LIMESTONE DRIFT KENTUCKY WATER, TOLD STRAIGHT

FIELD CARD Access & Rules · No. 16-3

Lake · KY 33 north of Danville · two multi-lane fee ramps · Boyle and Mercer counties

Herrington Lake

The Danville-side corridor: Gwinn Island, with year-round lodging, and Mid Lake Marina & Campground, with seasonal camping and the only accessible restrooms and parking KDFWR lists. Both multi-lane, neither with a courtesy dock.

KY 33 · DANVILLE · GWINN ISLAND ROAD 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

Gwinn Island is KY 33 north of Danville, right on Gwinn Island Road. Mid Lake is routed by KDFWR from Harrodsburg — KY 152, right on Hwy 33 S, left on Hughley Lane, right on Cedar Lane — which, by the route names, is KY 33 from the other end (reasoning). Both have a marina and retail at limited hours.

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 33 Access and limits

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

Site	County	KDFWR record, in the agency's words · every ramp year-round, 24 h
Gwinn Island asid 59	Boyle	“KY 33 N of Danville; right on Gwinn Island Road”. Any trailerable boat, paved, multiple lanes, fee, paved parking ≤25, no courtesy dock. Restrooms and lodging year-round 24 h; marina and retail year-round, limited hours.
Mid Lake Marina & Campground asid 435	Mercer	“KY 152 E of Harrodsburg; right on Hwy 33 S; left on Hughley Lane and then right on Cedar Lane. The road to the marina will be on your right.” Any trailerable boat, paved, multiple lanes, fee, paved parking 26–50, no courtesy dock. Restrooms year-round 24 h; camping seasonal; marina and retail year-round, limited hours; accessible restrooms and parking (accessible ramp and pier: none).

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. Gwinn Island lists lodging year-round; Mid Lake lists camping seasonally and accessible restrooms and parking, but no accessible ramp or pier. Launch fees: both are fee ramps; no amount is published. Camping season dates and marina hours are the business’s: 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