Three Lakes is a cozy community on the south end of 28 interconnected lakes – the largest chain of inland freshwater lakes in the world. Here, anglers find some of the finest musky, walleye and trout fishing in the Northwoods. Three Lakes is also on the western edge of the spectacular 650,000-acre Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest offering scenic bicycling, hiking, camping, and hunting. The Nicolet side of the National Forest offers spectacular opportunities for bicycling, hiking, birding, photography, hunting, camping, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. Downtown Three Lakes provides the old-fashioned charm of a store-front community. Its main street is lit by antique lampposts and lined with unique gift shops, restaurants and other small businesses. A family owned winery, Three Lakes Winery is located right in the downtown area. Three Lakes began growing as a tourist vacation destination in the late 1930s. The increasing availability of automobiles, combined with the roads that existed from the logging industry, made the lakes and forests of the Three Lakes area an attractive vacation destination. Although tourism remains an important industry to the area, the town also has manufacturing, a winery, an arts center and numerous retail businesses that have diversified its economy.