Two canoes crossing open water between forested points in the Boundary Waters

Updated August 2026

Biggest Lake in Indiana: Monroe Lake (10,750 acres)

Monroe Lake is Indiana's largest inland lake per the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (Division of State Parks). Below: 50 Indiana lakes ranked by surface area.

The largest lake in Indiana is Monroe Lake at 10,750 acres , in Monroe County, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (Division of State Parks). Lake Michigan is a Great Lake shared with Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois. IDEM states Indiana 'can only lay claim to about 1% (224 mi²) of Lake Michigan's area and 45 miles of its shoreline' (https://www.in.gov/idem/lakemichigan/about-lake-michigan/), so it is not treated as an Indiana lake.

See our Monroe Lake water-quality report card NR

Source: Indiana Department of Natural Resources (Division of State Parks) (2026-07-30). The table below ranks the Indiana lakes in our own index by surface area.

Lakes with area data

4,364

Largest (acres)

392

Median of top 50

4/50

Reservoirs (vs natural)

Reading Indiana's size profile

Indiana's largest lake by surface area is Brookville Lake in Union County, spanning 4,364 acres. Most of Indiana's biggest waters are natural basins left by glaciers, with stable shorelines and deep main basins.

Surface area is a poor proxy for water quality on its own — a large lake can hold a clean, deep core and a nutrient-loaded bay at the same time. Each lake below links to its full report card with grade, clarity, depth, and EPA impairment status. Area figures come from state DNR surveys and the USACE National Inventory of Dams; grades come from EPA and state monitoring data.

The 50 biggest lakes in Indiana by surface area

#	Lake	County	Surface area	Max depth	Grade
1	Brookville Lake	Union	4,364 acres	-	NR
2	Broad Pond	Gibson	2,942 acres	-	NR
3	Mississinewa Lake	Wabash	2,160 acres	-	NR
4	Lake Maxinkuckee	Marshall	1,910 acres	-	NR
5	Lake James	Steuben	1,883 acres	-	NR
6	Lake Lemon	Monroe	1,650 acres	-	NR
7	Turtle Creek Lake	Sullivan	1,558 acres	-	NR
8	Morse Reservoir	Hamilton	1,440 acres	-	NR
9	Cagles Mill Lake	Owen	1,235 acres	-	NR
10	Dogwood Lake	Daviess	1,235 acres	-	NR
11	Geist Reservoir	Marion	1,153 acres	-	NR
12	Hamilton Lake	Steuben	835 acres	-	NR
13	Greenwood Lake	Martin	831 acres	-	NR
14	Colonial Pond	Fulton	810 acres	-	NR
15	Crooked Lake	Steuben	801 acres	-	NR
16	Webster Lake	Kosciusko	774 acres	-	NR
17	J C Murphey Lake	Newton	754 acres	-	NR
18	Sylvan Lake	Noble	653 acres	-	NR
19	Lake George	Steuben	538 acres	-	NR
20	Big Turkey Lake	Steuben	470 acres	-	NR
21	Waldron Lake	Noble	429 acres	-	NR
22	Hudson Lake	LaPorte	427 acres	-	NR
23	Lake of the Wood	Marshall	421 acres	-	NR
24	Dallas Lake	LaGrange	407 acres	-	NR
25	Lake Sullivan	Sullivan	400 acres	-	NR
26	Big Long Lake	LaGrange	392 acres	-	NR
27	Oliver Lake	LaGrange	390 acres	-	NR
28	Heritage Lake	Putnam	356 acres	-	NR
29	Lake Pleasant	Steuben	355 acres	-	NR
30	Lake Gage	Steuben	337 acres	-	NR
31	Lake Waveland	Parke	337 acres	-	NR
32	Koontz Lake	Starke	324 acres	-	NR
33	Grandview Lake	Bartholomew	322 acres	-	NR
34	Adams Lake	LaGrange	302 acres	-	NR
35	Huntington Lake	Huntington	298 acres	-	NR
36	Lake George	Lake	276 acres	-	NR
37	Lake Kickapoo	Sullivan	258 acres	-	NR
38	Bruce Lake	Fulton	247 acres	-	NR
39	Blue Lake	Whitley	246 acres	-	NR
40	Palestine Lake	Kosciusko	245 acres	-	NR
41	Witmer Lake	LaGrange	238 acres	-	NR
42	Big Lake	Noble	236 acres	-	NR
43	Lake Louise	Porter	226 acres	-	NR
44	Loon Lake	Whitley	226 acres	-	NR
45	Silver Lake	Steuben	214 acres	-	NR
46	Crooked Lake	Whitley	205 acres	-	NR
47	Waubee Lake	Kosciusko	199 acres	-	NR
48	Christmas Lake	Spencer	198 acres	-	NR
49	Hoffman Lake	Kosciusko	194 acres	-	NR
50	Lake Holiday	Lake	192 acres	-	NR

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the largest lake in Indiana?

Monroe Lake, at 10,750 acres, in Monroe County. Lake Michigan is a Great Lake shared with Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois. IDEM states Indiana 'can only lay claim to about 1% (224 mi²) of Lake Michigan's area and 45 miles of its shoreline' (https://www.in.gov/idem/lakemichigan/about-lake-michigan/), so it is not treated as an Indiana lake. Source: Indiana Department of Natural Resources (Division of State Parks), 2026-07-30.

How is lake surface area measured?

Surface area comes from state DNR lake surveys and, for reservoirs, US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) National Inventory of Dams records. Area is reported in acres at normal pool level. Reservoirs rise and fall with management and drought, so their listed area is the long-term normal rather than a single-day reading.

Are Indiana's largest lakes natural or reservoirs?

Of the top 50 Indiana lakes by area, 4 sit on a dammed river (reservoirs) and 46 are natural basins. Glacial states (MN, WI, MI, NY) skew natural; plains and southern states (MO, IA, ND, OH) skew toward reservoirs built for water supply, flood control, and recreation.

Do larger lakes have better water quality?

Not reliably. Quality varies more within a big lake than between lakes — a large lake can have a clean, deep main basin and a murky, algae-prone bay fed by a tributary, so one grade can mask wide swings. Depth, watershed land use, and how fast the lake flushes matter far more than raw surface area.

How big is the typical Indiana lake in this ranking?

Across the top 50 Indiana lakes by surface area, the median is 392 acres (Big Long Lake). This list is biased toward the biggest waters; the typical Indiana lake is far smaller.

Where to stay near Indiana's largest lakes

Planning a trip? Jump to live cabin, resort, and hotel availability near Indiana's biggest lakes.

Deepest lakes in Indiana →Largest lakes (all states) →All Indiana lakes →