Traverse City, known as a four-season playground, is now celebrated for quality cuisine, wine and culture. Miles of sugar-sand shoreline include the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore with romantic lighthouses and coastal villages. The glacier-sculpted landscape of orchards and vineyards includes 16 golf courses. Swimming, sailing, paddling, hiking and fishing are favourite warm weather activities, while winter turns the region into a playground for skiers, snowmobilers and snowshoers.

When people find a great holiday getaway, they keep coming back. This 32-mile-long "Queen of American Lakes" is chock-full of lodging, attractions, eateries and just about any form of recreation you can name. A significant player in American history, Lake George is the site of two great forts, Fort William Henry and Fort Ticonderoga, both open to the public. Before plunging into the myriad activities in this family-friendly town, start off with a relaxing lake cruise to learn about the area. Then, take your pick of recreation: parasailing, fishing, diving, jet skiing, hiking, golfing, minigolf, horseback riding and more. If you've got kids in tow, you can't get away without visiting the Great Escape and Splashwater Kingdom, New York's largest amusement park. Hikers gravitate to the international trail system or Prospect Mountain, which offers panoramic views from the top; for an easier way up, hop on the tram. Among the cleanest and clearest of major U.S. lakes, Lake George is as splendid today as when Thomas Jefferson described it as "...without comparison, the most beautiful water I ever saw."