Hiking the Lake Geneva Shore Path in a single day is not for the faint of heart. This 21+ mile look around Geneva Lake in Wisconsin is almost equivalent to a full marathon. While there is plenty of sightseeing to go around, there are some things you will need to know if you plan to do a thru hike around the lake in a day.
Parking is expensive!
If you want to avoid the hourly parking fees that come with the territory, park in Williams Bay, Wisconsin and start there. I wish someone would have told me this sooner, and I wish it was easy to find online when we hiked the trail, but it wasn’t. So I will be the first one to tell you that both Fontana and the town of Lake Geneva have hourly parking fees, and if you do the thru hike you are looking at around 9 hours of hiking time, which will cost you about $60.
Had I known Williams Bay, WI had free parking I would have just started there. Instead, we started in Fontana, WI, and paid for the parking. Lake Geneva also requires a parking fee on any of their public streets.
Time and distance
It is 21 miles around Geneva Lake, that is if you actually line the lake. When I mapped it out on my Garmin watch, it ended up being 22 miles — and it took us over 9 hours to complete (that was with 2 good solid breaks).
The right Snacks and nutrition are key
When you thru hike the Lake Geneva Shore path in a single day, one thing that you really want to consider are what snacks you plan to bring. When I mapped this out two days before we actually decided to do this hike, I did not have much time to plan ahead.
I went to Dick’s Sporting Goods and picked up the same items I would if it were an actual race day. That included: GU gels, Cadence gels, protein bars, waffle cookies and Jelly Belly Sport Beans, I also brought NUUN tablets for water refills. I considered this event a ‘race’ day, and I wanted to bring as many carbs with me as possible.
By mile 8 I had a cramp developing in my right calf. This bothered me on a level that I did not want to discuss or address because I knew we were not even half way done. I took my Cadence endurance gel when the pain was starting to mentally worry me — and before I knew it that pain in my calf was not even a thought anymore because it evaporated. That’s the power of having the right nutrition with you when you need it on ‘race’ day.
If there was one item I wish I would have brought but did not, a banana and some peanut butter on a slice of bread. These are some of the simplest snacks that would have the biggest impact.
There is a mad science to choosing which route you take
Besides not knowing about the parking situation. The one thing that I did research well before our excursion was which route to take. You can hop on the Lake Geneva Shore Path almost anywhere. The three biggest towns along the lake include: Lake Geneva, Williams Bay and Fontana. If you hike the lake on the south side first, and go counter-clockwise you ultimately end up getting most of the hills out of the way first. I’ve always been a fan of getting the challenging parts out of the way early, but that’s just me.
The biggest monster hill of them all is on the north side of the lake though. When we went counter-clockwise, this meant we had to walk down that hill, and boy was I glad because if we had to go up it - there wouldn’t have been tears, but I know that would have been a much bigger challenge.
THE MONSTER HILL! LOOKING DOWN IT:
By starting in Fontana, I knew that we would be half-way around the lake by the time we had our first break, and almost home free-by the time we reached Williams Bay for our second power-up (and power nap time for Kai) before we were home free.
Mindset is everything
I’m the kind of person that can wake up tomorrow, and complete an olympic distance triathlon, without training for it (I don’t say this unwhitingly, I say this because I have actually been there and done that before). The key to finishing anything at all is always your mindset. It is one thing to be mentally in the trenches, and it is another to pull yourself out of that.
Having the right mindset is what will help you finish what you started. Sometimes looking at the whole picture is too much to handle. Focus on the moment at hand, and get yourself through that. All of those moments add up over time, and across that finish line.
Pace Yourself - it is not a race.
unless of course, you want it to be.
Sightseeing and People Watching
Part of this whole journey to hike the lake is about sight-seeing. The path itself is a 2-foot wide trail that lines the lake. It dates back to when Indian tribes used to hike the lake from town-to-town. They kept this ‘foot path’ open to the public. It is meant to be walked not ridden (by bike or any other type of vehicle). Each step is different from the last, each homeowner maintains their part of the trail — you will see all kinds of trail surfaces from grass to brick pavers. While you will want to take in a lot of sights (hello multi-million dollar homes), you will also want to watch your step! It is very easy to roll an ankle out there.
One of my favorite parts of the trail was seeing people hiking the opposite direction. Like any ‘race’ this gives you a certain level of motovation especially when you see them the second time around.
Take a Break
I knew that break time was going to be essential on our route. I also knew that it was something that we probably should not do too much of. We took two long breaks and a couple of short ones, but for the most part, we really just wanted to keep pace (and make sure Kai got a good nap in during the longer breaks).
Having started in Fontana, we headed south around the lake and went straight to Lake Geneva (this was our first break — and it was already a half way point around the lake). We went to a little shop for lunch and we split a BLT wrap and we each got a smoothie. This food was the best thing on earth after going as far as we did.
We sat at the public library and chowed down outside. Kai ate some of her Sundays for Dogs food and her Stella patties. We watched this squirrel make its home in the belly of a dragon, I’m not kidding, there was a dragon sculpture outside of the library and this squirrel climbed into the dragon’s mouth and went down inside the sculpture. Wild! I made the smart choice of bringing extra socks and castor oil. I rubbed the castor oil on my feet, and put on a fresh pair.
Between Lake Geneva and Williams Bay we took a few short breaks, just to sit for 5 minutes here and there. By Williams Bay we found a great small town grocer. Sitting there I could tell that there were other thru hikers making their way through, ordering sandwiches before continuing on. I ordered us a pickle pizza, chips and some diet cokes, and for Kai I got her a can of chicken in water. We scarfed it down and Kai took a good 15 minute nap here.
From Williams Bay it was only a little over 3 miles back to Fontana - the town we left at during sunrise, and came back to at sunset. We couldn’t have asked for a better day for this. It was mid-70’s and sunny towards the end of summer, but not quite.
And taking Restroom breaks
Taking restroom breaks I know is something a lot of people really want to know, but are sometimes afraid to ask. The town of Fontana has plenty of public restrooms - but they are not necessarily open if you are there too early or in the off season. On the south side of Geneva Lake from Fontana to Lake Geneva — there are zero/zilch public restroom spots. There are a few spots in the woods though, so if you really have to go, you will have to get it done there.
Big Foot Beach State Park, I believe has restrooms available. We walked over there for a minute, I was hoping there was going to be water and a restroom, and maybe there was, but we didn’t see it right away and we didn’t walk in there far. I decided it was better to push through that mental spot and keep going.
From Big Foot Beach to the town of Lake Geneva, there was a restaurant along the way that you could stop at before going into town - we passed up that opportunity too, because Lake Geneva was not far and there are plenty of options in Lake Geneva.
From Lake Geneva to the town of Williams Bay, again there is no public restroom to stop. You will go through long stretches where it is better to find a patch of woods between all those mansions.
All I can say is, just hike it.
If you have the time and physical capabilities to complete something like this, do it. Hiking the Lake Geneva Shore Path is something I never considered until it was done. I didn’t really know much about. A friend mentioned the path to me just a month prior, so it planted this subconscious seed and when it came time to actually do it, I don’t know how it was not on my bucket list all along. It is a memory that will be there forever, and it is something that I know all of you can dig deep to complete for yourself too.
Pick a good day to do it. Plan your breaks. If it is cooler out, always keep your core warm. Have fun - and have an out plan if you need one (Uber your way back if you need to - or go half way and Uber back). There is no right or wrong way to hike the Lake Geneva Shore Path.
