Editors' picks across 8categories — the dock with the deepest channel, the winery with the view, the restaurant with the right wine list, the trail nobody's on at sunrise.
Green Lake's casual gathering hub since 1985 — brick-oven pizza, hand-crafted burgers, darts and pool, and a banquet room that seats 150 for the group that needs one. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday until May; the rest of the year it's the reliable fallback when nothing else has a table.
Visit ↗The Heidel House Hotel's waterfront fine-dining room, open to the public with the area's best wine and bourbon list — a calm, upscale room built around the lake view rather than a scene. Dinner Wednesday through Saturday; reservations recommended but not required.
Visit ↗A supper club on South Lawson Drive since 1948, lakeside enough that boaters tie up at the dock for dinner or a cocktail — prime rib, fresh walleye, and the classic supper-club menu that defines this part of Wisconsin. Closed Mondays.
Visit ↗A brewpub in Ripon's restored historic downtown, wood-fired pizza and small-batch beer from founder David Knuth — an outdoor biergarten, putting green, and event center attached. Closed Sunday and Monday; the wood-fired prime rib runs Saturdays only.
Visit ↗The west-end county beach on Wisconsin's deepest natural inland lake — a shallow, sandy swim area built for small kids, a children's play area, and three boat launches on-site. A $5 daily launch fee applies, or buy a season pass; the ramp is ADA-compliant.
Visit ↗Friday-evening market at the Town Square Community Center, late May through late August — organic baked goods, cheese, honey, produce, and prepared foods from area growers and makers. Closed the Friday of July 4th weekend.
Visit ↗A Chris-Craft dealership and rental operation on Park Drive running for more than fifty years — pontoons, speedboats, wave runners, and seasonal slip rentals with a fuel dock on-site. The default full-service marina for owners keeping a boat here for the season.
Visit ↗Two contrasting 18-hole courses on the lake's west side — the Links, a 1930 Langford & Moreau design ranked among the country's top classic courses, with wide-open Scottish-style bunkering; and the Woodlands, a tree-lined modern target course with severe elevation changes. Consistently ranked one of Wisconsin's best.
Visit ↗