Walworth County, Wisconsin travel guide: things to do, food & where to stay

Overview

Walworth County is a county is located in Southeast Wisconsin. While being the most rural county in the region, it enjoys a strong tourism industry in Lake Geneva and Delavan.

Updated from Wikivoyage on 1 October 2026 · Something wrong or missing? Improve it on Wikivoyage

Plan your trip

Best time to visit & weather

Most comfortable: May–Sep. Summer highs reach about 82°F; winter lows dip to about 17°F. Cold months (Jan, Feb, Dec) can bring snow and ice; check road conditions. Wettest: Jun and Apr. (climate data from nearby Milwaukee)

Blue bars: average daily high and low (°F). Purple columns: average monthly rain and melted snow (inches).

Getting there

From you: to see whether to drive or fly, and how long it takes.
MKE General Mitchell International Airport, Milwaukee — 38 mi away (major hub). Directions
RFD Chicago Rockford International Airport, Chicago/Rockford — 43 mi away. Directions

Walworth County is mostly accessible only by car. Prominent routes leading into the County include I-43 (from Milwaukee or Beloit), US 12 (from Chicago or Madison), US 14 (from Chicago or Janesville) and WI 11 (from Racine or Janesville).

Full “Get in” guide ↓

Budget & where to stay

No prices are listed for this place yet. See the Sleep guide ↓ for options.

Sample 3-day trip

Day 1: Lake Geneva — Big Foot Beach State Park, Hawk's View Golf Club.
Day 2: Elkhorn — Turtle Valley Wildlife Area, Alpine Valley Music Theatre.
Day 3: Richmond — explore the town.

Built from the best-covered destinations in this region; open each for its own day plan.

Photos

Places in Walworth County

Lake Geneva

City / town · 21 listings

Elkhorn

City / town · 8 listings

Richmond

City / town · 6 listings

Delavan

City / town · 5 listings

Whitewater

City / town · 2 listings

Williams Bay

City / town · 1 listings

Understand

Walworth County has a unique mixture of agriculture and tourism.

Regions

Walworth County has four population centers: Lake Geneva, Elkhorn, Delavan and Whitewater. The rest of the County is dotted with smaller cities and unincorporated areas and farmland.

Cities

Delavan : A lake community and home to Lake Lawn Resort.
Elkhorn : The county seat and Christmas Card Capital of the World.
Lake Geneva : A lake community and popular tourist destination area. Home to a number of resorts and golf courses.
Richmond : A small community containing Lake Lorraine and Turtle Lake
Whitewater : A college town and home to the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater. Partially located in Jefferson County.
Williams Bay : A lake community located on the western side of Lake Geneva and home to George Williams College of Aurora University

Get in

Get around

Most of the County is only accessible by car. The following major routes grant easy access to most of the County:

Interstate 43: Interstate 43 travels southwest to northeast through the County entering near Darien and exiting at Mukwonago. It interchanges with every other major route in the County and runs directly through or immediately adjacent to Darien, Delavan, Elkhorn, East Troy and Mukwonago.
US 12: US 12 moves on a southeast to northwest route through most of Walworth County entering at Genoa City and exiting near Whitewater. The stretch between Genoa City and Elkhorn is open freeway. It runs through or immediately adjacent to Genoa City, unincorporated Pell Lake, Lake Geneva (Wisconsin), Elkhorn, and Whitewater.
US 14: US 14 services only the southwestern portion of the County and enters south of Walworth and exits immediately west of Darien.
WI 50: WI 50 moves on an east-west route entering immediately east of Lake Geneva and terminating at its intersection with WI 11 near downtown Delavan. It is one of the two major routes located immediately near Williams Bay and Fontana.
WI 11: WI 11 moves on an east-west route entering immediately west of Burlington in Racine County. It passes through the downtown areas of Elkhorn and Delavan prior to joining US 14 and exiting immediately west of Darien.
WI 67: WI 67 is a north-south numbered route entering the County immediately south of Kettle Moraine State Park in the area near Palmyra and passes through Elkhorn, Williams Bay, Fontana, Walworth and Sharon prior to exiting immediately west of Sharon.
WI 120: WI 120 is a north-south state route serving East Troy and Lake Geneva. It originates in downtown East Troy and exits south of Lake Geneva where it becomes IL 47.

See

Lake Geneva: One of the major attractions of the area, Lake Geneva is a large, freshwater lake with year-round activities for boating, fishing, hiking and ice fishing. There are public launches at the City of Lake Geneva, Fontana, and Williams Bay. There are regular boat tours of the lake during the summer focused on the history of the homes built on the lake.
Clifford F. Messinger Dry Prairie & Savanna State Natural Area: A state park in north central Walworth County, covering the southernmost extent of the Kettle Moraine area. There are plenty of opportunities for biking, hiking, camping and RVing near Whitewater Lake with easy access to both Whitewater and Delavan. Messinger is unique in that it also serves as a refuge for the Mississauga rattlesnake, a docile species native to the area.

Do

White River Trail: A 19-mile crushed rock trail sitting on a former railroad, the White River Trail offers hiking, bicycling and snowmobiling (seasonally) throughout its entire length. It begins in Elkhorn and crosses into Racine County where it terminates near after a short break in Burlington. There are numerous entrances and a bike rental shop in Springfield, north of Lake Geneva.
Kettle Moraine State Forest Southern Unit Trails: The Wisconsin DNR maintains a number of trails for hiking, horseback riding and bicycling throughout the southern stretches of the Kettle Moraine, located from just south of Whitewater through Eagle and Palmyra.
Big Foot Beach State Park: A nice but small state park near Southeastern Walworth County, It's next to Lake Geneva and has over 100 campsites. It offers 5 miles of hiking trail, a family-friendly campground, a swimming beach, and more.