Lake Geneva crowned best weekend getaway near Chicago
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Riviera Beach in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Photo courtesy of Visit Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, is the best weekend getaway destination near Chicago, according to Axios readers.
State of play: Every month, we introduce a new tournament to crown the best of Chicago. This month: The best weekend getaways.
- Whether you are a Wisconsin, Michigan or Illinois family, you know the Chicago area offers the best summer vacations.
Methodology: We selected 16 top spots, although there are plenty more. We also decided to include some neighboring big cities.
What happened: It came down to Saugatuck, Michigan, vs. Lake Geneva. One sits on a smallish lake 80 miles from the city; the other offers 11 miles of Lake Michigan coastline about 2.5 hours away.
Zoom in: Even if you can’t make it to the victorious Lake Geneva this weekend, you can still find a stacked summer of concerts, spa getaways, or just lazy lounging by the lake.
Catch up on how each round played out:
The championship
After a grueling battle, Axios readers narrowed 16 destinations down to the final two: Lake Geneva vs. Saugatuck.
Between the lines: These two vacation hot spots were chosen as the top two seeds when we began Monday, so it's not surprising they were the last two standing.
- Lake Geneva represents Wisconsin, while Saugatuck is the crown jewel of the Midwest Riviera.
Voting for this round is now closed.
Final Four
Axios readers narrowed down the list to our final four spots.
What happened: Michigan's Traverse City and Wisconsin's Lake Geneva and Door County moved on with ease, while Saugatuck squeaked by Mackinac Island.
- Locations in Indiana (Dunes) and Illinois (Galena) were eliminated.
Our final four matchups: Lake Geneva vs. Traverse City and Saugatuck vs. Door County.
- These are prime-time battles.
Voting for this round is now closed.
Elite Eight
The first round of our quest to crown Chicago's best weekend getaway was interesting. Here are some quick highlights:
- Biggest win: Lake Geneva thumped South Bend with 95% of the vote.
- Closest win: Traverse City won a tight battle against Milwaukee (53%-47%).
The intrigue: The big Midwest cities were all defeated in the first round.
Voting for this round is now closed.
Editor's note: This story was updated to include details about the latest rounds.