Does this place exist?

OK, so my husband and I have two free tickets on allegiant airlines and are looking for somewhere to fly out of Las Vegas. However, our search for the perfect lakefront vacation has been unsuccessful. Neither of us have been to the midwest, so we aren%26#39;t even sure that the place we are looking for exists. Please help if you can! Here%26#39;s our list of must haves:

1. A place where Allegiant air flies from Vegas, or a place that%26#39;s under an 1.5 hours from where Allegiant air flies (see below for the list of places Allegiant flies from Vegas).

2. A vacation on the lake

3. A place where we can rent a house, condo, book a hotel room or cabin that%26#39;s on the lake

4. A place where we can rent a boat and explore or partipate in some water sports

5. A place that has restaurants or bars on the lake that we can get to by boat OR a place with some small scale nightlife (bars, restaurants, etc) within walking distance or a VERY short drive.

6. Hiking

7. Beautiful scenery

8. Somewhere in the midwest. He%26#39;s never been to the midwest and I%26#39;ve seen very little of it, so it would be new for both of us.

9. We would be going in late May/early June, so warm weather at that time would be nice!

Here%26#39;s where Allegiant flies from Vegas (I only included midwest and northwest):

Green Bay, WI;

Belleville, IL;

Billings, MT;

Bozeman, MT;

Bismarck, ND;

Casper, WY;

Cedar Rapids, IA;

Rockford, IL;

Des Moines, IA;

Duluth, MN;

Great Forks, ND;

Fargo, ND;

Great Falls, MT;

Idaho Falls, ID;

Kalispell, MT;

St. Louis;

Missoula, MT;

Peoria, IL;

Rapid City, SD;

Rochester, MN

Sioux Falls, SD;

South Bend, IN

Springfield, MO

Wichita, KS

So does this place exist, or am I asking too much. Is there a lakefront vacation anyone can suggest that would work for us? I figured either Michigan or Minnesota boards would be the best place to post. Thanks so much for any help you can provide!!

Does this place exist?

How large of a lake are you wanting?

Duluth is very pretty - as is the entire ';north shore'; of Minnesota, and is located right on Lake Superior.

Within a few hours of Duluth is the entire Boundary Waters Canoe Area - very pretty, lots of trails and various outdoor activities up there.

The north shore and the surrounding area is considered ';up north'; for many Minnesotans - and is where many people have their summer cabins for the very reasons that listed as your wants in this trip.

Rochester is not located on a lake, but is near the Mississippi River.

Green Bay is located on Lake Michigan - but I can%26#39;t attest to the scenery.

Does this place exist?

Hi Vegasbaby,

I can%26#39;t say other places would NOT fit the bill, but would check out Duluth, or along the North Shore from Duluth since it appears the place you want to have exist comes pretty close in Duluth and the North Shore from Duluth. You say Allegiant flies there, it is on Lake Superior, can find various places to rent a house/condo/cabin/hotel (the hotel would be more likely in Duluth as opposed to along the North Shore - cabins/condos would be along the North Shore), can rent the boat, has hiking in connection with a number of State Parks along the shore plus the scenery, obviously is in the Midwest. To be frank, late May/early June can still be a little cool from what I remember (as in 45-65F, maybe a little warmer during the day), especially being immediately off Lake Superior...it%26#39;s quite a natural air conditioning system!

Small-scale nightlife/restaurants depends a lot on what you call ';small-scale nightlife';, but you%26#39;ll find some version of it. Duluth will, by virtue of a larger city have more options and the towns along the Shore will have more ';local'; options. You%26#39;d have to let me know if you%26#39;re looking for ';small-town life'; options, or something more, each having their advantages and disadvantages.

Check out www.exploreminnesota.com for more info on hotels, etc. In Duluth, I have stayed at the Sheraton Duluth. Very nice hotel in the core of downtown and near the tourist center of Canal Park. From there, you have easy access to Hwy. 61, which goes along the shore towards the smaller towns of Lake Superior in MN.

Let me know of more questions and I%26#39;ll do my best to answer.

The Twin Cities are less than 1.5 hours driving from Rochester, you could many places there. Stillwater also comes to mind, but it%26#39;s on the river.

Duluth is good, but so is the Detroit Lakes area which is about 45 minutes from Fargo, ND. It is a much smaller town than Duluth. So it might depend on what you%26#39;re really looking for. They have fabulous restaurants and bars but its much slower pace than Duluth is.

Additionally, if you fly into Bismarck, ND, we have Lake Sakagawea close by and also the badlands of North Dakota which have fantastic hiking and hunting. Its just not in the same area as the lake. Good luck!

For most of the list of desires I think the best ';entry point'; would be either Duluth or Grand Forks, ND. The trouble is they are both pretty far north so temps would be cooler still...definitely cooler than LV. So even if us hearty north folks still thawing from winter thought is was toasty warm you might not agree. Definitely lean towards June if possible.

One place that I liked very much and I think might be just within reach of Grand Forks would be Flag Island resort on Lake of the Woods. They have boat rentals and such and there are many resorts with restaurants on the lake on vairous islands. Fishing is the big draw but also lots of wildlife....Black Bear, Eagles, Deer, Moose, etc... In the Canada sections of the lake around Sioux Narrows there are thousands of picturesque islands.

Also out of Grand Forks would be the Park Rapids, MN area with lots of cabin/cottage operations on lakes. Also some nice hiking in Itasca St. Park where the Mississippi river starts.

Or, flying into Duluth would put Ely in range. One of our favorite places near there is Farm lake. I can%26#39;t recall (or find) the name of the place there but there was lots of hiking and we rented canoes and paddled into the non-motorized parts of the BWCA on day trips. The follwing is about Farm Lake but also links to Ely in general for some ideas.

www.elyminnesota.com/content/view/42/39/

As wonderful as the lakes of northwoods Minnesota and Michigan are, the weather can be pretty iffy in late May and June -- not sunbathing temperatures, anyway. I think your best bet would be to fly into Rockford, Ill., and drive half an hour over the Wisconsin border to Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. My husband and I were there over last Memorial Day, and it was sunny and warm.

Lake Geneva is a big Chicago hangout, and Geneva Lake is surrounded by mansions built by the Wrigleys, Maytags and Schwinns. There%26#39;s a 20-mile path hugging the lake, and you can actually walk through the yards of these houses! They%26#39;re beautifully landscaped, and in late spring there are all kinds of tulips and flowering trees. You can rent boats or take narrated cruises that go past the houses, and one of the cruises stops for a tour of Black Point estate, now owned by the state historical society. There are a lot of shops and restaurants, too.

You can get details at my story ';Gawking in Lake Geneva,%26#39;%26#39; midwestweekends.com/plan_a_trip/outdoors_rec…

I hope you enjoy the Midwest! Come back in July or August and try some of the lake resorts up north.

Beth at MidwestWeekends.com