Lake Dalecarlia, IN

Lake Dalecarlia is a Lake County census-designated place in southern Indiana built around its namesake lake at the north end of Cedar Creek Township. The 2020 census counted 1,332 residents. The lake was created in 1929 as a summer resort and later became a year-round residential community; its name comes from Dalecarlia, the English name for Sweden's Dalarna region. Cedar Lake sits just to the north, with Lowell and the Kankakee River country close by. The 180-acre lake remains the center of gravity, with homes, docks, boat traffic, a post office, community center, and small store clustered around the water.

The Lake Dalecarlia Property Owners Association helped organize a sanitary system in the 1970s, a detail that says a lot about how this lake community handles everyday infrastructure. Water, homes, and association spaces take the place of a conventional civic square. Lake Dalecarlia's local scoop is a 1920s resort turned full-time neighborhood, with Swedish naming, a man-made lake, and a strong association footprint.