Elkhorn Creek

Eight public accesses, six of them in a published float order, and a Class II gorge in the middle of it. Also a protective slot limit that a lot of people fishing here do not know exists.

ACCESS & FLOAT SCHEMATIC To scale along the channel · creek shape is schematic

Boat ramp

Carry-down launch

Bank & wade only

Gorge · Class II

Read the gauge before you load the truck

Condition	Gauge ht	Flow	What it changes
Low	under 2.5 ft	under 100 cfs	Shallow, and you will be dragging. Wade it instead — this creek fishes well on foot.
Good	2.5 – 4.0 ft	100 – 600 cfs	Floatable throughout. KDFWR calls these ratings recommendations, not rules.
High	over 4.0 ft	over 600 cfs	Pushy and stained, and the gorge becomes a consequential Class II. Strainers move.

Gauge: USGS 03289500, Elkhorn Creek near Frankfort (Franklin County). One gauge covers the whole run. American Whitewater publishes no minimum flow for the gorge — any figure you see quoted as one is most likely their live readout on the day someone looked.

Strainers, not dams — and they move

The Jim Beam low-head dam was removed in 2021, so the old killer is gone. What replaced it as the real hazard is wood: strainers relocate after every high-water event, and the gorge is where they matter, because it is continuous Class II with limited eddies to stop in. Scout after any rise. A creek you floated clean last month is not the same creek.

LIMESTONE DRIFT

ELKHORN CREEK Accesses, floats, the slot

Eight accesses — six in float order

Access	Type	Watch for	To next
AMA on the Creek	Carry-down, paddle only. Fee.	Only paved lot up here.	4.8 mi
Elkhorn Creek VPA #3	Bank and wade. No launch.	Unpaved parking. VPA #1 and #2 also bank access.	2.6 mi
American Whitewater (Elkhorn Acres)	Carry-down. Fee. Boating only.	No bank fishing.	1.3 mi
T. N. Sullivan WMA	Carry-down, wade and bank.	0.2 mi walk from parking.	5.8 mi
Pfeiffer Hatchery	Carry-down, wade and float.	Weekdays only, 7 a.m.–3 p.m. No weekend use.	3.5 mi
Still Waters	Boat ramp. Fee. Camping.	Only true ramp on the creek.	Kentucky River

Six ways to run it

Segment	Miles	Plan on
American Whitewater → Sullivan	1.3	Short. Good half-day or an evening.
VPA #3 → American Whitewater	2.6	Gorge water. Class II, occasional III.
Pfeiffer → Still Waters	3.5	Lower creek. Weekday launch only.
VPA #3 → Sullivan	3.9	The full-day float. Gorge plus the run out.
AMA → VPA #3	4.8	Upper creek, quieter water.
Sullivan → Pfeiffer	5.8	Longest segment — and the take-out gate shuts at 3 p.m.

The slot limit most people miss

Species	Size	Daily creel
Smallmouth bass	12–15 in protected slot — release everything between	6 — black bass combined
Largemouth bass	12–15 in protected slot — release everything between	counts toward the same 6

The slot runs the whole creek — the Forks down to the Kentucky River. A 13-inch smallmouth goes back, and that is why this creek still holds fish worth driving for.

Not marked here: holes, ledges, laydowns, seams — those come from time on the water. Access, hazards, flow and regulations are public record, and those we give straight.

What 111 years of gauge record say. Elkhorn sits inside the 100–600 cfs window on 58% of May days and 26% of September days. Winter fails you high, autumn fails you low. The median in-window spell lasts five days and a quarter of them run eleven or longer — this is a creek you can plan a weekend around.

Sources: KDFWR Elkhorn Creek stream profile (accesses, mileages, recommended levels) and KDFWR waterbody record (special bass regulations, verbatim); USGS gauge 03289500 (Elkhorn Creek near Frankfort); American Whitewater, Elkhorn Gorge.
Conditions change. Verify flow, access and regulations before you travel. Revised September 2026.

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Water alerts. We email only when the water actually changes on this creek — not on a schedule. limestonedrift.com/alerts