Lake Wawasee is Indiana's largest natural lake — the summer boating, fishing and lakeside-dining anchor of Syracuse — and the Wawasee Yacht Club runs Sunday sailing races through the summer. Oakwood Resort on the lake's south shore preserves the 1893 lakeside-cottage grounds and is a favorite dining stop even for non-guests.
Wawasee Golf Club is the local semi-private course with lake views; Syracuse Lake and Turkey Creek connect to Wawasee for canoe and kayak paddling; and Papakeechie Lake nearby is a smaller quiet fishing lake.
Downtown Syracuse is small and walkable with a couple of lake-town cafes and antique shops. The Kosciusko County Historical Society Museum in Warsaw (20 minutes south) covers regional history including the Wawasee cottage era.
More within easy reach — Shipshewana 30 minutes north for the Flea Market (Tue-Wed May-September), Menno-Hof and Blue Gate Theatre; Middlebury 35 minutes north for Essenhaus Inn's Thursday car show; and Elkhart 45 minutes northwest for the RV Hall of Fame. Spring brings the Lake Wawasee season opening around Memorial Day, summer runs on peak boating weekends and Yacht Club racing, fall pairs with lake-color drives and Shipshewana's Fall Quilt Festival, and winter drops to off-season with quiet Brook Pointe romantic-getaway weekends. Seasonal highlights include Lake Wawasee boating season (Memorial Day–Labor Day), Wawasee Yacht Club sailing (summer Sundays), and Shipshewana Flea Market (Tue-Wed May–September, 30 min north). Seasonal highlights include Lake Wawasee boating season (Memorial Day–Labor Day), Wawasee Yacht Club sailing races (summer weekends), Kosciusko County Fair (July, 20 min south in Warsaw).