Lake house Vacation?

[disneymad1998]

Hi from the Uk,

I need some help from fellow intercotees!

I would love to try and plan a trip to a lake house somewhere in America - Somewhere like the place on Cheaper by the dozen 2. The thought of those BBQ's and swims in the lake is so appealing!!

As we would be booking from the Uk - Can anyone recomend any comapnies in ther US that specialise in these kinds of holidays??

I hope you can help

[diz_girl]

The place in Cheaper by the Dozen 2 is actually in Canada. For several years, we vacationed in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario. It's really nice, but the only way to stay there is either camping, staying at one of the three lodges (expensive but great), or you own a cabin and they generally don't get rented. When we've visited Algonquin Park, we stay at Killarney Lodge, which we love. I've heard that Lake Muskoka in Ontario is beautiful.

In the states, the one lake that comes to mind is Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. It's a big lake and the people that I know who've been there love it. A favorite of ours isn't exactly a lake, but a river. It's the Thousand Islands area in upstate New York at the Canadian border. The area starts at Lake Ontario and folows the St. Lawrence River for about 50-100 miles. Only four of the islands are by car, and the rest of the islands are accessible only by boat, but there are plenty of places to stay on the mainland.

I don't know of any tour companies that specialize in lake vacations. Usually, I just do research on the Internet and book the hotel or rent the house myself.

[diz_girl]

I forgot to mention this, but one other lake that I've recently heard of is Summersville Lake in West Virginia. It looks gorgeous. It was formed when the Summersville Dam was built. Usually a dam is named after the nearest town, but the nearest town was called Gad and was submerged by the lake that formed because of the dam. They didn't want to call the dam Gad Dam, so they named it Summersville Dam, after the next closest town. There is one campground that rents lakefront cabins, Mountain lake Campground, but I don't know about any others. I haven't heard anything good or bad about the campground, so I can't comment about it. At the lake there is swimming, boating and fishing. The lake looks gorgeous and I've added it to my places to visit.

Nearby is New River Gorge National River, also in West Virginia. It also looks gorgeous. A big draw is whitewater rafting. There is also ziplining, canopy tours, fishing, rock climbing, hiking, etc. There is this highway bridge over the gorge and people actually walk on the cat-walk underneath the bridge high up over the gorge. You are harnessed to cables, so you can't fall down. Just the thought of it makes woozy. One place that has a good repuation is an all-inclusive resort called Adventures on the Gorge. I've also added it to my places to visit.

[LVT]

There are many of these in North America. You might have to list your preferences as to climate, wildlife, nearby airports etc. The timing of the trip will matter a lot due to short seasons in the northern area or at higher elevations. I would start with general Searches around state or national parks. Have a grand time searching.