If planning a vacation on one’s own can be challenging, think about the challenges faced by people with accessibility or mobility issues when they try to plan their own trips.
Those who rely on wheelchairs, walkers or crutches to get around, or perhaps have cognitive issues, usually need to consider things like the availability of accessible parking, if they have to climb steps or use a ramp to get into a shop or restaurant, how easy it is to move around inside the place, how long of a walk is needed to get in, how truly “accessible” the restrooms are, if they can use the baths or showers in a particular hotel or resort, and more.
That may be especially true for travelers planning to come to Door County, which offers numerous quaint little shops, galleries, cafes and the like located in old, smaller spaces that were built well before the Americans with Disabilities Act came into being in 1990, as well as lodging establishments that have been around for years.
Of course, many places in the Door have created accommodations for accessibility, but without visiting or knowing the place, it can be hard to tell just how accessible it is for a specific person’s needs.
That’s why Destination Door County, the county’s visitor bureau and tourism marketing agency, is working with an international organization specializing in accessible travel to get that information out to the public.
Destination Door County partnered with Wheel the World, a global leader in accessible travel with more than 180,000 users, to bring an expert mapper from Wheel the World to the Peninsula for two weeks in November to check out and take measurements at a variety of visitor attractions and establishments.
No ratings or rankings, but lots of accessibility information
The 41 sites visited by Malachy Sundstrom, senior corporate mapper for Wheel the World, volunteered through Destination Door County to be mapped. The mapping process entails onsite observations, simple measurements and some questions about accessibility features.
When Sundstrom visits a place where someone might want to go – a hotel, restaurant, shop, museum, theater, even a park – he takes more than 200 data points at each location. Wheel the World mappers measure for things such as door widths (minimum for ADA compliance is 32 inches to allow standard wheelchairs to pass through); table, sink, toilet and bed heights; space under tables; and space for wheelchairs to turn in rooms. They also check for items like flat or step-free entrances (or ramps), grab bars in bathrooms in proper locations, and roll-in shower stalls.
Sundstrom said the purpose is not to give a rating to the locations that take part. He said they’re all too different to do that, giving as an example that one might find a new, corporately owned hotel built to meet ADA standards rated against an older independent hotel that made numerous modifications to comply.
Plus, he noted, ADA requirements have changed occasionally, and there often are variations within places that are otherwise considered “accessible,” for example a hotel room with a roll-in shower but maybe with too few grab bars in the bathroom or a coffee machine that’s out of reach for someone in a wheelchair.
Instead, the places Wheel the World mappers visit are given a Destination Verified tag that indicates a mapper was on site and conducted their survey. Wheel the World lists more than 5,000 verified accessible hotels, activities and experiences.
Then, those who look up the place on the Wheel the World website will find specific information on accessibility and cognitive features, including the measurements taken, a general overview of its accessibility, and photos of the place, inside and out. Thirty-two Door County things to do and three Door County hotels mapped by Sundstrom are listed on the Wheel the World website as of Dec. 4.
“We’re not rating or ranking anyone,” Sundstrom said. “We’re here just to publish the information, delete all the unknowns for our clients who want to travel. It’s rare to find a place that’s completely ADA compliant.”
Amanda Stuck, community engagement manager for Destination Door County, said it’s important to have that information available so those with accessibility issues know what to expect if they want to visit, dine or stay at a certain place and can plan how to best make that happen.
“It’s making sure all visitors [to Door County] have a good experience and feel welcome,” Stuck said. “Wheel the World is not about [making sure each site meets] 100% ADA accessibility. It’s about having the information on these places ahead of time. If they’re not 100% accessible, if you have the information ahead of time, you can be prepared to make accommodations for yourself.”
‘Blown away with … how accessibility is in the forefront of their minds’
Stuck said the organization decided to have this assessment performed because it has a stewardship plan that among other things identifies opportunities and gaps in how the Peninsula is presented and marketed as a tourism destination. One of the gaps was an assessment of accessibility for people with mobility issues at the county’s numerous attractions, restaurants, shops, lodging establishments and other sites.
Stuck said Destination Door County reached out to several different organizations to fill that gap and found Wheel the World was the best fit for what they wanted to accomplish.
Wheel the World generally doesn’t make direct recommendations to the locations they visit, Sundstrom said. However, the organization does send each place a report sharing its findings, along with listing things that were good and things that could be improved regarding accessibility. It’s then up to each location to decide what to do with that information, much like for the travelers who visit Wheel the World’s website to check out those locations.
While Wheel the World doesn’t rate the places the mappers visit, Sundstrom said “everything looked really good” in Door County. What especially impressed him was the willingness and enthusiasm he met when he visited the Peninsula’s participating businesses, compared to other destinations he felt were less enthusiastic toward what he was doing.
“I’ve done quite a few destinations. [But} in Door County I was blown away with … how accessibility is in the forefront of their minds, even if they’re not totally accessible,” Sundstrom said. “It was really cool, kind of a breath of fresh air, how eager these people were to participate.
“And with the eagerness, they’re only going up from here. In another decade, maybe a half-decade, there’s gonna be a lot of improvements.”
Stuck said the information gathered by Wheel the World showed the progress already made to serve those with accessibility or mobility issues.
“What we learned from these assessments is we have a lot of great sites that have done a lot of work in this area,” she said. “Everyone who participated was truly working to do what they could.”
More Door County businesses can be checked out by Wheel the World
Sundstrom plans to return to Door County in May 2026 because Destination Door County has space for about 30 more locations to be mapped for Wheel the World. There is no charge to the businesses and locations for the service. To participate in the process or for more information, call Stuck at 920-450-5460 or email amanda@doorcounty.com.
Check out Door County on Wheel the World
Along with its Destination Verified accessibility listings for hotels, attractions and things to do, Wheel the World also has information on accessible group tours, multi-day trips, transportation and rentals on its website. To see the Door County sites visited and mapped by Wheel the World, visit wheeltheworld.com, click on the “Things to Do” tab or “Hotels” tab in the strip under the logo and search for “Door County, WI, USA.”
Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@gannett.com.
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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Accessibility information for Door County visitors is now up online
Reporting by Christopher Clough, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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