Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ation for more than 100 years, seven days a week in summer, albeit at a price—$31 for
adults.
Then again, busy-as-a-bee types with itchy feet absolutely insist the most fun is a
26-mile-long
footpath
that circles the lake via linked ancient Native American footpaths.
(Truly remarkable, given the century the place has been a tourist haven; the law actually
requires its preservation.) You can reach it at any park along the lakefront. Along the way,
the path passes those same gargantuan summer homes (palatial manors), a state park, and
loads o' natural beauty. Ultimately, the one big typical draw is
Yerkes Observatory
(373
W. Geneva St., Williams Bay, 262/245-5555,
www.astro.uchicago.edu/yerkes
,
tours 10am,
11am, and noon Sat., free), which has the world's largest refractor telescope. The observat-
ory, now obsolete (though lovely from the outside), has been shopped around by its owner,
the University of Chicago. One plan included—gulp—building a luxury resort around it (it
was quashed due to public outcry, and tours are still offered).
Geneva Lake
Black Point Estate
(262/248-1888,
www.blackpointestate.com
)
has been called by one
statehistorianthemostperfectexampleofasummermansioninthestate.Inordertoseeit,
