Dale Hollow Lake

The only public ramp on the Kentucky portion that is not a marina: the David L. Hayes Boat Ramp inside Dale Hollow Lake State Resort Park, "US 127 N of Albany; left on KY 90 W; left on KY 449; left on Hwy 1206 to park". Free, paved, multi-lane, 51+ spaces, year-round, with a 60-room lodge, a 213-slip marina and a campground two miles from the water.

KY 90 · KY 449 · KY 1206 · THE STATE PARK Launch at KDFWR coordinates · schematic

Three numbers to get right

What you hear	What 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

One launch, and it is the dependable one: courtesy dock, restrooms and ramp "Year Round - 24 Hours", picnic area, retail, lodging year-round, camping seasonal. The ramp is named for David L. Hayes, whose 1955 smallmouth — "11 lbs., 15 oz., which was taken from the Kentucky portion of Dale Hollow Lake" (KDFWR) — is the world angling record. The park sits on 98 Corps-leased acres (1991 Master Plan). No record we read says whether a low pool shortens this ramp.

The campground is not on the lake. Kentucky State Parks' reservation alert: "Campground is not directly on or in view of Dale Hollow Lake. Access to lake is approximately 2 miles from campground entrance." 151 reservable sites (121 electric, 24 equestrian, 6 cabins), "Open through Sun Nov 15 2026"; out-of-state firewood prohibited. The park's own pages could not be read — address and phone status pending; the marina operator prints 1226 Marine Road, Burkesville, 270-433-6600.

LIMESTONE DRIFT

DALE HOLLOW LAKE · STATE PARK Access and limits

One launch, the state park

Launch	Fee	KDFWR record, in the agency's words
David L. Hayes Boat Ramp	No	"US 127 N of Albany; left on KY 90 W; left on KY 449; left on Hwy 1206 to park". Any trailerable, paved multi-lane, 51+ paved parking, dock, restrooms year-round 24 h, camping seasonal, marina seasonal limited hours, picnic, retail, lodging year-round, accessible restrooms, parking and ramp. Ramp and shoreline year-round, 24 h. No cleaning station.

Limits — six of them differ from statewide

Species	Size	Daily creel
Smallmouth bass	16–21 in protected slot · 1 under 16, 1 over 21	2 (within 5 black bass)
Largemouth bass	15 in minimum	5 black bass combined
Crappie, black and white	10 in minimum	15 combined
Walleye	16 in minimum	5
Rainbow and brown trout	no size limit	7 combined
Sauger · Muskellunge	statewide	10 · 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: the state park campground (151 sites, reservation system; two miles from the ramp). Marina: Dale Hollow State Park Marina — "213 Wet Slips", fuel dock, rentals, ship store, pump-out (operator page; hours live, not printed). Golf, lodge, dining: "60 room lodge", "18-hole championship golf course" (reservation record). 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 · Dale Hollow State Park Marina (270) 433-6600 · Corps office (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.

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