![[Lake scene drawing]](http://images.midwestweekend.com/graphics/lake_scene.gif)
Gawking in Lake Geneva
On mansion-lined footpath, walking is a spectator sport.
© Beth Gauper
The 1901 Stone Manor is the largest house on Geneva Lake.
There are thousands of lakes in the north woods, but the most famous one is a stone's throw from Illinois.
Lake Geneva has been the favorite retreat of Chicago folks for 150 years, and everybody who was anybody had a place there: the Wrigleys, Maytags and Schwinns, but also cartoonists, actors, brewers and bottle-cap makers.
Geneva will seem citified to people who vacation on woodland lakes. There's a good reason to go there, though: It's entertaining to gawk at extreme wealth, and there's no better place to do it than Lake Geneva.
The rich built fabulous estates along the 20 miles of shoreline — French chateaus, Tudor lodges, turreted Queen Annes and one Buddhist temple, formerly the Ceylon pavilion at the 1893 World's Fair. Many are gone, but many remain, alongside newer homes that are bigger and more resplendent than the originals.
Miraculously, tourists can see them all up close from a footpath used by the Potawatomi and honored by early lakefront landowners. Today, the rich and poor alike have the right of way on a 2-foot strip around the lake, and they can ogle all they like.
We walked the path in early summer, starting from Library Park in the town of Lake Geneva and heading counterclockwise, along the stretch that was first to be settled. A few of the houses were close to the water, and we felt like voyeurs traipsing by owners relaxing or grilling on their patios.
But soon the lawns began unrolling in green carpets, putting the mansions at a regal remove. We passed estates owned by the Rockefellers, the Wrigleys and the Swifts. Even more striking than the buildings were the towering oaks, the carefully pruned shrubs, the tulips and azaleas and pale-blue clouds of forget-me-not.
There were gazebos and ornate boathouses and iron bridges with whimsical dragonflies and ferns worked into their railings. At Glen Fern, a 1911 Beaux Arts manor built by a judge, waterfalls coursed down the hillside, and we stopped to watch an yellow-headed bird twittering in a sycamore.
It takes a lot of money to be rich, we realized. Many of the docks still were piled on lawns, massive piles of lumber and steel awaiting the sturdy marina men and their crane. The boats were high-maintenance teak and mahogany. The vast lawns were lush and devoid of dandelions. In this town, we deduced, it pays to be a marina owner or a gardener.
Sometimes, the path was nothing but grass. But more often, it was slabs of glowing limestone, or glazed bricks embossed with
patterns. A few times, owners gave us a friendly nod as we walked by.
There are a thousand stories about the people on Geneva Lake. House in the Woods, intended as a spring birthday present, was built in the winter of 1905 under a circus tent borrowed from the P.T. Barnum Circus, wintering in nearby Delavan. The largest house, the 1901 Stone Manor, was built by Otto Young, a penniless German immigrant who sold costume jewelry on the streets of New York but moved to Chicago after the 1871 fire and acquired seemingly worthless land that now is the Loop.
It'd be fun to own a place here, we thought, if only because then we'd know all the gossip. It must be fairly juicy; the creators of "The Young and the Restless'' developed the soap opera while living in the 1929 palazzo Casa del Sueño.
We walked another trail in Williams Bay, through the Kishwaukétoe nature preserve, treading a boardwalk over wetlands thick with wildflowers as a turkey vulture circled overhead. We emerged onto a restored prairie, then Highway 67, the main drag through town.
Following it back to the lakefront, we stopped at the Skagen Hus, a Scandinavian imports run by John Conlin and his Danish wife, Marianne. Conlin said the village bought the 230-acre property in 1989 for $1.2 million, finally ending the clamor from developers.
"There was a lot of wrenching of hands and big speeches, but now it looks like a great deal,'' he said.
It's impossible to spend time around Geneva Lake without thinking about money. Walking by the municipal pier in Williams Bay, we noticed the launch fees, up to $22.25 for a motorboat and $7.50 even for a kayak.
In the town of Lake Geneva, it costs $25 an hour to park a yacht at pier. People who want to tool around the lake in a rented motorboat pay $105 an hour, and sunbathers pay $6 to use Riviera Beach.
Nothing is cheap. We almost bought a piece of toffee at Kilwin's Chocolates until we noticed it was $28 a pound and not even homemade; instead, we got a Heath bar from a convenience store.
People-watching is free, though, and since the tourists buzzing around Lake Geneva's waterfront reflect the diversity of Chicago, it was top-notch. We also went on the two-hour Full Lake Tour from Geneva Cruise Lines, a decent deal at $24 apiece. It's a good way to find out more about the houses and the people who lived in them, and as the Walworth headed down the lake, we listened intently to the narration.
The women sitting in front of us were too young to care that the 1930s radio show "Amos and Andy'' was broadcast from the porch of one home, and they were bored before we reached Williams Bay.
"Oh, look, another big house,'' one said sarcastically. "I don't know those people.''
"Yeah, it gets kind of old after a while,'' her friend replied.
Besides mansions, there are condo complexes, a country club, a state park and two youth camps. But we also found one classic 1950s resort in Williams Bay, with a small beach and a walk lined by tidy cottages, and when we walked through it, every guest looked very pleased to be there.
