Two lighthouses, two beaches, a bluff-top playground, two nature preserves and a walkable downtown, most of them within a short walk of the marina.
Port Washington is a Lake Michigan harbor town about 24 miles north of downtown Milwaukee, with a marina, two lighthouses and bluffs above its beaches. The best things to do in Port Washington are close together: you can park once near the marina and walk to the light station, the breakwater, downtown shops and both city beaches in an afternoon.
This hub covers the lot: the harbor and its lights, the beaches and bluff parks, two nature preserves, downtown galleries and shops, where to eat and drink, the summer festivals and where to sleep. Each section points to a closer guide when you want the detail.
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The harbor and the two lighthouses
Port Washington has two lights you can visit: the 1860 Light Station on the bluff north of downtown and the Art Deco pierhead light at the end of the north breakwater.
The pierhead light went up in 1935 on a 20-foot square concrete base with arches, replacing an 1889 wooden light, and the Coast Guard ran it until it was automated in 1976. You can walk the half-mile breakwater out to stand under those arches, and people fish off it from shore.
The Port Washington Marina sits between the two, a short walk from either. Both stops fit into one morning on a Port Washington lighthouse walk, station first and breakwater second, since the station sits on the bluff just north of the harbor.
Beaches, bluffs and Possibility Playground
Port Washington has two city beaches about a mile apart: North Beach below Upper Lake Park, and South Beach below the bluffs south of the harbor.
The playground in the park is Possibility Playground, an inclusive, fenced playground that volunteers built in six days in September 2008 and expanded in 2019. Kids head straight for Possibility Playground, where a pirate ship, a sea monster named Nessie and a stainless steel slide built for children with cochlear implants share a poured rubber surface.
South Beach is the one for paddling and surfing: Visit Port Washington lists swimming, kayaking, surfing and paddleboarding below the bluffs there. Choosing between North Beach and South Beach mostly comes down to the way down: stairs or a paved walkway from Veterans Park for the north one, a road past the We Energies plant for the south one.
Two nature preserves, one in town and one on the lake
Port Washington's two Ozaukee Washington Land Trust preserves are very different walks: Sauk Creek is a creek-side woods inside the city, and Forest Beach is an old golf course turned bird stopover on the lake to the north.
Forest Beach Migratory Preserve is 116 acres with 2.71 miles of mowed trail, about 5.5 miles northeast of the marina toward Belgium. Dogs are not allowed there at any time, because it is managed for migrating birds.
Close to downtown, the Port Washington Avian Sanctuary is a short path through native plantings around a small pond, about 0.3 miles south of the marina near South Beach.
The three ways into Sauk Creek Nature Preserve are West Walters Street or North Grant Street on the north side and Moore Road or North Sauk Drive on the south, where a pull-off is the only off-street parking.
Downtown galleries, shops and local history
Downtown Port Washington is a few blocks of Franklin Street, Main Street and Grand Avenue behind the marina, and most of its shops, galleries and cafes sit within that grid.
Art Perspective Gallery on East Main Street shows work by more than 30 local artists, and Gallery 224 on North Franklin Street holds regular Friday night openings, per their listings. The Port Washington Historical Society Resource Center at 205 North Franklin Street is free, with rotating exhibits, and Visit Port Washington lists it open year-round on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, 1 to 4 p.m.
For browsing, Verbosity Bookhouse on North Franklin pairs books with coffee and tea, and also sells local handmade pieces and some antiques.
Most of Port Washington's shops line North Franklin Street, from The Spice and Tea Exchange at No. 100 to The Purple Turtle Artisan Collective at No. 327.
Where to eat and drink
Port Washington's restaurants mostly sit within a few blocks of the marina, and several have patios on the water.
Breakfast and lunch on the water means Dockside on East Main, a marina-side deli whose listing calls out fresh-squeezed orange juice and a pork belly BLT. For dinner, Twisted Willow serves American food in a restored former home on North Franklin with a patio.
Dessert has an Airstream trailer: Frankie's Ice Cream scoops Cedarcrest ice cream and makes donuts on North Franklin Street.
Port Washington restaurants run from Moonlight Tavern & Supper Club in the 1902 Port Hotel building on East Main to sub shops and a Mexican patio on Grand Avenue.
Breakfast in Port Washington means a bakery, two deli counters and coffee bars that share space with a music shop and a wine bar.
After dark, Port Washington's bars range from Sir James Pub, which Travel Wisconsin credits with more than 900 beers, to Cavelier Wine Bar's lakeside patio.
Friday is fish fry night here as across Wisconsin, and the Port Washington fish fry runs from perch and bluegill at Seven Hills Pub & Grille to Fish Fry Friday at Fork & Tap.
Fish Days and the Saturday market
Port Washington's biggest event is Fish Days, a free three-day lakefront festival in mid-July with a parade, fish and chips and fireworks; in 2026 it ran July 16 to 18. For more than 50 years it was a one-day event billed as the World's Largest Outdoor One Day Fish Fry.
In 2025, Port Washington Fish Day opened on Thursday with a free fish fry for veterans and senior center members and built to Saturday's 11 a.m. parade and fireworks at dusk.
From June to the end of October the farmers market fills Main Street downtown on Saturday mornings, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; the 2026 season runs June 13 to October 31. Visit Port Washington says the market is producer-only and won the 2025 Tour Ozaukee Community Choice Award for best farmers market in the county.
The Port Washington farmers market sets up on Main Street in the historic downtown, overlooking the marina.
Pickleball, trails and the water
Active days here are mostly free and outdoors: pickleball, a long bike trail and the lake itself.
Kolbach Park on North Holden Street has three outdoor pickleball courts with lights on a timer for evening play. The Ozaukee Interurban Trail passes through town, and Visit Port Washington notes that the Bailey House Bed & Bike Inn sits on it a few blocks from downtown.
Charter fishing boats leave from the marina for salmon and trout, and Visit Port Washington has a charter fishing page.
Port Washington after the season ends
Port Washington in winter is quieter, but the indoor history, the preserves and some year-round shops stay open.
The light station closes for the year after mid-October. The Resource Center downtown keeps its Wednesday and Thursday afternoon hours all year, per Visit Port Washington.
The land trust lists cross-country skiing and snowshoeing at Sauk Creek Nature Preserve, and the creek runs over limestone ledges there. DreamPort Harvest Market on North Franklin sells locally grown and made products year-round, which covers the months after the Saturday market packs up.
Where to stay
Port Washington has six places to stay listed here: two hotels by the harbor, two historic houses, a hotel with a pool off the highway and a motel. The Port Hotel, built in 1902, has 10 suites on Main Street, and the Holiday Inn Express off Seven Hills Road was remodeled in 2024, per Visit Port Washington.
Of the hotels in Port Washington, the Holiday Inn Express has an indoor pool and hot tub, and the Harborview has The Beacon restaurant and bar on site.
Nearby towns worth the short hop
Four towns with their own Local Eyes guides sit within about 9 miles of Port Washington.
Saukville is about 3 miles west on the Milwaukee River, with Tendick Nature Park and the Ozaukee County Pioneer Village.
About 6 miles southwest, Grafton has Lion's Den Gorge Nature Preserve on the lake, which Visit Port Washington lists as just south of town.
Cedarburg, about 8 miles southwest, is the old mill town with the covered bridge.
To the north, Belgium is about 8 miles up the shore and is the closest town to Harrington Beach State Park.
Frequently asked questions
Published July 27, 2026
