If you need to get out into the wild, visiting a lake resort is one of the best ways to do it. Whether you’re looking for fall foliage, a winter escape, or a simple summer trip, there are plenty of lakefront hotels that will welcome you. So without further ado, here are 14 of the best lakefront hotels in the USA.
15 Best Lakefront Hotels in the U.S.A.
1 The Point, New York
Image courtesy of The Point
The Point is found on a verdant, forested peninsula that overlooks Upper Saranac Lake. Some have called it a “playground for Adirondack adventure.” It features lovely log cabins that once actually hosted the Rockefellers.
They include “traditional rustic-chic décor,” comfy-cozy fireplaces, and real white-pine walls. Here you can hike the local trails, take a popular vintage Elco boat ride on the lake, or try one of the other seasonally appropriate activities available there. At dinner time, you can eat a meal in the Great Hall, The Pub, or even in your own room.
2Tordrillo Mountain Lodge, Alaska
Image courtesy of Tordrillo Mountain Lodge
Located on the scenic shore of Judd Lake, Tordrillo Mountain Lodge is the place to stay. It will provide you with a genuine wilderness escape that is less than a one-hour flight out of Anchorage. Here guests can schedule their own activity schedule.
Thus, their experience at this lodge is personal. Optional activity choices include eFoil boarding, mountain biking, and wake surfing. There are also heli-based excursions for skiing, glacier-trekking, and more. You can even board an otter plane and go flight-seeing to Katmai National Park for bear-viewing. The best accommodations here are private cabins with personal decks and floor-to-ceiling windows too.
3The Lodge at Edgewood Tahoe, Nevada
Image courtesy of Edgewood Tahoe
The Lodge at Edgewood Tahoe in Stateline brings to mind mental images of azure water nestled amidst snow-topped mountains. The lodge provides guests with a front-row view of languorous Lake Tahoe and a nice, private beach. The decor includes distinctive accents of its wilderness locale. Note, for example, the trees hand-carved into the structure’s stone walls.
It also includes muted tones, a contemporary design, and a specific emphasis on natural light. Highlights include a year-round outdoor pool close to the waterfront, where you can relax on Adirondack chairs lining the beach. Visit in the summer and golf the18-hole course designed by George and Tom Fazio. Visit in the winter and go skiing just moments away.
4The Sagamore, New York
Image courtesy of The Sagamore Resort
The Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing is unlike all the other resorts in the Adirondacks. Nestled upon its own island within Lake George itself, it features iconic architecture and its own pool. It’s a family-friendly, historic property that offers several waterfront activities including fishing and swimming with or without an on-duty lifeguard.
The hotel also owns a 72-foot yacht christened The Morgan. You can take a complimentary hour-long excursion twice a day. If you choose to stay more than a couple of nights, book the four-bedroom First House, once the home of the original innkeeper. It’s even got a fireplace!
5Lake Austin Spa Resort, Texas
Image courtesy of The Lake Austin Spa Resort
The Lake Austin Spa Resort is a 40-room boutique hotel for travelers seeking a fun lakeside escape complete with those seeking a wellness weekend. This popular 25,000-square-foot spa offers several fitness and water-based activities hourly. The “Fresh Air Fitness” programs most recently added weighted-vest workouts and floating yoga by the lake. Most of the rooms are decorated with floral prints, stripes, and warm colors.
They include private front porches, and often private gardens, and views of the lake and the surrounding maples, oaks, and sycamores too.
6The Lake House on Canandaigua, New York
Image courtesy of The Lake House
Situated on Lake Canandaigua in the Finger Lakes, The Lake House on Canandaigua has 125 rooms and is recommended for a weekend or even more. It’s owned by the brother-sister business Brooklyn Home Company which redesigned numerous New York beautiful, highly valued brownstones. The resort is highlighted with sculptural chandeliers and hand-crafted hardwood beds and a spa. Here you can go fishing, kayaking, paddle boarding, and even take one of the captained sunset cruises.
7The Lodge at Moosehead Lake, Maine
Image courtesy of the Lodge at Moosehead Lake
The Lodge at Moosehead Lake is high on a hill in Greenville, above the state’s largest lake. Backed by massive mountains, this bed-and-breakfast-style resort includes nine uniquely designed rooms and suites. Eight of the lodge’s rooms offer views of Moosehead Lake, and most of them have private decks. This inn also offers “moose safaris” in the area. Expert guides lead guests deep into the forests of Maine in search of moose. They also offer moonlight canoe trips and pontoon rides.
8Basin Harbor, Vermont
Image courtesy of Basin Harbor
Opened in the 1880s, Basin Harbor in Vergennes is nestled near a little cove on Lake Champlain’s southeastern shore. Less than an hour’s drive out of Burlington, veteran visitors say this family-friendly getaway is “a veritable village.” It includes 74 private cottages with their own individualistic designs and floor plans.
Cornell Cottage and the Loon Lodge provide the most privacy because they’re furthest away from all the others. You can grab some Basin Harbor-cue from the onsite food truck or dine at the sushi bar on the lodge deck. Here you can enjoy a number of different activities including biking, golf, tennis, and volleyball. If you enjoy watersports, hit the lake and partake in boating, tubing, or wakesurfing.
9Winterlake Lodge, Alaska
Image courtesy of Winterlake Lodge
The Winterlake Lodge is located amongst 1,000,000 pristine state-protected acres less than 20 miles away from popular Denali National Park. It is said by some travel journalists to be one of the top wilderness lodges in the state. The lodge can accommodate a total of 20 guests at once in six separate wooden cabins.
The cabins include simple but comfortable furnishings. Some also have private decks. The lodge offers guests all the expected activities including fishing, kayaking, paddleboarding, and more. If you book a cabin for at least three nights, you also get a complimentary helicopter-based excursion for glacier-trekking, ice climbing, or even to visit the dog-mushing school located on a neighboring mountain glacier.
10Lake Kora, New York
Image courtesy of Lake Kora
Travel to Raquette Lake, at the very end of a secluded two-mile gravel road deep in the Adirondacks. It is here you will find the ultra-private resort known as Lake Kora. Specializing in takeovers, this was the “great camp” of New York Lieutenant Governor Timothy Woodruff sometime in the 1800s.
Today it’s great for multigenerational family gatherings. Through the month of October, it is open to parties of between 13 and 35 guests. You can choose from “loft-style cabins” to a small three-bedroom building nestled on its own isle that’s only accessible by boat. The resort’s cooking staff provides customized meals too.
