LIMESTONE DRIFT KENTUCKY WATER, TOLD STRAIGHT
FIELD CARD Pool & Access · No. 10-1
Corps lake · Burkesville corridor · KY 61 south · KY 2064 · KY 485 · Cumberland County

Dale Hollow Lake

The western Kentucky shore: two marina ramps on two side roads off KY 61 south of Burkesville. Hendricks Creek, free and year-round on KY 2064; Sulphur Creek, a fee ramp with a resort campground on KY 485, "closed 1 November - 30 March".

KY 61 · HENDRICKS CREEK AND SULPHUR CREEK Launches at KDFWR coordinates · schematic
KY 90 · Burkesville–AlbanyKY 61 · south of BurkesvilleKY 2064 · to Hendricks CreekKY 485 · to Sulphur CreekMarinaSulphur Creek MarinaFee · closed 1 Nov – 30 Mar · KY 485MarinaHendricks Creek MarinaNo fee · multi-lane · KY 2064N02 miSchematic · launches at KDFWR coordinates · hollow discs are other corridors · a dot with a leader is the published position
Three numbers to get right
What you hearWhat the primary sources actually say
"Winter pool is 631."Not from the Corps. Nashville District releases give the summer target, "elevation 651 feet by mid-May", and the flood pool, "from elevation 651 to 663". No readable Corps page states a winter pool. Status pending.
"Just read the USGS gauge."There isn't one. USGS 03416500 served "0 data types" on 14 Sep 2026. The pool is the Corps' and TVA's Dale Hollow pages; TVA's lake line is 800-238-2264, code 35. A link, never a level.
"A Kentucky licence covers the lake."The Wolf River arm only. 301 KAR 3:160 (eff. 16 Oct 2025) and KDFWR: "all Tennessee portions of Wolf River arm" from a line at its mouth, Illwill Creek included, under Kentucky rules from a boat. Tennessee's main body needs a Tennessee licence.
What the pool does on this road
Both launches are paved, multi-lane, with a courtesy dock. Sulphur Creek's ramp, shoreline, restrooms and camping are all "Seasonal" on its record and the note says closed 1 November to 30 March, so from November this corridor has one launch: Hendricks Creek, "Year Round - 24 Hours", 26–50 paved spaces. KDFWR's 2026 forecast on smallmouth: "creek channels can also be productive during late fall and early winter." A creek arm loses water from its head first — reasoning, not a survey; the Corps publishes no winter pool we could read.
The pool has a target, not a schedule you can read. Summer target "elevation 651 feet by mid-May" (Corps, 2023); flood pool "from elevation 651 to 663" (Corps, 2019); no datum named on any Corps page. No Discharge Zone: "Kentucky and Tennessee prohibit all vessel sewage discharge (treated or untreated)." Firewood: "Dale Hollow Lake is included as a firewood quarantine area."
LIMESTONE DRIFT
DALE HOLLOW LAKE · KY 61 Access and limits
Two launches, both off KY 61
LaunchFeeKDFWR record, in the agency's words
Hendricks Creek MarinaNo"KY 61 S of Burkesville; KY 2064 E to lake". Any trailerable, paved multi-lane, 26–50 paved parking, dock, restrooms year-round limited hours, marina year-round limited hours, no camping, no retail. Ramp and shoreline year-round, 24 h.
Sulphur Creek MarinaYes"KY 61 S of Burkesville; KY 485 S to lake". Any trailerable, paved multi-lane, paved parking, dock, seasonal restrooms, camping seasonal, marina seasonal limited hours, retail, cleaning station, lodging year-round. "closed 1 November - 30 March."
Limits — six of them differ from statewide
SpeciesSizeDaily creel
Smallmouth bass16–21 in protected slot · 1 under 16, 1 over 212 (within 5 black bass)
Largemouth bass15 in minimum5 black bass combined
Crappie, black and white10 in minimum15 combined
Walleye16 in minimum5
Rainbow and brown troutno size limit7 combined
Sauger · Muskellungestatewide10 · 1
Everything else is statewide — spotted bass size, catfish, sunfish, white bass, and the licence plus trout permit. Walleye and trout are the regulation’s own lines, 301 KAR 1:201 §3(21); the record’s muskellunge line is the statewide rule. Camping on this road: Sulphur Creek (commercial, seasonal, KDFWR). The Corps lists a primitive site named "Hendrick's Creek" on Recreation.gov with no published location — not mapped. Marinas: Hendricks Creek and Sulphur Creek — hours, slips and fuel are not on any primary record and are status pending. Fish attractors: KDFWR lists none for this lake.
Live pool: water.usace.army.mil, location dlht1 (Corps) · tva.com/environment/lake-levels/dale-hollow · TVA lake line 800-238-2264, code 35 · no USGS series · Corps office, 540 Dale Hollow Dam Road, Celina, TN, (931) 243-3136.
Sources: USACE Nashville District Dale Hollow Lake page, the 1991 Master Plan and the District's DVIDS releases of 22 Oct 2018, 21 Feb 2019 and 6 Jun 2023 for the dam, dates, statistics and pool figures; KDFWR waterbody record 99, the five access-site records, the 2026 Fishing Forecast, the 2026–27 Fishing and Boating Guide, the Smallmouth Bass page and the reciprocal-agreements page; 301 KAR 3:160; Kentucky State Parks reservation record; TVA; USGS 03416500.
Conditions change. Verify pool, access and regulations before you travel. Revised October 2026.
QR code: https://limestonedrift.com/waterways/dale-hollow-lake/#ld-alertslimestonedrift.comAlerts and the water page
Water alerts. We email when the pool, the ramps or the rules actually change. limestonedrift.com/alerts/?w=dale-hollow-lake