Girls Getaway to Elkhart Lake

Wisconsin is filled with many towns that have a charm all of their own. I find out Elkhart Lake definitely belongs toward the top of that list.

My friend Lisa and I took an uneventful four-hour drive.

Our first stop was at the Quit Qui Oc Golf Course, where we met Kathleen Eickoff, Director of Tourism for Elkhart Lake.  

The golf course, a popular spot for the town, has a bar restaurant and we enjoyed chili and fish as we talked about the town we were about to meet.

Kathleen explained how this spot, which is just about two and a half hours from Chicago, became a vacation destination in the late 1800s. This was mostly due to the addition of a railroad that would take people from the “big city."

She also offered to set us up with snowshoeing, a popular sport at the golf course in the winter months. Neither Lisa or I had done it before and we were excited to give it a try the next day.

When we pulled up to The Osthoff Resort, the biggest of three Elkhart Lake Resorts,

I began to get the feeling that this was quite a bit place.

That was reinforced when we were given the map at check-in, and saw for ourselves from our two-bedroom suite.

Suites are the norm here as guests often come in groups and quite often stay for a week or more.

Osthoff welcomed us with a basket full of local goodies and we got settled in our very comfortable apartment, with two baths, a full kitchen, living room, and a balcony with a view of the huge resort.

Lisa decided to stay back while I took tour of property with Laura Otten, Marketing Manager.

Osthoff Resort had been here since 1885. It is an all-season resort, with indoor and outdoor pools, a spa, activities, children’s program, cooking school, she explained as we walked around the property.

They also have extensive banquet rooms, for conventions, weddings, and other events.

The Cooking School was closed, and had been already booked full for the weekend before we made our reservations, but it definitely looked like something I wanted to come back to.

The resort reminded me a lot of the Catskills in New York, in the days when there were big resorts with lots of year round activities. I used to go there with my family every year.

After the tour, Lisa and I got a specialty coffee from the Elk Room and enjoyed the view from our balcony for a while before changing for dinner.

Lola’s on the Lake turned out to be a beautiful restaurant with great views. The food and service was as good as the scenery.

We lingered over a long dinner, starting with some cocktails and delicious warm bread.

We shared a pear salad before soup, butternut squash for me and a trio for Lisa that also included lobster bisque.

Lisa loved her Salmon Wellington, while I was thrilled with my short ribs.

We finished the night sharing two scrumptious desserts, a Chocolate Hazelnut Croquentine and a Crème Brulee, before calling it a night at Osthoff Lake Resort in Elkhart Lake.