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Trek around Geneva Lake is one long walk

Call it a hike, stroll or trek, but whatever term you use, realize it's no simple walk in the park. Not when the route around Geneva Lake is roughly 21 miles.

That's what my wife, Cheryl, and I did last week Monday, during our vacation. The homes were beautiful, many too jaw-dropping. We bought a brochure that mapped out the route in segments. The brochure gave estimated times to walk each segment. It projected the whole hike to take 8 or 9 hours.

We started at 7:40 a.m. out of Lake Geneva's Library Park, but we were only into the second of seven segments when I realized we were slipping behind the estimated times and were in trouble. Even if we had the energy to walk that far, it would be dark when we got back to Lake Geneva.

I was right. We only spent a half-hour having lunch at Chuck's in Fontana--the half-way point--but it was a dim 6:30 p.m. before we got back to the car.

Not that we struggled to find our way on that last mile or so. And not that we didn't enjoy marveling at all the mansions. Below are two such "houses."

The first, built in 1906, is known as Glenwood Gardens. It's one of the largest homes on the lake and features Georgian architecture. It was built for N.W. Harris of Harris Bank of Chicago. It has gone through at least two ownership changes and a renovation in 1999. Thousands of annual flowers add color.

The second is a contemporary home built to look like famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater in southwestern Pennsylvania.

The fall colors only added to the spectacles during our walk.

It took us a few days to recover from our aches and pains. But Cheryl and I might do the walk again some summer day--when more people are out enjoying the lake.

Greg Peck