Picture this: A city-living pastry chef returns to her Wisconsin hometown for Christmas and discovers that her parents’ cherry orchard is financially struggling.
Amid snow-laden landscapes, a brightly-lit Main Street and an open-air holiday market, this culinary heroine reconnects with her former sweetheart while entering a cherry pie bake-off to save the family business.
This premise is not only the subject of a new holiday movie called A Cherry Pie Christmas. It also describes the movie’s real-life location in northern Wisconsin– Door County. This destination is a peninsula between Green Bay and Lake Michigan that’s speckled with charming towns and villages.
“Door County works so well as a backdrop for a Christmas movie due to the quaint nature of our small waterfront communities and beautiful scenery,” explained Jon Jarosh, chief communications officer at Destination Door County. “Visitors consistently comment on what a great place Door County would be for a Christmas movie, and we were finally able to make that a reality with A Cherry Pie Christmas!”
This Wisconsin Destination Goes Hollywood
It was Travel Wisconsin that made the first move in making A Cherry Pie Christmas happen. In fall 2024, this state’s tourism board approached holiday filmmaker John Stimpson with the pitch of setting his next movie in Door County.
By spring 2025, cameras were rolling around town with Door County locals helping out as background extras and volunteers.
While A Cherry Pie Christmas shows a wintry side of Door County, it’s also a popular summer getaway destination, thanks to having many outdoor recreation opportunities. Additionally, Door County is a major grower of Montmorency cherries, producing 15 million pounds annually.
Produced in partnership with Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, the film also celebrates the state’s cheesemaking heritage. Integral to the film’s plot is Renard’s Artisan Cheese of Sturgeon Bay, with their signature Door County Cherry Cheddar Cheese.
A Christmas Movie Trail in Wisconsin
In promoting A Cherry Pie Christmas, Destination Door County has created “The Door County Christmas Movie Trail” featuring the film’s real-life locations.
They include:
- Lautenbach’s Orchard Country
- Novel Bay Booksellers
- Hillside Waterfront Hotel
- Sister Bay Historical Society
- Door County Coffee
Download the mobile pass and check in at each trail stop to earn points toward prizes such as a movie-themed Door County mug by December 31, 2025.
“The movie trail has been a great way for us to leverage the movie to the benefit of our tourism industry while engaging with visitors and residents who have seen, and loved, the movie,” said Jarosh.
In the movie, Katie Leclerc plays pastry chef Emma Parker, while Ryan Carnes is her old flame, Mitch Henriksen. Mitch’s name and business are a nod to the real Henriksen Fisheries in Door County’s Ellison Bay.
Holiday Happenings In Wisconsin’s Door County
Visitors to Door County during the holiday season can create their cinematic wonder through annual events and inn stays.
The Sand Bay Beach Resort & Suites’ “Immerse Yourself in Christmas Cheer” package runs now through January 11, 2026.
Hillside Waterfront Hotel, which served as a filming location, has a “Stay Where the Story Unfolds” packing with a $50 Door County Gift Certificate, champagne, hot cocoa in the library and gifts of local coffee and chocolate.
Now through December 23, 2025, Highpoint Inn’s “A Door County Christmas Movie Special” package offers two-night stays with the second night at half price. Guests receive a complimentary cherry pie at check-in, and the first 15 reservations will also get a Door County Cherry Checkers game.
Door County’s holiday traditions are an event calendar onto themselves.
The 2025 schedule includes Egg Harbor’s Holly Days and Capture the Spirit (both on November 28); a Christkindlmarkt (weekends from November 28 through December 14); Merry-Time Festival of Trees (now through December 31); Ephraim’s Christmas in the Village (December 6); The Ridges Sanctuary’s Holiday Luminaria Walks (December 26-30); and Northern Sky Theater’s Home for the Holidays concert (December 27-31).
Then, ring in the New Year with the New Year’s Eve Fireworks and Cherry Drop in Sister Bay. Overall, Door County fits a trending travel topic perfectly.
“With the rise of the set-jetting travel trend, we’re excited for viewers to have a new reason to visit and fall in love with Door County this holiday season and beyond,” said Anne Sayers, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Tourism.
“A Cherry Pie Christmas” airs on streaming platforms like Tubi, Roku and Pluto TV and Amazon’s Always Christmas and Great American Family channels. Check your local listings.