7 Most Beautiful Lake Towns in Wisconsin
The boats start hitting the water on Wisconsin lakes around Memorial Day weekend. Sailboats, fishing trawlers, and pontoons share the same docks before splitting toward different parts of the shoreline. Pier benches fill up. Custard stands open. The piers stretch out to handle Coast Guard cutters next to family runabouts. Seven Wisconsin lake towns ahead run the summer scene with Great Lakes shoreline access and inland lake clusters.
Bayfield
Bayfield, with about 490 year-round residents, is one of the smallest incorporated cities in Wisconsin and the closest mainland departure point for the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, a federally protected archipelago of 22 islands along the southern shore of Lake Superior. Apostle Islands Cruises runs a 55-mile shoreline-and-islands narrated boat tour daily through the summer season, with separate kayak rentals, sea cave tours, and glass-bottom boat options.
The Brownstone Trail, a 1.7-mile route along the Lake Superior shoreline, follows the path of the former Bayfield-Washburn Railway and runs through the old Houghton Falls Brownstone Quarry that supplied stone for several historic buildings across Wisconsin and the Twin Cities. Downtown Bayfield wraps around the harbor with Cafe Seiche and Copper Trout as the two local restaurant standouts. Wild Rice Restaurant, just outside town, runs a higher-end seasonal menu built around foraged wild rice and Lake Superior whitefish.
Lake Geneva
The Lake Geneva Shore Path, a 21-mile public walkway around the entire perimeter of Geneva Lake, crosses private property under a unique 19th-century legal precedent that grants Wisconsin residents the right to walk the shoreline of all navigable lakes. The path passes some of the most expensive lakefront mansions in the Midwest, including the Wrigley family estate and Stone Manor. Geneva Lake itself runs a maximum depth of 135 feet with clear water that supports lake trout, smallmouth bass, and northern pike.
The Geneva Lake Museum on East Main Street, established in 1983, runs the Carey Electric Boat exhibit alongside collections covering the resort era of the late 19th century when Chicago industrialists summered along the shore. Big Foot Beach State Park, just south of downtown, holds the only public swim beach on the lake. The Bottle Shop on Main Street and the Geneva Tap House on Broad Street run the local craft beverage scene.
Port Washington
Port Washington's harbor, on the western shore of Lake Michigan in Ozaukee County, holds one of the largest fleets of charter sport-fishing boats on the lake, with charters running for chinook salmon, brown trout, lake trout, and steelhead from April through October. The Port Washington Lighthouse, an 1860 building on the bluff above the harbor, was the second-oldest lighthouse on the western Lake Michigan shore at the time and now operates as a museum on weekends through the warm months.
The town runs about 12,000 residents around the harbor and the lakefront commercial district. Upper Lake Park, on the bluff at the north end of downtown, runs picnic facilities and Lake Michigan overlooks with the Forest Beach Migratory Preserve nearby for prime spring and fall bird migration viewing. The Judge Eghart House, an 1872 Italianate-style brick home on Grand Avenue, runs guided tours documenting Port Washington's early commercial fishing economy. Fish Day, held each July since 1965, runs the largest one-day outdoor fish fry in the world.
Sturgeon Bay
The Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal, completed in 1881, cuts across the base of the Door Peninsula to connect Sturgeon Bay (an arm of Green Bay) directly to Lake Michigan, saving ships a 100-mile detour around the peninsula's northern tip. The canal turned Sturgeon Bay into one of the most active shipbuilding ports on the Great Lakes during the late 19th century, and Bay Shipbuilding Company on the south shore of the canal still builds and repairs commercial freighters and Coast Guard cutters today.
Whitefish Dunes State Park, about 10 miles north of Sturgeon Bay on the Lake Michigan side, runs the highest sand dunes on the Wisconsin side of the lake (Old Baldy reaches 93 feet) along with 14 miles of hiking trail. The Door County Maritime Museum on the Sturgeon Bay waterfront opened a new 10-story exhibit tower in 2022 with a full-scale tugboat pilothouse and views of the working shipyards below. The Door County Historical Museum on 4th Avenue covers regional history including the Belgian immigrant settlements and the commercial fishing industry.
Madison
Wisconsin's state capital sits on an isthmus between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona, with two additional lakes (Waubesa and Kegonsa) in the immediate surrounding area making up the Yahara Chain. The city runs about 270,000 residents and is the only U.S. state capital that sits between two lakes. Memorial Union Terrace on Lake Mendota, with the sunburst-pattern metal chairs that are the unofficial symbol of summer in Madison, runs weekly concerts and free outdoor films from May through September.
The Wisconsin State Capitol, completed in 1917, is the only granite-domed state capitol in the country and the largest such dome by volume outside the U.S. Capitol itself. Frank Lloyd Wright's Monona Terrace, designed in 1938 and finally built in 1997 on the Lake Monona shore, runs a free public rooftop terrace with city and lake views. The Dane County Farmers' Market, held Saturdays April through November around the Capitol Square, is the largest producer-only farmers market in the country with around 150 weekly vendors.
Eagle River
Eagle River sits at the head of the 28-lake Eagle River Chain, the longest chain of freshwater inland lakes in the world, all connected by navigable channels that allow boating across all 28 lakes without portaging. The town runs about 1,400 residents and bills itself as the "Snowmobile Capital of the World" for hosting the World Championship Snowmobile Derby since 1964 at the half-mile oval Derby Track on the east side of town.
Fishing on the chain runs strong for muskellunge (the state fish), walleye, smallmouth bass, and northern pike, with several local resort operators including the Eagle Waters Resort and Eagle River Inn running guided trips. Trees For Tomorrow, a non-profit environmental education center on the north side of town, runs a 30-acre demonstration forest with public hiking trails. The Eagle River Public Library hosts the popular Northwoods Children's Museum, which fills three floors with hands-on exhibits geared to families with younger kids.
Wisconsin Dells
Wisconsin Dells, on the Wisconsin River about an hour north of Madison, holds the highest concentration of waterparks in the world and runs the self-applied nickname "Waterpark Capital of the World" through aggressive marketing for several decades. Noah's Ark Water Park, at 70 acres, is the largest outdoor waterpark in the United States and includes the 10-story Scorpion's Tail looping body slide along with the Quadzilla mat slide and the Big Kahuna wave pool.
Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park combines outdoor and indoor waterpark sections with the Hades 360 wooden roller coaster and the Cyclops launched-track coaster. Great Wolf Lodge, the original location of the now-national resort chain, opened its first property in Wisconsin Dells in 1997. Beyond the waterparks, the Wisconsin Dells themselves (the 5-mile gorge of sandstone formations the town is named for) run boat tours on the Upper and Lower Dells of the Wisconsin River. Mirror Lake State Park, just southwest of town, runs 2,200 acres of forest, a 137-acre lake, and the historic 1908 Seth Peterson Cottage designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Lake Towns For Every Pace
Wisconsin's lake towns split into three categories worth knowing about before picking the trip. Bayfield, Port Washington, and Sturgeon Bay run the Great Lakes shoreline experience with working harbors and commercial fishing roots. Lake Geneva, Madison, and Eagle River run the inland-lake experience across Geneva Lake, the Yahara Chain, and the 28-lake Eagle River Chain respectively. Wisconsin Dells runs the family-resort experience on the Wisconsin River. Match the trip to the category, and the summer weekend takes care of itself.
