The places that don't make you apologize for the kids. Restaurants with crayons that aren't an afterthought, parks with shade and bathrooms, the ice-cream stop with the line on a hot Tuesday.
A public swim beach with a gradually sloping bottom next to Fourwinds Lakeside Inn & Marina, plus a playground, tennis court, basketball court, and a small mini-golf course — the developed hub on the lake's west end.
A U.S. Forest Service recreation area on the lake's Hoosier National Forest shoreline — a campground, boat launch, swim beach with playground, and the Hardin Ridge and Ted T. Turtle interpretive trails, part of a 36-mile trail network (Pate Hollow, Peninsula, Grubb Ridge, and more) that makes Monroe as much a hiking lake as a boating one.