Page 16 - Experiential Magazine - Vol 6

DESTINATION SPOTLIGHT
Mention Elkhart Lake to a group
of people and the name usu-
ally elicits one of two responses:
“Where the heck is Elkhart
Lake?” or “Elkhart
Lake? That’s where
Road America is!”
The second group,
you can be sure, are
racing enthusiasts.
They’re aware of
Elkhart Lake’s
prominent posi-
tion in auto racing added Elkhart Lake to its northern route.
history. It was
here, in 1950, that well-established as a resort destination,
a 3.35-mile course
was laid out north
of the lake by a few week in peak season.
sports car buffs, with the start/
finish line in the village. In just That tradition continues today, with the
two years, the original crowd of
5,000 spectators had swelled
to near 100,000, clogging
every inch of the tiny town and
necessitating the construction
of a track outside of Elkhart
Lake that opened in 1955. This
was the first incarnation of Road
America, a facility that has
since grown into a world-class
racecourse hosting more than
400 IndyCar, NASCAR, SCCA,
motorcycle and vintage car
events each year, celebrating its
60th Anniversary in 2015.
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Naturally, this helps bring in a lot of
tourist dollars (some $70 million at
last count), but there’s another side to
Elkhart Lake that harkens back to its
pre-auto racing days as a spa and retreat
for wealthy families from Milwaukee
and Chicago. For over a century before
racing enthusiasts descended on the
town, Elkhart Lake was well known as a
destination for city-dwellers looking to
escape the heat and crowding of the city.
Its pristine, spring-fed lake and massive
resort hotels attracted throngs of people
every year beginning in the 1870s, when
the Milwaukee and Northern Railroad
By the turn of the century, the town was
boasting a half-dozen major hotels and
attracting more than 2,000 visitors a
east side of the lake – on the edge of the few miles south of town, which range
3-block x 4-block “downtown” area of
Elkhart Lake – ringed by the Victorian
Village Resort, Siebkens Resort and
the imposing and venerable 245-suite
Osthoff Resort, complete with its own
spa, two restaurants, spacious lobby
bar, cooking school, 38,000 square feet
of meeting and event space, indoor and
outdoor pools, fitness center, game room
and water sports equipment rental.
Perhaps the best way to appreciate the
natural beauty of the area is by getting
out onto the lake in a kayak, canoe or
aboard the Elkhart Queen, a pontoon
boat that accommodates about 25. The
crystal-clear, ice-cold waters of Elkhart
Lake are bracing and beautiful, and
the view across the lake back towards
the 129-year-old Osthoff Resort offers
a glimpse into a bygone era of Victori-
an opulence and steamer-trunk travel.
Spend an hour or two lazily paddling the
292-acre lake, enjoying the rolling hills,
farms and fields along its western shore,
a stark contrast to the more developed
east side.
For landlubbers, there are a number
of hiking trails in the area, including a
section of Wisconsin’s 1,200-mile Ice Age
Trail that winds through parts of North-
ern Kettle Moraine State Forest, LaBudde
Creek State Fishery Area and Sheboygan
Marsh Park, and the Greenbush complex
of hiking, biking and snowshoe trails a
from just under a mile to just over 5
miles.
For more on things to do, accommo-
dations, meeting and other info, check
out the Elkhart Lake website at www.
elkhartlake.com.
And when hunger strikes, you’ll be
amazed to discover that tiny Elkhart Lake
(pop. 967) is home to a handful of restau-
rants – most notably the Paddock Club
and Lake Street Café – that rival offerings
in New York City, Chicago, or L.A.