The ice festival, one of many in Wisconsin during the winter months, features skiing, snowmobile racing, an ice fishing derby, ice skating, an ice sculpturing contest, and ice-boating. Where sailboats and power cursors plied during the summer, now ice boats with trimmed sails glide effortlessly from the city of Lake Geneva to the village of Fontana at the west end of the lake. In late March the ice begins to leave the lake and the warm air takes on a feeling of regeneration. This is the season of the Maple Sugar Festival. The maple trees remind us of the special gifts afforded mankind if he chooses to respect and value the forest, soil, and water.
Maple sap is collected from the trees several times a day.
The sap is then boiled to a consistency suitable for pouring over Swedish pancakes at breakfast - a morning favorite for Wisconsinites any time of year. Lake Geneva has been a summer playground for over a hundred years. It is not difficult to understand what makes Lake Geneva a special place during the summer months of May, June, July, and August. Without a doubt it's the lake itself. Only Green Lake in central Wisconsin is deeper.