Best Indiana Lakes for Sailing & big water

6 Indiana lakes meet our sailing & big water bar — each has a cited public-access or conditions signal behind it. Top of the list: Brookville Lake in Franklin County. Ranked by public boat ramps and marinas on open water (≥2,000 acres); surface acreage and live readings are shown where published.

Public boat ramps come from IN DNR open data; marinas from OpenStreetMap; surface acres from USGS NHD or cited research.

  1. 1

    Brookville Lake

    Franklin County, IN4,364 acres

    4,364 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do
  2. 2

    Patoka Lake

    Orange County, IN9,121 acres

    9,121 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do
  3. 3

    Monroe Lake

    Monroe County, IN11,112 acres

    11,112 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do
  4. 4

    Salamonie Lake

    Huntington County, IN2,874 acres

    2,874 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do
  5. 5

    Mississinewa Lake

    Wabash County, IN2,160 acres

    2,160 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do
  6. 6

    Lake Wawasee

    Kosciusko County, IN3,426 acres

    3,426 acres of open water

    See full conditions & things to do

More best-of lists for Indiana lakes

Indiana sailing & big water — frequently asked

What is the best lake for sailing & big water in Indiana?

Brookville Lake in Franklin County tops the list — 4,364 acres of open water. 6 Indiana lakes qualify for this list overall.

How is this Indiana sailing & big water list ranked?

Every lake on the list has a cited public-access or conditions signal — never an opinion. Sailing-eligible lakes have ≥2,000 acres of open water and at least one ramp or marina; we rank by access count, then by acreage. LakeVibe doesn't invent rankings: a lake only appears here when the data already supports it.

Which Indiana lakes are best for sailing & big water?

Our top picks are Brookville Lake, Patoka Lake, Monroe Lake, Salamonie Lake. Tap any lake for its full conditions, things to do, and where to stay.