TheLakeInsiderThe insider's guide to America's luxury lakes
← Patoka Lake
Patoka Lake · The outdoor list

Trails, docks, farms, markets.

The boat launch with the deepest channel. The trail to the gorge. The farm stand that takes Venmo. The icon you've heard of and the one you haven't.

Parks & trails

1 listed
  • Birdseye
    Patoka Lake Hiking Trails & Nature Center
    Editor's pick

    A trail system launching from the state park's Nature Center: the 6.5-mile Main Trail to Totem Rock, a Native American and settler rock shelter; the 2-mile Wildlife Management Demonstration Trail; and The Narrows, a quarter-mile 1800s wagon trail with rock walls carved with century-old initials.

Farmers markets

1 listed
  • French Lick
    Orange County HomeGrown Farmers Market
    Editor's pick

    A weekly farmers market by the Railway Museum on Highway 56 in French Lick — produce, baked goods, and handmade crafts from local vendors.

    Tuesdays, June–October, 9am–1pm

Boat launches

3 listed
  • Celestine
    Hoosier Hills Marina
    Editor's pick

    A full-service marina on Lick Fork on the lake's west side — boat sales and rentals alongside The Idle Zone restaurant and bar, the alternative to the Newton-Stewart side of the lake.

    (812) 678-3313Visit site ↗
  • Birdseye
    Patoka Lake Marina & Lodging
    Editor's pick

    The lake's largest marina, inside Newton-Stewart State Recreation Area — houseboats, double-decker pontoons, and floating cabins for rent, checked in at the on-water Floating Store, which also stocks groceries, bait and tackle, and hot food.

    (812) 685-2203Visit site ↗
  • Birdseye
    Newton-Stewart State Recreation Area

    The main public access point on the lake's east side — campground, boat launch, and swim beach. The swim beach was closed for high water as of late August 2026; check current conditions before planning a beach day around it.

Iconic stops

2 listed
  • West Baden Springs
    West Baden Springs Hotel
    Editor's pick

    A National Historic Landmark hotel famed for its 200-foot atrium dome, built in 1902 and hailed as the "Eighth Wonder of the World" — the largest free-span dome anywhere until Houston's Astrodome in the 1960s.

  • French Lick
    French Lick Scenic Railway
    Editor's pick

    A historic excursion train run by the Indiana Railway Museum through the Hoosier National Forest and the Burton Tunnel, on trackage the Southern Railway donated when the museum settled in French Lick in the late 1970s.