I need some advice. We are researching lakes within 3 hrs. of GE. We visited Castle Rock / Petenwell area. We were not impressed. I like the looks of Green Lake on paper (very deep) however I'm told it is dirty-what gives? How can a very deep lake be dirty? Maybe Mrs./ Mr. Arten can help. Thanks in advance.

I am a big fan of Lake Kegonsa, in Stoughton, off I90, exit 51, pretty big lake -
and of course - LaValle - which is Dutch Hollow Lake, near Reedsburg.

Never been to Lake Koshkong, however, it is a bigger lake than Kegonsa.

Pell Lake and Powers Lake, near lake Geneva are pretty nice too, but small.

Delevan Lake - near Elkhorn.

But to sum it up, I recommend the top two, Kegonsa and Dutch Hollow.

Illinois -there is Lake Carroll- had property there once. However, yearly fees can get $$. A lot of rules.

Green lake is the bomb. Expect to go deep into the green room to buy there. I have never heard the comment that it is dirty before, but I haven't been there in years. Petenwell, especially at the north end, is close to a bunch of paper mills. If the wind is going in the wrong direction, it can get smelly. I would look at Lake Wisconsin which is a little north of Madison. Lake Wisconsin, like Petenwell, is just a dammed up portion of the Wisconsin River, but both are pretty large. Unfortunately, if you limit the distance from Chicago to a 3 hour drive, you never really feel like you have "gotten away" as most of the lakes have very little shoreline that is undeveloped.

Lake Carroll is like a big pond in the middle of a corn field. I owned lake property there and the longer I owned the less I liked it.

Don't forget southwest Michigan...lots of choices there too.

Once you find your water....make sure you get one of these

and start chasing balls.

Arten has been to all the lakes mentioned. I'll see if I can get him out of the garage to post his thoughts.

Big Green lake is FAR from dirty. We have friends that own property on the lake and we go up there at least once a year. We were just up there in July and it is gorgeous. It is the deepest lake in Wisconsin and actually holds more water than Lake Winnebago!

Also, you can find some less expensive options in Green Lake, as in condos with lake access, or a house in town (they have a very nice public access in town). We had considered Green Lake before buying our place in Saugatuck so we looked at pretty much everything the had to offer, from lakefront to in-town homes.

Good luck!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: GlenEllynRing,

Great information, thanks! Keep it coming. There are so many lakes, it really helps to narrow the field.

quote:

Originally posted by Shore Thing:
Great information, thanks! Keep it coming. There are so many lakes, it really helps to narrow the field.

Are you sold on Wisconsin? Are you looking for a lakefront home or just lake access? Is the home you envision going to be finished with granite countertops or Formica, i.e. are you going to be roughing it on the weekends in a hovel like mine or are you looking for a Kennebunkport experience? What types of activities on the lake are most important to you? I'm a better resource for SW Michigan, but I did own a home on Lake Sherwood, in Rome, WI near the intersection of Route 13 and County Road D. This home was pretty close to the north end of Lake Petenwell.

For southwest MI, this is a good place to learn about the lakes and housing market. SW MI resource

I liked Grand Haven and the River Grand in MI.

If you are just thinking about access to water, you might want to give a glance to NE Iowa. Personally I'm not familiar, but I've heard more than once that you can get decent bang for your buck there.

We are only really interested in lakefront. We would like it to be close enough to Chicago so the kids can easily come visit weekends without it being a real drag of a trip. We want the lake to be big enough to boat (motor), fish and swim. The house is the least important. Not having grown up in this area, I focused on WI. because I have heard more talk about WI. lakes and it is a little closer than MI. I've looked at Iowa a little, perhaps I should look more.
Fish- Thanks so much for the link. I'm going to check it out right now.
Thanks again. I knew I could count on you all. This BB is a wealth of information.

The problem with looking 3 hours from Chicago is that everyone else wants to be 3 hours from Chicago. IMO, too touristy, too crowded, too many people using the same resources.

Mom and Dad are two hours farther north. Sounds like a lot, but once you get use to it, the drive is no big deal at all. And where the closer lakes to Chicago are awfully busy on summer weekends (FORGET holidays), unless you are on one of the chains by mom and dad (Minocqua, Yomohawk, etc) a half dozen boats out on the lake at any given time is a lot.

Plus the farther north you go, the better the recreation opportunities all year, as opposed to just having a "summer place".


We have family with a place in Michigan... nice, but what a PITA. Wisconsin, if the expressway is busy you can always hop off and find backroads to travel to get home in a reasonable amount of time. With Michigan, you are just stuck sucking exhaust on the highway.

The REAL Green Lake near Ripon is fantastic. Note that there is a poser Green Lake in the Lauderdale Lakes are of SE Wisconsin (Walworth County?).

What's up with the ferry that was supposed to be happening from Chicago to Michigan? If they get that going, MI would be a lot more appealing but driving around the south end of the lake does suck.

We took the regular ferry from Manitowoc to Ludington. It was the slower ferry (Milwaukee to Muskegon has the faster ferry) but was really a nice trip. It was about the same amount of time it would take to drive around and get to Ludington only we got to nap, read, eat, and otherwise relax. If they get the ferry in Chicago, that would be fantastic!!

I have virtually no knowledge of Wisconsin lakes (with the exception of hanging out on the shores of Lake Superior) but my brother lives in Rhinelander and the area is just beautiful. Worth a slightly longer drive.

quote:

Originally posted by Gus:


By the way Fish, got myself a Malibu wakeboard boat. What a riot.

What did you get? BTW here is a great source of information about Malibu boats The Malibu Crew .com

Now Gus, I expect to see some posts of you behind your new 'bu! Boarding, surfing or on the flat stick, but please, NO TUBING!

Here's my favorite.

Fish, you have a 2000 SS LXI, right? Those are nice.

He does???

quote:

Originally posted by JRPotts:
Fish, you have a 2000 SS LXI, right? Those are nice.

Potts...Grateful called and said the slaughter was all your fault.

quote:

Originally posted by Fish:

quote:

Originally posted by JRPotts:
Fish, you have a 2000 SS LXI, right? Those are nice.

Potts...Grateful called and said the slaughter was all your fault.

If they got rid of the net, Grateful would have one hell of a serve.

Fish, that is an awesome pix, if that is indeed you!?
Gus, I think I'm beginning to get it. I need to suck it up and drive a little. We aren't as fast as your rides but we did get the Sienna up to 95+ today on the way back from Iowa. That's one hot minivan!! P.S. Miss M says Hi.

I'm very familiar with Powers Lake, WI if you need any additional info. About 1-1/2 hours from GE.