America's Best Lake Hotels

Score: 91.36

This tranquil property, minutes from downtown Raleigh, is on a three-acre lake surrounded by tidy trails just one mile away from William B. Umstead State Park. Don’t miss the resort’s signature afternoon tea in the art-filled lobby lounge—complete with a Dale Chihuly glass sculpture and a harpist who performs each Wednesday through Sunday.

Score: 90.88

A 10-minute drive from Lake Tahoe, this 170-room stone-and-wood lodge has a cavernous 17,000-square-foot spa with nature-inspired treatments, such as a crushed pinecone exfoliating scrub; a buzzworthy restaurant, Manzanita; and the Ritz’s famous concierges, who arrange kayaking, private boat charters, and more lake activities.

Score: 90.83

Set on 3,000 Colorado acres, the Broadmoor hotel in the Rocky Mountains is a great choice for active families: there’s horseback riding, rock climbing, and fly-fishing on Lake Cheyenne. After a dinner of roasted Colorado lamb loin at the hotel’s Penrose Room restaurant, head up to your room in the Broadmoor West building, where you’ll have unobstructed water views.

Score: 90.67

Nestled in western North Carolina, Old Edwards has a small-cottage vibe, luxury details (claw-footed bathtubs; whirlpools with views of the Blue Ridge Mountains), and a picture-perfect setting near Lake Glenville. A bonus: nightly rates start below $160.  

Score: 90.00

With its laird-of-the-manor grandeur, Keswick Hall evokes the old-guard spirit in the Blue Ridge Mountains more than any other hotel. In a stately Tuscan-style structure originally built in 1912, the 48 guest rooms are decorated with a mix of hunt-club prints, canopy beds, and Chippendale chairs. Cast your line at Keswick Hall’s Broadmoor Lake, well stocked with rainbow trout, bass, crappie, and sunfish.

Score: 89.65

Travelers have long been drawn to this remote valley in the Allegheny Mountains in search of the curative powers of white sulphur springs. It’s here, in rural West Virginia, that travelers also find the Greenbrier, one of America’s most legendary resorts, which dates back to 1913 and features interior designer Dorothy Draper’s familiar floral patterns—and in the north corner, the hundred-yard Swan Lake.

Score: 89.19

The relative isolation of this property on 500 acres of well-tended land (about two miles east of SeaWorld) results in a sense of peace and quiet otherwise unknown in these parts. A businesslike hotel with a surfeit of Italianate pink marble, the Ritz has 584 rooms spread through a U-shaped tower. The next-door Grande Lakes, home of the Emotion Kayaks Flat-Water School, is also the place for private fly-fishing excursions.

Score: 88.88

You’d be hard-pressed to find an Orlando property that’s more devoted to the ultimate lakeside experience than Disney’s Yacht Club Resort. The hotel’s nautical-crisp design is reminiscent of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard—except it’s located on Florida’s Crescent Lake. Explore in one of the resort’s pontoon boats, or let the kids loose on the waterslide.

Score: 88.50

Good things come in small packages, and such is the case with the 17-room Friends Lake Inn, with views of the petite-but-pretty Friends Lake. If fishing isn’t on your agenda, there are plenty of other land-based activities—from skiing to horseback riding and golf in the summer months. Come evening, return for dinner in the Inn’s farm-to-table Lakeview Dining Room and a roaring fireplace in your cozy bedroom.

Score: 88.39

A stay at this exclusive spot means you can get right onto the water: the hotel has its own boat, the 35-foot, mahogany Hacker-Craft. Down by the private shore, you’ll unpack in one of 19 luxe log cabins, where a breakfast of raspberry pancakes and tiny jars of house-made preserves is delivered right to your door in a wicker basket.

Score: 87.59

This lush, sprawling resort known for its world-class golf courses occupies 10,000 acres along the western shore of Lake Oconee—a glittering blue expanse 75 miles east of Atlanta. You’ll stay busy with tee times at the property’s 99 championship lakefront holes (designed by golf starchitects Tom Fazio, Rees Jones, and Jack Nicklaus); the kids will love the waterfront s’mores each evening.

Score: 85.36

Head out on a replica of a 19th-century boat at this storied 1883 hotel on Lake George. Thanks to its Bolton Landing location, this elegant clapboard resort has postcard-perfect views—especially from the Veranda Terrace and Pavilion Restaurant (just two of the seven dining areas on-site).

Score: 83.20

Adventurous types gravitate to Oregon’s 71-room Crater Lake Lodge, a historic hotel surrounded by jagged cliffs that are prime for exploring (the nearby volcano crater, at around 2,000 feet, is where you’ll take off on boat cruises and hiking excursions). But plan for a summer stay: the lodge is open only from late May to mid-October.

Score: 83.09

The towering ivory-colored Coeur d’Alene in North Idaho is just steps away from its namesake lake, complete with a 15,000-square-foot floating green golf hole. Aside from the usual adventure activities (guided hikes, lake kayaking, and paddleboating), the hotel is known for its boat tours, including a kid-friendly pirate-themed performance on the water.

Score: 80.75

Midwesterners know this hidden gem: Elkhart Lake, near the Kettle Moraine State Park, for pontoon boating, fishing, and canoeing. Make your home base the Osthoff Resort, with a staff that’s at the ready to arrange on-the-water activities as well as bonfires three times a week in the summer months (yes, there are campfire songs and s’mores). Don’t miss lobster bisque and pecan-crusted oysters at the hotel’s lakeside restaurant, Lola’s on the Lake.