patoka lake newton-stewart sra

We booked a 2 hour Wine Cruise at Patoka Lake a few weeks ago. We drove from our home in Illinois which is a little over 2 hour drive on a 2 lane highway. It would have been a more lovely drive had the leaves started changing. We arrived at the gate do the park and paid a $7 fee per car for out of state visitors. We drove a few miles inside the park to the marina where we boarded the boat for our wine cruise. There were 10 tables which seated 6 people each inside the boat, and every seat was reserved. Each table was set with 2 bowls of nuts and aaa other salty snack and a bowl of ice with 6 bottles of water. Each person got a large and small wine glass to taste the wines from the featured winery. Each person was also given a small rectangular tray with an assortment of cheeses, crackers, cheesecake squares, as well as a pasta seafood salad and 3 or 4 rolled ham slices filled with a cream cheese mixture. The young man who spoke about the differnt wines we sampled was very friendly and made it a fun experience. We tasted 6 different wines from a winery near Vincennes, IN. They feature a different winery on the other cruises. We boarded at 2 pm, heard the presentation for an hour, then we continued cruising around the huge reservoir for the second hour. We were allowed to go on the deck above or at the back and front of the boat. The cost was $40 per person and included the wine tasting, two glasses of our wine choice, a tray of appetizers, an etched wine glass, and the cruise. I would recommend doing this for a couple, with friends, or if your family is over 21. After the cruise, we drove about 1/2 to French Lick and went to the casino before heading back to Illinois.

Excellent lake for boating and camping. Whether you are interested in fishing, skiing,tubing or just taking a leisurely boat ride this place is for you. If you have your own boat access to the lake is easy. The ramps are large and can accommodate several boats at a time. If you are a casual boater and have not yet committed to this sometime pricey past time,no worries,boats of all types can be rented. At Patoka Lake Marina day slips are available so you don't even have to take your boat out of the water while you enjoy the many fun adventures surrounding this lake in French Lick. Camping sites and cabins are readily available for rent. There is a beach available that many use. Quite frankly I don't think the beach is quite up to par but many use it. I feel it is too filled with small pebbles. Although if I want a beach I pick one on the ocean.To get into this lake you have to pay a state park fee which is 7.00 a car or get a season pass which is good for all parks in Indiana. If you are bringing your boat in you must have a 20.00 lake permit that can be purchased at the entrance. I believe there are a couple of ramps that you can put your boat in for free but still have to have lake permit.Whether you are looking for a day adventure or a week long trip that includes some of the most fun filled boating experiences this place has it. If you are looking for a place to dock your boat permanently in the area this is a great place as well.

We were staying in French Lick,saw a brochure on this lake and took a drive there to see if it was something that we would like to come back to another time. It is very pretty and a lovely drive around it. It's a state park, so you have to pay to enter if you want to go in to enjoy the lake, go to picnic areas, use the boat ramps or even the beach. There is an area too that has a marina that you can rent boats or stay on a house boat. It's very pretty there and the beach is very nice too. Not sure if we will be back to use our boat though because we could see alot of sandbars in the water. If we knew the lake it might be ok because we did see ski boats out there, but saw more pontoon boats. Looks very nice for a family to spend the day together though.

Spent the entire 4th of July week here. The bluegills are small. We bought our fishing lic at the PLMarina. they sell almost everything you can think of there. We found the visitor center at the back of the park the day we left. What a lousy place to put it.

Just a short drive from French Lick Indiana... We spent Labor day on Patoka lake and had a great time. The lake is large enough that even though it was a holiday weekend the water wasn't crowded. We rented a pontoon boat from Gilligans boat rental ~ super easy experience. Patoka has a large sand beach with beach volleyball and concessions ~ or do like we did and pack your coolers and a small grill and simply pull the boat up to shore and have a cookout. Overall I'd recommend patoka Lake and Gilligans boat rental for a fun day or weekend boating.