Jacky Runice
| Special to USA TODAY 10Best
An easy 80 miles from Chicago and 50 miles from Milwaukee, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin has been a popular vacay playground for families, friends and couples for more than a century. There are must-dos for first-timers and a boatload of new attractions for seasoned visitors to “The Hamptons of Chicago.”
You won’t run into any snooty Real Housewives in Lake Geneva – just generous, open-hearted Midwesterners who will help you have a great lake vacation.
Outdoor recreation
Lake Geneva offers year-round opportunities to torch some calories and commune with the natural world.
The length alone of the Geneva Lake Shore Path – 21 miles – is a resounding hint that it’s not a typical hiking trail. You’re walking on a two-foot-wide footpath through the backyards of historic mansions, Beaux-Arts manors, Queen Annes and French-style chateaus built after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 by Chicago’s first 1% with last names like Wrigley, Maytag, Swift and Schwinn.
Bring your own or rent/purchase a bike at downtown Lake Geneva’s full-service Avant Cycle Café where the coffee is robust and the bike route recommendations are expert. Staff supplies maps of trails (like White River State…
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