Williams Bay Homes for Rent

Williams Bay, incorporated in 1919, is a village on Geneva Lake in southeast Wisconsin. The population is close to 3,000, but there are twice as many people here in the summer when seasonal residents and visitors come to town. "The population explodes from Memorial Day to Labor Day," says Ryan Simons, broker/owner with Simons Realty Group. He says Williams Bay is less touristy in some ways than other lakeside communities: "It's a little more quaint. They really try to keep much of the feel that it's had for the last 100 years. It's a great place to raise families." The village is about 6 miles west of the city of Lake Geneva, which has a long history as a vacation retreat for city dwellers. Starting in the late 19th century, affluent Chicagoans built spacious summer homes around the lake. Williams Bay is about 88 miles northwest of Chicago, 52 miles southwest of Milwaukee and 10 miles north of the Wisconsin/Illinois line. Ranch-style homes, Cape Cods and cottages dating from the early to mid-20th century are some of the older home styles in Williams Bay. "Some of the cottages and lake homes have been passed down from generation to generation," Simons says. More contemporary and