Nancy and Jim Maiers have run Chippewa Resort since 1971, and there's rarely an opening because everybody comes back every year.
"We get approached all the time, 'Can we buy our cabin?' '' Nancy Maiers said. "But there's wonderful camaraderie; people just love each other, and you can't buy that.''
After Labor Day, things ease up. "September is gorgeous,'' Maiers says.
We heard the same thing while dining at Medusa Grill and Bistro in Lake Geneva, where we struck up a conversation with Duane and Cheryl Halleck of Homer Glen, Ill., a Chicago suburb. The two visit frequently, bringing their dogs and walking around the lake, watching the landscape change from spring's tulips to summer's roses and lilies.
"It gets crazy here on the weekends in summer, so we try to come on weekdays,'' Cheryl Halleck said. "And fall is gorgeous.''
Even when it's crazy, though, you have to hand it to Lake Geneva: It's one of a kind.
Trip Tips: Lake Geneva
Getting there: It's an hour and a half from Chicago and an hour or less from Madison and Milwaukee.
When to go: September is quiet but beautiful. May and June also are good times to visit; July and August can be crowded, especially on weekends.
What to know: Businesses in the entire area say they're in "Lake Geneva,'' but the village of Lake Geneva is just one
of three small towns on Geneva Lake; the others are Fontana and Williams Bay. Nearby Lake Como also is part of the "Lake
Geneva'' area.
Lake walk: It's 20 miles, depending on the source. We used the guide "Touring the Geneva Lake Shore Path,'' $5, which puts the mileage at 19½. It says that from Williams Bay, it's a 6½-mile or 13-mile walk back to Library Park, depending on which way you walk; from Fontana, it's 8¼ miles or 11¼ miles.
The guide "Walk Talk and Gawk,'' however, puts the distance is 20.3 miles, and says the walk is 10 miles either way from Fontana.
Depending on whom you talk to at Geneva Cruise lines, the Full Lake and Mailboat Tour cruises will drop off walkers in Williams Bay or Fontana, Fontana only or not at all. Since you'll miss half the cruise, though, try to arrange a self-shuttle if you don't want to walk the whole thing.
Using a stroller would be difficult, and bicycling isn't possible; many spots require climbing steps or making narrow
turns.
Canoe and kayak launch: It's free from Chapin Road, but there's no parking. From the Williams Bay launch, it's
$7.50.
Accommodations: Nearly all the resorts, hotels and inns list their addresses as Lake Geneva, but the only ones in the
town and on the lake are the Bella Vista Suites, Best Western Harbor Shores and, three blocks away on the lake path, Eleven Gables Inn & Cottage, which welcomes dogs.
A short walk from downtown, SevenOaks is a bed-and-breakfast inn with nine suites, each with a porch, stone fireplace and spa tub, in seven one-floor buildings, $179-$259 and $259-$359 for a two-bedroom in peak season and $169-$339 the rest of the year.
On the opposite side of the lake in Fontana, the Abbey Resort is a sprawling complex with a large marina.
Not far away, near Big Foot Beach State Park, the Geneva Inn is a hillside boutique
hotel on the lake, and rates include a breakfast buffet in its Grandview Restaurant.
I liked the Chippewa Resort in Williams Bay, a darling family-run 1950s resort with a sand beach, a lawn and unbeatable prices, $698-$788 per week in peak season, $282-$445 in September and October. It's hard to get in, though; proprietors Nancy and Jim Maiers accept reservations on Feb. 14 for the year, 262-245-9566.
Not far from the lake in Lake Geneva are several budget motels, including the Budget Host and the Lake Geneva
Motel. Avoid the Harbor View in Williams Bay.
The huge Grand Geneva Resort & Spa, which Hugh Hefner opened in 1968 as the Playboy Club, is on neither Geneva Lake or Lake Como. It's in the countryside east of Lake Geneva and has 36 holes of golf, a spa and an indoor/outdoor waterpark.
Camping: This probably is the best deal: Big
Foot Beach State Park in Fontana is right on the lake, with a quarter-mile sand beach, and has campsites with
showers; 38 can be reserved and 37 are first-come, first-served, 262-248-2528.
Dining: We liked the Mediterranean food at Medusa Grill and Bistro,
just north of downtown Lake Geneva on Broad Street, though it was small and noisy and had a poor beer list, 262-249-8644.
For a less expensive meal, try the Mexican food at El Palenque, just down the street. We also liked the adorable and friendly
Arctic Circle Diner in Williams Bay; we had a nice dinner there, but we heard it's famous for its French toast and
pancakes.
Most restaurants are priced for the Chicago crowd; those on a budget should pick up sandwiches or pizza or cook for themselves.
2008 events: Aug. 13-17, Venetian Festival. Sept. 4-7, Lake Geneva Wine Festival. Oct. 11-12, Oktoberfest. Dec. 5-7, Festival of Lights, with Great Electric Children's Christmas Parade at 5 p.m. Saturday.
2009 events: Feb. 4-8, Winterfest and National Snow Sculpting Championships. April 24-26, Women's Weekend.Information: Lake Geneva chamber, 800-345-1020; Geneva Lake West chamber, 877-275-5102.
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