Editors' picks across 8categories — the dock with the deepest channel, the winery with the view, the restaurant with the right wine list, the trail nobody's on at sunrise.
Floor-to-ceiling lake views at Fourwinds Lakeside Inn & Marina — classic American fare, an outdoor patio, and live music on weekends. Seasonal, open April through September only.
Visit ↗A resort-style dining room on a hill overlooking Hoosier National Forest and a slice of Lake Monroe, about five minutes north of Paynetown — upscale traditional American fare, a wide patio, and a brunch reputation that draws the Bloomington crowd out to the lake.
Visit ↗Fourwinds Lakeside Inn & Marina's second dining room, alongside Windjammer Grill — waterfront views and a full-service menu.
Visit ↗A 118-room lakefront resort and marina on the southwest shore, in the Fairfax State Recreation Area — hourly and daily rentals from WaveRunners to pontoons to double-decker yachts through the on-site Paradise Rental Boats, plus wet slips and winter storage.
Visit ↗The rental operation at Paynetown on the lake's east shore, next to the Paynetown General Store and the state park's paid boat-launch ramp — pontoons and fishing boats, the option apart from the Fairfax/Fourwinds side of the lake.
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.
Visit ↗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.
Visit ↗