Indiana Lake Depths
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Best Indiana Lakes for Paddling

Explore Indiana inland lakes with strong Paddling Index results based on natural setting, geometric wind shelter, public access, road isolation and watercraft controls. The index describes relatively permanent lake characteristics — not current conditions, and not safety.

What the Paddling Index measures

The Paddling Index is a relative composite score from 0 to 100, calculated for every Indiana inland lake we map, from five weighted components:

  • Natural setting 30% — land cover within 150 m of the shoreline (USGS/MRLC NLCD 2021)
  • Geometric wind exposure 25% — multi-directional fetch measured across the DNR survey outline
  • Watercraft controls 15% — official IN DNR control areas; the absence of a control never lowers a score
  • Public access 15% — IN DNR Boating Access Sites, counted only as positive evidence
  • Road isolation 15% — INDOT 2021 Annual Average Daily Traffic, weighted by distance

Observed motorboat activity is weighted 0%. No lake-level measurement of actual boat traffic exists, and legal permission to run a motor is not evidence that anyone does.

Lakes are ordered using the Paddling Index, but differences of a few points should not be treated as meaningful. Lakes within the same band should generally be considered peers. The band — Excellent, Very Good, Good, Mixed, Modest — is the primary interpretation, not the exact number.

Current weather is deliberately excluded: wind, waves and conditions change hour to hour, while this index describes characteristics that do not. Check current weather and local conditions before going out.

Methodology v1.0 · calculated 2026-09-21 · full component definitions, sources and vintages appear in the Paddling section of every lake page.

How lakes qualified

A lake appears in the ranking below only when all of the following are true: it is a Indiana inland lake with a published Paddling Index; it has High data confidence, meaning all five components were calculated from their primary sources; and a DNR-listed public access site was identified. A lake with no identified legal public access is never recommended here, even when it scores well.

  • 137 Indiana inland lakes evaluated
  • 137 received a published Paddling Index
  • 114 qualified for this ranking
  • 0 excluded for insufficient data
  • 23 excluded because no DNR-listed public access was identified
  • 0 excluded for other reasons

The 23 lakes without a DNR-listed access site still receive a Paddling Index on their own page at Medium confidence. Absence from that source is not evidence that a lake has poor access — township, county and road-end launches are not included in it — but it is not a basis for recommending a lake to the public either.

Leading eligible lakes

The 25 highest-scoring eligible lakes. Percentiles are stated against the 114 eligible lakes under Paddling Index methodology v1.0 — not against all Indiana lakes.

Most of the leading lakes fall in the Southern Hills & Reservoirs. That is what the scored components measure rather than a preference for the region: those lakes sit in largely forested land, are small enough that fetch stays short in most directions, and have few high-volume roads nearby. Lakes in the more developed south of the state tend to score lower on natural cover and road isolation, not on access or watercraft rules.

