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Spring weekends for women

In shopping towns and woodsy retreats, April and May are prime time for girlfriend getaways.

In spring, women's weekends pop up like daffodils.

Chalk it up to cabin fever — women just want to get away. Or, perhaps more accurately, tourist-starved destinations want women to get away.

In 2012, the Lake Michigan town of Holland is first out of the pack with Girlfriends Weekend March 2-4. The famous tulips won't be out, but hotels offer specials, and a package includes a breakfast buffet, champagne brunch, fashion shows, concerts, clinics and swag bags.

Across Lake Michigan in Door County, Sturgeon Bay holds Groovin' Sisterhood Weekend April 26-29, with mini-spa treatments, classes, crafts and goody bags. Five wineries are nearby, if women want to try some tastings.

In Lake Geneva, Women's Weekend is April 27-29 and includes spa and shopping specials as well as boat cruises and mansion tours at a nice discount. And there are lots of historic mansions to gawk at.

Near the northwoods Minnesota town of Ely, YMCA Camp du Nord offers a Women's Spring Retreat May 3-6, with canoeing, hiking, yoga, massage and creative arts workshops.

In eastern Minnesota, near Sandstone and the Willard Munger State Trail, the Audubon Center of the North Woods holds Women's Wellness and Adventure Weekend May 4-6, with bird-banding, yoga, guided hikes and a high-ropes course.

Also in Door County, the village of Egg Harbor holds the Girlfriends Great Eggscape May 17-20. Cost includes a Friday pizza party, Saturday breakfast/fashion show, Sunday breakfast, wine tasting and fitness and dance classes.

These places aren't the first to decide that spring is the best time for women to escape their humdrum lives.

If you can't get away, enjoy a vicarious girlfriend getaway by watching the 1992 movie "Enchanted April,'' in which four British women run off to Italy. It's based on a 1922 novel.

For more ideas, or to plan a weekend for another time of the year, see 50 great girlfriend getaways and 12 months of girlfriend getaways.

Last updated on January 5, 2012