LAKE GENEVA: A TOWN FOR ALL SEASONS

Despite living 10 minutes from the state line, a majority of my friends growing up had never been to Wisconsin. Even in my area, most people seem to have this perception that Wisconsin is nothing more than dairy farms and cheeseheads.

If it hadn’t been for my dad’s side of the family being from there, I too, probably would have scoffed at the idea of ever visiting– especially for a vacation. Sure, I have a few fond memories of vacationing in Door County or at The Dells, but most people grow up dreaming of visiting New York City or Miami, not Milwaukee or Madison.

But you know what? Wisconsin’s actually pretty cool.

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A few weeks ago Johnny and I drove up to Lake Geneva. While I had faded memories of the area from childhood, it was somewhere completely new for Johnny. Regardless, our visit completely changed our views of Wisconsin as a vacation destination.

At most an hour and a half drive from Chicago, Lake Geneva makes the perfect day trip. It’s kind of funny how most Chicagoans nowadays probably know nothing of Lake Geneva, yet after the Civil War the area was booming exclusively with Chicago families.

The scenic area became compared to the city of Geneva in upstate New York, which is how they settled on calling it Lake Geneva. Soon after word got out about its natural beauty and spring-fed lake, the wealthy began building impressive summer homes lining its shores. And let me say, I was blown away by many of these multi-million dollar mansions.

Some of the most well-known houses include the Wrigley, Swift and Sears estates.

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The only way to walk from estate to estate is to take a 21-mile path that circles the entire lake. Yes, 21 miles! While that might be fun, I’d recommend taking one of the many boat cruises that go out on the lake instead– which is exactly what we did.

By taking a cruise you’ll get lots of fun historic information about the houses and find out which ones belong to whom, something you’d never know just by walking around. Plus if the weather is nice, it makes for a really enjoyable afternoon on the water.

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But not before doing some fall leave spotting and taking part in some of the town’s Oktoberfest celebrations. You see, one of the main draws of Lake Geneva, other than its scenic beauty, is all of the fun fall activities held there.

This time of year sees thousands of visitors each year.

I mean, does anyone not love fall?

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All October long Lake Geneva celebrates with events such as Oktoberfest, Boat-Tober Fest, and the Autumn Harvest Fest. So for a festival lover like myself, it’s just another great reason to visit, although it was hard to choose just one festival to visit.

But really, who can blame them for holding so many festivals when they have a town that looks like this in fall though?

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It’s gorgeous this time of year!

Lake Geneva was actually named by Travel+Leisure as one of the Top 10 Most Beautiful Towns in America During Fall— can you see why?

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So between all the festivals and the stunning leaf colors, I can definitely see it being a perfect fall destination. But don’t just think it’s only worthwhile paying a visit in the fall! Lake Geneva has fun festivals all year round.

Would you have fun at the US National Snow Sculpting Competition? Or have you ever wanted to see sailboats with giant ice skate-like blades attached to them racing on ice with no brakes? Yeah, that’s a thing here. If so, you should visit in winter– as I hope to do this year.

How about walking through hundreds of blossoming trees while enjoying Chocolate Fest? Yup, that happens in spring.

Or what about watching a boat parade and jet ski show while enjoying ice cold beers to beat the heat? Better visit in summer then for their famous Venetian festival!

Obviously most of the festivals involve water or boats– but that’s what makes me love this area all the more.

Lake Geneva is truly a town for all seasons.

HAVE YOU HEARD OF LAKE GENEVA? HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT WISCONSIN?

Disclaimer: Our time at Lake Geneva was in conjunction with the Lake Geneva CVB. As always, all opinions are always my own.


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