  1. Spurgeon Hollow LakeWashington County97ExcellentTop 1% of 114 eligibleelectric motors only · 100% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (427 m mean fetch)Public access identified · details limitedElectric motors onlyData confidence: High
  2. Spear LakeKosciusko County97ExcellentTop 2% of 114 eligibleelectric motors only · 96% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (483 m mean fetch)Public access identified · details limitedElectric motors onlyData confidence: High
  3. Pigeon PitPike County96ExcellentTop 3% of 114 eligibleelectric motors only · 94% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (179 m mean fetch)Public access identified · details limitedElectric motors onlyData confidence: High
  4. Saddle LakePerry County93ExcellentTop 4% of 114 eligibleelectric motors only · 88% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (423 m mean fetch)Public access identified · details limitedElectric motors onlyData confidence: High
  5. Elk Creek LakeWashington County92ExcellentTop 4% of 114 eligibleelectric motors only · 85% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (470 m mean fetch)Public access identified · details limitedElectric motors onlyData confidence: High
  6. Crooked Creek LakeBrown County92ExcellentTop 5% of 114 eligibleelectric motors only · 96% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (290 m mean fetch)Public access identified · details limitedElectric motors onlyData confidence: High
  7. Rivir LakeNoble County92ExcellentTop 6% of 114 eligibleelectric motors only · 92% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (503 m mean fetch)Public access identified · details limitedElectric motors onlyData confidence: High
  8. Sand LakeNoble County92ExcellentTop 7% of 114 eligibleelectric motors only · 88% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (510 m mean fetch)Public access identified · details limitedElectric motors onlyData confidence: High
  9. Reservoir 26Sullivan County91ExcellentTop 8% of 114 eligibleelectric motors only · 84% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (460 m mean fetch)Public access identified · details limitedElectric motors onlyData confidence: High
  10. Shock LakeKosciusko County91ExcellentTop 9% of 114 eligibleelectric motors only · 98% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (450 m mean fetch)Public access identified · details limitedElectric motors onlyData confidence: High
  11. Ferdinand State Forest LakeDubois County90ExcellentTop 10% of 114 eligibleelectric motors only · 86% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (547 m mean fetch)Public access identified · details limitedElectric motors onlyData confidence: High
  12. Kiser LakeKosciusko County90ExcellentTop 11% of 114 eligible97% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (266 m mean fetch) · limited nearby major-road exposurePublic access identified · details limitedNo special watercraft control identifiedData confidence: High
  13. Olinger LakeOrange County90ExcellentTop 11% of 114 eligibleelectric motors only · 96% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (323 m mean fetch)Public access identified · details limitedElectric motors onlyData confidence: High
  14. Spring Mill LakeLawrence County90ExcellentTop 12% of 114 eligibleelectric motors only · 84% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (291 m mean fetch)Public carry-in access identifiedElectric motors onlyData confidence: High
  15. Indian LakePerry County89Very GoodTop 13% of 114 eligibleelectric motors only · 94% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (744 m mean fetch)Public access identified · details limitedElectric motors onlyData confidence: High
  16. West Twin PitPike County89Very GoodTop 14% of 114 eligibleelectric motors only · 85% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (281 m mean fetch)Public access identified · details limitedElectric motors onlyData confidence: High
  17. Springs Valley LakeOrange County89Very GoodTop 15% of 114 eligibleelectric motors only · 90% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (694 m mean fetch)Public access identified · details limitedElectric motors onlyData confidence: High
  18. Gordy LakeNoble County88Very GoodTop 16% of 114 eligiblespeed limit · 85% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (384 m mean fetch)Public access identified · details limitedSpeed limitData confidence: High
  19. Cattail PitPike County88Very GoodTop 17% of 114 eligibleelectric motors only · 76% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (132 m mean fetch)Public access identified · details limitedElectric motors onlyData confidence: High
  20. Gambill LakeSullivan County88Very GoodTop 18% of 114 eligibleelectric motors only · 92% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (285 m mean fetch)Public access identified · details limitedElectric motors onlyData confidence: High
  21. Martin LakeLaGrange County86Very GoodTop 18% of 114 eligibleelectric motors only · 65% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (340 m mean fetch)Public access identified · details limitedElectric motors onlyData confidence: High
  22. 1000 Islands LakeGreene County85Very GoodTop 19% of 114 eligibleelectric motors only · 87% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (583 m mean fetch)Public access identified · details limitedElectric motors onlyData confidence: High
  23. Olin LakeLaGrange County83Very GoodTop 20% of 114 eligible88% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (745 m mean fetch) · limited nearby major-road exposurePublic access identified · details limitedNo special watercraft control identifiedData confidence: High
  24. Lincoln LakeSpencer County82Very GoodTop 21% of 114 eligibleelectric motors only · 71% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (525 m mean fetch)Public access identified · details limitedElectric motors onlyData confidence: High
  25. Brush Creek ReservoirJennings County82Very GoodTop 22% of 114 eligiblehigh-speed boating prohibited · 92% natural shoreline cover · sheltered geometry (677 m mean fetch)Public access identified · details limitedHigh-speed boating prohibitedData confidence: High

Other ways to read the results

Especially sheltered lakes

Eligible lakes with the shortest average fetch — the geometry that keeps wind-driven chop down. Lakes already listed above are not repeated.

Lakes with motor prohibitions or whole-lake slow-no-wake

Official IN DNR watercraft controls that apply to the whole lake. Partial and zone-only controls are excluded from this list and are shown on each lake page.

Most natural surroundings

Highest share of forest, wetland and other natural land cover within 150 m of shore.

Strong options by region

Top eligible lakes in each broad region, so a paddler can start from where they are rather than from the statewide list.

Northern Lakes

Central Indiana

Southern Hills & Reservoirs

What this page does not tell you

The Paddling Index is a data-derived composite, not a user review, a safety rating, or a prediction of any individual outing. It does not measure current weather, current waves, current boat traffic, the skill a lake demands, scenic beauty, or wildlife you might see. An identified access site does not guarantee parking, suitability for every craft, year-round availability, or freedom from local fees and rules — check the lake page and local sources before you go.

Statewide band distribution across all 137 scored lakes: Excellent 14 · Very Good 17 · Good 30 · Mixed 38 · Modest 38. Among the 114 eligible lakes: Excellent 14 · Very Good 17 · Good 28 · Mixed 31 · Modest 24.