Start from 31 curated places around French Lick, IN, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
1875 The Steakhouse at West Baden
West Baden's signature dining room occupies a beautifully restored space inside the historic hotel and serves the most formal meal available anywhere in the French Lick area — dry-aged steaks, classic sides, and a wine list assembled with genuine care. The room itself earns its place at the table: high ceilings, historic details, and the quiet hum of a room where people are there to celebrate something. Reservations are essential.
Sinclair's Restaurant
The French Lick Springs Hotel's flagship restaurant serves American cuisine in a grand dining room that has been feeding resort guests since the hotel's heyday. The menu runs from steaks and seafood to more casual options, and the Sunday brunch buffet is a French Lick institution. It's a more festive and lively space than West Baden's formal room — better suited for family celebrations or groups.
Trails & outdoors
German Ridge Recreation Area Trails
One of the Hoosier National Forest's best trail systems, German Ridge offers a network of loops through mixed hardwood and pine forest on rolling ridges — more dramatic terrain than the flat cornfield stereotype of Indiana would suggest. The 10-mile German Ridge Loop is the signature route, passing through mature forest with occasional ridge views and crossing several creek drainages. Multi-use trails allow equestrians and mountain bikers as well as hikers.
Mogan Ridge East Trails
The eastern portion of the Mogan Ridge backcountry area in Hoosier National Forest has some of the most remote-feeling hiking within an hour of French Lick — a network of trails through sandstone ridges, creek hollows, and old-growth pockets that sees relatively few visitors. The terrain is rougher and the trail marking sparser than the main recreation areas, which is exactly why serious hikers prefer it.
Things to do
French Lick Casino
The casino attached to the French Lick Springs Hotel is one of only two licensed casinos in southern Indiana and draws visitors from a wide surrounding area on weekends. Slots, table games, and poker occupy a modern facility that is physically attached to the historic hotel — an interesting juxtaposition of eras. For non-gamblers, the casino restaurant and bar are open to everyone.
French Lick Scenic Railway Excursions
The railway operates themed excursions year-round beyond the standard scenic trip — murder mysteries, wine and beer trains, fall foliage specials, and the wildly popular Santa Train in December that books out within hours of opening. The combination of a working vintage railroad, the forested canyon route, and a captive-audience theme format makes these excursions genuinely entertaining rather than just scenic transportation.
Landmarks & sights
West Baden Springs Hotel
When this mineral-springs resort opened in 1902, its freestanding domed atrium — 200 feet in diameter — was the largest in the world, earning it the nickname 'Eighth Wonder of the World.' After decades of decline and a stint as a university campus, a meticulous $39 million restoration returned it to its full Gilded Age glory in 2007. Walking into the atrium for the first time produces a genuine gasp, even for visitors who've seen photographs.
French Lick Springs Hotel
The older of the two grand resort hotels has been welcoming guests to its mineral springs since 1845 and hosted Presidents, gangsters, and Democratic National Convention delegates through its peak decades. The current hotel is a full resort campus with casino, spa, golf, and the original mineral spring pools — it operates at a more boisterous pace than the quieter West Baden. Tom Taggart's political connections put this place on the national map in the early 20th century.