: The toll free number listed in this article is defunct.

Please call 262-284-5583 to reach Port Washington Inn.

Set atop a bluff overlooking the harbor and beach of Port Washington Wisconsin, Upper Lake Park summons residents and visitors to get outside in a beautiful and peaceful setting. More and more people are venturing to Upper Lake Park these days, in part because of the stairway that was installed late fall 2009 to connect the park with the beach below it. That stairway makes Port Washington’s beach more visibly accessible than it had been (although for those who cannot negotiate all the steps, there is another access keeping you on level ground).

But Upper Lake Park is about much more than the beach and views of Lake Michigan and Port Washington’s Marina! Picnicking, hiking, and picture taking are all good reasons to venture there. The Possibility Playground which was completed in 2009 brings scores of extended families to the park with children of all ages who love exploring the playgrounds amazing variety of experiences. It’s fun just to watch the fun!

Consider coming to Port Washington for an extended stay at the Port Washington Inn Bed and Breakfast. Order one of our Gourmet Picnics to take to Upper Lake Park and experience how food tastes even better when we eat outdoors in a beautiful environment.

As seen from the Port Washington Inn, the restored clock tower of the original Ozaukee County Courthouse is a landmark framing our views of Lake Michigan.  Lighted at night, this landmark is an exquisite example of the impact of architecture on our daily lives.

A self-guided walking tour of prominent downtown historic buildings has been a favorite with guests of the Port Washington Inn, who are often attracted to the inn by its history.

In fact, the history of Port Washington Inn is connected to the German brewing tradition by George Blessing who built this home for his family when he moved to Port Washington from Chicago after purchasing the Port Brewing Company.

This past fall (2009) the Port Washington Wisconsin Historical Society featured all establishments that produced or served beers within Port Washington’s history. This event was attended by one of the Blessings’ grandsons who shared several stories of his Grandfather Blessing. This grandson has visited the Port Washington Inn several times and each time we are regaled with his memories of time he spent here with his grandparents and extended family.

As with any community, there were ‘movers and shakers’ who propelled Port Washington’s growth from a meager Lake Michigan harbor to a thriving center of trade and the county seat of Ozaukee County, Wisconsin.

The evidence is recorded in a ‘Homecoming’ Book published around 1908 in which are pictures and advertisements of significant businesses as well as prominent residences, the George Blessing home among them. A copy of this book was gifted to the inn by the Blessings’ grandson. The Port Washington Inn now has had several of the photos from the book professionally copied and framed; they are on display in the parlors.

When visiting Port Washington, the Port Washington Inn bed and breakfast on Sweetcake Hill gives you an atmosphere of serenity, elegance, and comfort in one of Port Washington’s historic homes built in 1903. Here the comfort quotient will have you believing you’ve traveled back in time to a less harried, more generous time and place. Here you may feel as though you’ve landed in the midst of a serene photo as the inn draws you into its quiet beauty.

Combining genealogy research and a leisurely vacation is easily accomplished when you make the Port Washington Inn your headquarters. The Ozaukee County Archives Research Facility is just three blocks down the hill in the restored 1907 Electric Interurban Depot building. There is direct link research capability with the Wisconsin Historical Society Archives and the National Archives Center. Located adjacent to the Ozaukee Interurban Trail, the center serves also as a rest stop, welcome, and information center for trail users.

if you are a beachcomber, you can make your way to this secluded beach

by way of the stairway installed in late 2009!

As the waves lap the shore, you’ll enjoy the ever-changing temperament

of Lake Michigan’s waters whose hues can range from azure to turquoise,

from soft opalescent at dusk to endless shades of greys on overcast days.

The waters of the lake echo the sky and the cloud formations traveling overhead

are remarkable, resulting in spectacular sunrises and sunsets!

Formations of geese fly in and out of the harbor,

ducks paddle the breakwaters, and gulls wheel overhead.

Enjoy strolling the beach and, as a guest of the Port Washington Inn,

take advantage of the beach blankets and towels

they are happy to supply for lolling on the beach!

Adults feast for $10, kids for $4.  Carry Out is available by calling 262-284-4690.

A little known fact:  the Memorial Building where the smelt are served was once the Port Brewing Company owned by George Blessing, who built a lovely home on Sweetcake Hill that is now the Port Washington Inn Bed and  Breakfast.