LIMESTONE DRIFT KENTUCKY WATER, TOLD STRAIGHT

FIELD CARD Access & Rules · No. 16-1

Lake · KY 152 through Burgin, KY 33 for Royalty’s · four fee ramps · Mercer County

Herrington Lake

The northern cluster: Royalty’s Camp, Cane Run, Chimney Rock and Pandora, all single lane, all fee. KDFWR publishes no ramp on the lake side of the dam.

KY 152 · BURGIN · KY 33 Ramps at KDFWR coordinates · shoreline and roads not drawn

Three things to get right

What you hear	What the primary sources say
"Check the pool."	No pool is published. Kentucky Utilities owns the lake; no summer pool, winter pool or drawdown date appears on any page we read — status pending. Read USGS 03286000, parameter 62614.
"Find the public ramp."	KDFWR lists none. All ten access sites are fee ramps, and KDFWR lists no free ramp, carry-down or bank site on the lake. No fee amount is published.
"What are the lake rules?"	Statewide. KDFWR lists no size or creel rule for this lake; 301 KAR 1:201 names Herrington only for the two-mile tailwater below the dam.

What this road actually gets you

Four ramps off one highway. KY 152 east from Harrodsburg serves Cane Run (left on Cane Run Camp Road), Chimney Rock (Chimney Rock Road) and Pandora (right on Ashleys Camp Road, next to Kennedy Bridge); Royalty’s is through Burgin, left on KY 33 and right on Curdsville Road. Royalty’s and Pandora take light trailers only. None has a courtesy dock.

Algal blooms: 2025 is history, not status

Kentucky confirmed a harmful algal bloom on 19 Jun 2025 at Paradise Camp and near Tanyard Branch (Redgate) and lifted the advisory on 3 Jul 2025. That is history. Today’s advisories: watermaps.ky.gov/HABs. Fish-consumption advisories: status pending — the Department for Public Health; we quote none. Kentucky Utilities owns the lake and shoreline; its dock and shoreline rules are status pending.

LIMESTONE DRIFT

HERRINGTON LAKE · KY 152 Access and limits

The four sites on this road, in KDFWR’s words

Site	County	KDFWR record, in the agency's words · every ramp year-round, 24 h
Royalty’s Camp asid 440	Mercer	“KY 152 E of Harrodsburg to Burgin; left on KY 33; right on Curdsville Road (KY 342); right on Normans Camp Road”. Any light trailerable boat, paved, single lane, fee, paved parking 26–50, no courtesy dock.
Cane Run asid 439	Mercer	“KY 152 E of Harrodsburg; left on Cane Run Camp Road”. Any trailerable boat, paved, single lane, fee, unpaved parking ≤25, no courtesy dock.
Chimney Rock asid 436	Mercer	“KY 152 E of Harrodsburg to Chimney Rock Road”. Any trailerable boat, paved, single lane, fee, paved parking 26–50, no courtesy dock. Restrooms year-round 24 h.
Pandora asid 437	Mercer	“KY 152 E of Harrodsburg; right on Ashleys Camp Road (ramp is next to Kennedy Bridge)”. Any light trailerable boat, paved, single lane, fee, paved parking ≤25, no courtesy dock.

Limits — statewide; KDFWR lists no special rule here

Species	Size	Daily limit
Black bass	12 in minimum (largemouth, smallmouth)	6
White bass, hybrid striped bass	no more than 5 a day (10 in possession) may be 15 in or longer	15, singly or combined
Crappie	no size limit	20
Catfish	no size limit; trophy-catfish clause — read it	unlimited

301 KAR 1:201 §2(1), re-read 5 Oct 2026. KDFWR’s record adds only “Statewide Regulations Apply” (hybrid striped bass, white bass). Tailwater (wid=135, its own water): artificial bait only, §3(23) — KDFWR’s summary says “artificial lures or flies only”. Attractors: none listed. Trout: the lake is on none of KDFWR’s stocking pages we read.

On this corridor. KDFWR lists restrooms only at Chimney Rock; all four ramps have a marina at year-round, limited hours; none lists camping, retail or lodging. Launch fees: every one is a fee ramp — KDFWR publishes no amount, so we print none. Marina hours are the business’s; ask before you drive. The USGS gauge lies north of these ramps; the dam’s own position is status pending.

Live level: USGS 03286000, Herrington Lake near Burgin — the only parameter it offers is 62614 (lake elevation, NGVD29); USGS’s legacy page says the site “will be decommissioned in late 2026”; check the newer monitoring-location page. No summer or winter pool is published: status pending. Inflow: USGS 03285000, Dix River near Danville — the river above the lake.

Sources: KDFWR waterbody records wid=117 and 135 and access records 196, 198, 200, 59, 60, 435, 436, 437, 439, 440 and 1211, the 2026 Fishing Forecast and the Herrington Lake Bass Assessment 2023; 301 KAR 1:201; LG&E and KU, Herrington Lake Study page and Dix Dam page; USGS 03286000 and 03285000; Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection releases of 19 Jun and 3 Jul 2025.
Conditions change. Verify access and regulations before you travel. Revised September 2026.

limestonedrift.comAlerts and the water page

Water alerts. We email when the rules or the access on this lake actually change. limestonedrift.com/alerts/?w=herrington-lake