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Quiet Midwest Lake Getaways
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If your idea of the perfect summer vacation includes playing and lazing on and along a lake, join the crowd. Literally. Many Heartland lakes teem with vacationers during the prime summer getaway months. But you don't have to fight crowds of swimmers, anglers and campers or dodge swarms of other boats at these lesser-known Midwest lakelands.
Bull Shoals Lake, Missouri/Arkansas
You'll seldom meet another craft when you steer your boat on these blue-green waters that ramble through the Ozarks hills of south-central Missouri and north-central Arkansas (80 miles southeast of Springfield). Most of the 750 miles of shore remain undeveloped. Sailboating, waterskiing and even scuba diving are popular pastimes. The chilly, spring-fed water ensures good fishing all summer. You can rent a houseboat or stay in one of the small resorts that ring the lake.
Vermilion Lake, Minnesota
The woods of northeast Minnesota's Iron Range shelter this 40-mile-long lake, one of the state's largest. You may spot an eagle overhead, as you cruise the cobalt blue waters past rock-rimmed islands and tree-lined shores. Stay in one of the small resorts near Tower, a small, former mining town at the lake's south end (75 miles north of Duluth), or north of Cook near the west shore.
Seneca Lake, Ohio
This southeast Ohio gem (85 miles east of Columbus) is the largest of the state's 10 eastern reservoirs created to control flooding of the Muskingum River. Boats pulling skiers fly across the wide-open water. You can rent everything from canoes to ski boats at the marina, and stay overnight at one of two shady campgrounds along the western shore. Two waterslides at the beach will keep your children occupied all day.
Rend Lake, Illinois
You'll feel as if you have your own private lake home when you dock your boat next to a cabin at this 30-square-mile lake near Mount Vernon (90 miles southeast of St. Louis). You can fish or water-ski, or explore the swimming beaches and shady lakeside campsites at surrounding Wayne Fitzgerrell State Recreation Area.
