10 Midwest Hotels and Resorts Perfect for a Fall Getaway

As inspiring as the colorful fall foliage of the Midwest is, equally inspiring are the crackling fires, farm-to-fork dinners, and spa treatments you'll find throughout the region. Luxurious resorts from Iowa and Ohio to Minnesota and Michigan provide picturesque autumnal scenery while pampering guests with a range of amenities. Whether you're a nature lover, a spa-goer, or a parent looking for kid-centric seasonal activities, one of these Midwestern resorts is sure to fit the bill.

The American Club, Kohler, Wisconsin

An hour's drive north of Milwaukee, Destination Kohler Resort offers five championship golf courses, wellness retreats, world-class dining, and sumptuous lodging across three locations. Choose the most luxe — The American Club — home to The Immigrant Restaurant and The Greenhouse, a café in a stained-glass solarium transported from England. Take in the panorama of Lake Michigan while hiking among the dunes of Kohler-Andrae State Park, about a 15-minute drive south from the resort, then recover with a massage or hydrotherapy treatment at Kohler Waters Spa.

Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, Michigan

Car-free Mackinac quiets down as the high season draws to a close in October. Many locals and visitors alike take advantage of the tranquility with hikes or bike rides around the island, which remains 80 percent undeveloped. Mackinac Island State Park has 70 miles of roads and trails, plus a tea room serving smoked whitefish dip, a local specialty. Back at the luxurious Grand Hotel, the design game is strong with pops of pink, green, and blue. The dining options are plentiful, and the spa menu is packed with facials and body treatments. Afternoon tea has been served in the parlor daily since the 1840s.

Grand Geneva Resort & Spa, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Grand Geneva Resort & Spa has something for everyone in the family in the fall. For golfers, the Stay and Golf Free package offered through October guarantees two complimentary rounds a day on either or both of the resort's courses. For relaxation-seekers, Well Spa + Salon offers an array of calming treatments. And kids will stay entertained at Dan Patch Stables, where there are spooky hayrides and a haunted barn attraction open every Friday and Saturday.

Suites and spacious villas make stays at Grand Geneva extra comfortable. With several bars and restaurants on site, as well as activities from rock climbing to pickleball, you won't even want to leave the property.

Deer Path Inn, Lake Forest, Illinois

This Tudor-style manor is a little slice of Great Britain just 30 miles north of downtown Chicago – right down to the afternoon tea in the English Room and the fish and chips at White Hart Pub. Cozy details like Frette linens, Molton Brown shampoos, and rubber duckies for the bath help make this place a frequent World’s Best Awards winner. Outdoors enthusiasts can ride the inn’s complimentary bicycles along the Robert McLory Bike Path to Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve, home to an array of flora, fauna, trails, and lakefront vistas.

Big Cedar Lodge, Ridgedale, Missouri

Big Cedar Lodge, overlooking Table Rock Lake in the Ozark Mountains, has 300-plus accommodation options ranging from private log cabins to glamping tents. Every Saturday in October, celebrate the season with hayrides, pumpkin picking, and foliage cruises on the lake before pampering yourself in the Cedar Creek Spa. You won’t go hungry after a day of exploring thanks to about a dozen dining venues, including Canteen at Long Creek (breakfast and lunch served from an Airstream) and The Worman House Bistro, built in the 1920s as a retreat for a railroad executive and now serving delicacies like lobster thermidor and 22-ounce, bone-in ribeye.

Boyne Mountain Resort, Boyne Falls, Michigan

Before the snow transforms Boyne Mountain into a skier's and snowboarder's paradise, the turning leaves frame the sprawling resort with a kaleidoscope of color. Accommodations range from lodges and condos to villas and cabins. The Mountain Grand Lodge and Spa alone has more than 200 rooms and one- to three-bedroom suites. Guests have access to an indoor/outdoor heated pool, the spa, and the connected Avalanche Bay Indoor Waterpark. The highlight, though, is the 1,200-foot-long, 118-foot-high SkyBridge, a pedestrian suspension bridge providing panoramic views over the valley.

The Inn Hotel, Arnolds Park, Iowa

Opened in 2019, the art-deco themed Inn Hotel pays homage to the 1920s – what the developers consider the "Golden Age" of hospitality in the Okoboji Lakes region – with retro touches like Victrola radios and Edison bulbs. Slide into a booth at Tavern on the Park and indulge in comfort-food classics like the barbecue bacon cheeseburger or the Italian sausage and peppers. You can burn off the calories on a hike along the 1.5-mile interpretative trail at Gull Point State Park, on the opposite side of West Okoboji Lake.

Grand View Lodge Spa & Golf Resort, Brainerd Lakes, Minnesota

Whether you’re getting a hot-stone massage or herbal foot detox at the spa or you're sipping a wine flight at Cru, life at Northern Minnesota's Grand View Lodge Spa & Golf Resort is all about pampering. The cabins at Gull Haven and the townhomes at Interlachen all have full kitchens (refrigerators, ovens, dishwashers) and easy access to secluded East Side Beach on Gull Lake, while the cottages and villas along Roy Lake come with docks, gas fireplaces, and game rooms with pool tables. Nearby Pillsbury State Forest and Northland Arboretum both have excellent hiking trails from which to admire the fall foliage.

West Baden Springs Hotel, West Baden Springs, Indiana

The architecture alone would justify a trip to this Gilded Age grande dame. The steel dome above the center of the hotel – the largest in the world when it was finished in 1902 – remains an engineering marvel. You can admire it from a table at Ballard’s in the Atrium, which serves light fare like Wagyu burgers and margherita pies. Of course, the principal draw here is still the famous mineral springs that give the hotel its name. After a day of hiking along the Shirley Creek or Springs Valley trails in nearby Hoosier National Forest, there’s no better way to relax and recharge than with a Signature Sprudel Bath at the spa.

The Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake, Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio

Less than 50 miles northeast of downtown Cleveland, on the southern shores of Lake Erie, The Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake makes for a luxurious base camp from which to explore Ohio wine country. What, you didn't know Ohio has a wine country? It does, and there are in fact more than 20 wineries within minutes of this waterfront resort. When not out among the vines, you can admire the resplendent foliage of Geneva State Park from the saddle of one the hotel's complimentary bikes.

Book one of the cute cottages for privacy and a home-away-from-home feel, including a private porch with rocking chairs and windows framing the lake view. All-day dining at the resort’s Horizons Restaurant ranges from mid-day croissant sandwiches to steak and fish dishes in the evening.