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On Tuesday, September 5th, 2023, Rowleys Bay Resort and its attached businesses were affected by a devastating fire. Due to the extent of the damage, Rowleys Bay Resort, Grandma’s Swedish Bakery, Rowley’s Pub, and Rowleys Bay Restaurant are now permanently closed. Please read the message from our owners, below:

James 4:13-15 Bible NIV
13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

God has been at work in our hearts since the fire at Rowleys Bay Resort on September 5, 2023. When we experienced the fire and destruction, we could only imagine ‘repair and rebuild’; it was the only path that we could see at that time. Since then, we have been asking God to direct our path and help us to see what His plans are for us. The message is becoming more and more clear to us – it is time for someone else to carry on and build their own dreams. We will not be rebuilding. We have met with our commercial real estate agent and have already started conversations with prospective buyers. At nearly 62 and 70 years of age, we now see the opportunity to retire and enjoy each other and our family.

The Peterson Family have been good stewards of the land at Rowleys Bay since 1970. For 53 years, we have made this our home and our dream. Guests have become dear friends and their vacations have built a lifetime of memories. Many will remember Leonard and Alice Peterson with children in tow as they came from the homestead in Sister Bay to build a labor of love. We worked hard over the years to build the resort from a run down fishing camp, changing the name to Wagon Trail Resort in 1970. We then rebranded in 2010 and changed back to the original name, Rowleys Bay Resort, to embrace our history and heritage.

We’re looking forward to the next chapter at Rowleys Bay, and are so grateful for the time we had here on the bay. We have been blessed by those who chose to spend time with us, enjoying the beauty that God provided in our little corner of the world. We are also thankful for staff who have helped us along this journey over the years, and we have so many wonderful memories of all of you. We certainly couldn’t have done it without you. You were all an integral part of our dream. While we will certainly miss each and every one of you, we know that God has plans for all of us, and we are excited to watch them unfold.

Jewel and Bob Ouradnik

Please continue reading the posts below for additional updates:

Updates regarding the 9/5/23 fire

Friday 9/15/23 Updates

Friday, September 15th, 07:31 AM Happy Friday! Thanks to everyone who continues to send us support and well-wishes. Here are a few updates on our progress: For guests: We've completed processing or making contact with all guests who had reservations through the end of 2023. If you had a reservation with us through the end of this year, and have not yet received an email (check your spam) or phone call from us, please call us at 920-854-2385 M-F 9-3. We'll take your info and confirm what we need from you. We're still waiting for follow up information from many [...]

September 15th, 2023|Categories: All|

Sunday 9/10/23 Update for Guests

Sunday, September 10th, 2023 9:21 AM Thanks again to all the guests who have been patient with us as we work on setting up a new office space and issuing refunds. If you are a guest who is still waiting on a refund, please read this message: When we started processing refunds on Friday night, we discovered our remote access reservation system and our credit card processor weren't communicating properly. We know that when money is involved, the weekend is a long time to wait, so in order to start assisting customers as fast as possible we began issuing checks.  Unfortunately, this is [...]

September 10th, 2023|Categories: All|

Update for Guests with Reservations

Friday, September 8th, 2023 5:10 PM To Rowleys Bay Resort guests: Thank you so much for your continued patience while we continue to work on getting set up and prepared to process your reservations. While we are still waiting for some utility set ups and some of our interim equipment will be delayed, we do have enough resources to begin processing refunds for guests. We've currently made contact with guests who had reservations with us through September 21st. (This may include voicemails or emails, depending on what information we have for you.) Over the weekend we will begin processing refunds [...]

September 8th, 2023|Categories: All|

Partnership with Destination Door County

September 7th, 2023 Door County, WI - Rowleys Bay Resort and Destination Door County are working together to help find alternate lodging arrangements for guests that had upcoming lodging reservations at the resort on Rowleys Bay in northern Door County. Due to the extent of damage from a devastating fire at the historic property on Tuesday September 5, 2023, Rowleys Bay Resort, Grandma’s Swedish Bakery, Rowley’s Pub, and Rowleys Bay Restaurant are closed and unable to accept guests for the foreseeable future. Rowleys Bay Resort staff are in the process of contacting guests that had upcoming reservations to coordinate refunds [...]

September 7th, 2023|Categories: All|

GoFundMe for Resort Staff

Wednesday, September 6th, 2023 3:03 PM Thank you to everyone who has provided food, housing, transportation, and other resources to the staff at Rowleys Bay Resort. Your generosity has been so valuable and appreciated. Part of the lodge destroyed by the fire included staff housing. There are currently eight employees who were living in the lodge and lost everything they owned in the fire, and several others who have been displaced. A GoFundMe has been set up to assist employees affected by the closure of the resort and loss of their belongings. GoFundMe fundraiser for Rowleys Bay Resort employees

September 6th, 2023|Categories: All|

Resort operations update

Wednesday, September 6th, 2023 2:00 PM Thank you for your continued patience and support while we work through the extensive logistics it will take to recover from this fire. Several staff were greatly affected and we're still coordinating with volunteers who are helping arrange food, lodging, transportation, and personal resources for these employees. Once we have more information on what would be most helpful for them, we'll post a link. For guests with upcoming reservations: please make alternate lodging arrangements. Several area lodgers have made special offers for guests in need of new reservations, and Destination Door County is graciously [...]

September 6th, 2023|Categories: All|

Rowleys Bay Resort affected by devastating fire

Tuesday, September 5th, 2023 11:35 PM On Tuesday, September 5th, 2023, Rowleys Bay Resort and its attached businesses were affected by a devastating fire. First of all, THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the tremendous response to this incident. We are overwhelmed by the support that came from next door neighbors, the west side of Green Bay, and everywhere between. The organization and professionalism of all the emergency response departments was and is remarkable. Thank you to everyone who helped us find lodging for staff and guests and to the hotels who are hosting them. Thank you to everyone [...]

September 5th, 2023|Categories: All|
  • Aerial view of Rowley's Bay Resort.

Welcome to the Quiet Side

Rowleys Bay Resort is situated on 100 secluded acres dominating a pristine and undeveloped bay with 700 feet of Lake Michigan shoreline, making it one of the most picturesque locations in Door County. Whether you prefer a traditional room, or spacious suite or cottage, you’ll find the atmosphere here to be casual, relaxed and friendly.

Enjoy all the food, shopping, and sightseeing of northern Door County during the day, and spend your nights in calm relaxation on the “quiet side.”

loungers graphic

Grandma’s Swedish Bakery

Currently closed until further notice.

  • Fishing footer.

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